You don’t have to be diagnosed with PTSD to be experiencing trauma symptoms.
Nearly everyone experiences a traumatic event at some point in life. There are “big T,” or life-threatening, traumatic events, such as domestic violence, sexual abuse, car accidents, or combat. There are also “little t” traumatic experiences, such as emotional abuse, loss of a loved one, divorce, financial stress, or infidelity.
Some people experience developmental trauma from conditional love, emotional neglect, growing up in a chaotic home, or being raised in a high-control group, such as a cult. This type of trauma is often more complex because it does not stem from a single event and may contribute to complex trauma symptoms and CPTSD.
Trauma is not what happened to you. Trauma is how your nervous system responded to what happened to you.
Two people can experience the same event and have very different responses. We do not get to choose how our nervous system responds to painful experiences. Our responses are shaped by many factors, including our personality, past experiences, support systems, and how others respond to our pain. One of the hardest experiences is being invalidated or not believed after something painful has happened.
No matter what you experienced, I believe you.
I create a warm and welcoming space where you can work through past trauma and find healing. I utilize Brainspotting, EFT, ACT, and experiential interventions, such as sand tray and art therapy, to help clients calm their nervous system and find relief from the past.
