Trauma Therapy
A Journey of Integration and Creative Healing
Discovering Wholeness Through Parts Work and Expressive Arts
When trauma lives in the body, it speaks in a language beyond words—through sensations, emotions, and the subtle divisions we create within ourselves to survive. My approach to trauma therapy honors this complexity, weaving together Internal Family Systems, depth-oriented psychotherapy, and creative expression to help you reconnect with the fractured parts of your story and find your way back to wholeness.
Understanding Trauma Through the Lens of Parts
Trauma isn't simply something that happened to you; it's the way your inner system organized itself to protect you from overwhelming experiences. In my practice, I view trauma through the gentle, curious lens of parts work, recognizing that what we often label as symptoms—anxiety, depression, dissociation—are actually protective parts doing their best to keep you safe from pain they believe you cannot bear.
These protective parts emerged for good reasons. They helped you survive experiences that felt unsurvivable. Yet now, in the present moment, they may be keeping you from the depth of connection, creativity, and aliveness you're seeking. Through our work together, I help you understand these parts not as problems to be fixed, but as aspects of yourself deserving of compassion and integration.
My Therapeutic Approach to Trauma Healing
Internal Family Systems: Meeting Your Inner Community
At the heart of my trauma therapy practice lies Internal Family Systems (IFS), a transformative approach that recognizes the multiplicity within each of us. Rather than pathologizing the voices, feelings, and impulses that arise from trauma, IFS invites us to befriend these parts, understanding their positive intentions and helping them release the burdens they've been carrying.
In our sessions, I guide you in developing a relationship with your Self—that core essence of who you are that remains untouched by trauma. From this centered place, you can approach your wounded parts with curiosity and compassion, allowing them to tell their stories, express their pain, and ultimately, transform their roles in your inner system.
Depth-Oriented Psychotherapy: Exploring the Sacred Wounds
Trauma work requires descent—a willingness to journey into the depths of your psyche where the original wounds reside. Through depth-oriented psychotherapy, I support you in this sacred exploration, helping you navigate the shadowy territories where trauma has taken root. This isn't about reliving pain, but about reclaiming the parts of yourself that got lost in the darkness.
I work with dreams, symbols, and the poetic language of the unconscious, recognizing that healing happens not just through talking about trauma, but through engaging with it creatively and symbolically. Your psyche knows how to heal itself; my role is to create the conditions where this natural healing process can unfold.
Emotional Freedom Technique: Releasing Trauma from the Body
Trauma lives in the body as much as in the mind. Through Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT/Tapping), I help you gently release the energetic imprints of traumatic experiences. This somatic approach works beautifully alongside parts work, offering your protective parts a tangible way to discharge the tension and vigilance they've been holding.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Living Beyond Survival
As you heal, I incorporate principles from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help you move from merely surviving to truly living. This means developing the capacity to hold difficult emotions without being overwhelmed by them, and committing to actions aligned with your deepest values—even when parts of you feel afraid.
The Creative Path to Trauma Integration
For the emotionally curious and creative souls I work with, traditional talk therapy often feels incomplete. You need more than words to express the complexity of your inner world. In my practice, I invite creative expression as a vital part of trauma healing—not as art therapy in the traditional sense, but as a way of giving form to the formless, voice to the voiceless parts within.
Between sessions, I offer parts therapy prompts designed to deepen your relationship with different aspects of yourself. These might include:
Journaling dialogues with protective parts
Creative expressions of what your parts are holding
Symbolic representations of your inner landscape
Poetic explorations of your healing journey
This creative engagement allows trauma to transform from a story of wounding into a narrative of profound growth and self-discovery.
What Trauma Therapy Looks Like in My Practice
The Sacred Container of Weekly Sessions
Trauma healing requires consistency and safety. I typically work with clients on a weekly basis at a scheduled recurring time, creating a reliable container where all parts of you can show up exactly as they are. This regularity helps your nervous system learn to trust, allowing deeper layers of healing to emerge organically.
Beyond the Session Room
Our work extends far beyond our time together. I encourage you to remain in conversation with the parts we explore in session, providing you with specific practices and reflections tailored to your unique inner system. This might include parts check-ins, creative exercises, or somatic practices that help you stay connected to your healing process throughout the week.
A Collaborative Journey
After our initial intake process—which unfolds over the first three sessions as we explore your family, cultural, social, medical, and mental health history—we identify three to five guiding goals for our work together. These goals emerge from your own knowing about what needs attention, combined with my clinical insights about how trauma may be impacting your life.
Who This Approach Serves Best
My trauma therapy practice resonates most deeply with individuals who are:
Already on a healing path and seeking deeper, more integrative tools
Drawn to understanding the "why" behind their patterns and behaviors
Comfortable with poetic, symbolic, and creative approaches to healing
Ready to explore the spiritual and mystical dimensions of trauma recovery
Seeking to integrate different parts of themselves into a harmonious whole
Experiencing the impact of trauma through anxiety, depression, or life transitions
If you're in your 20s, 30s, or 40s and identify as an artist, intuitive, or sensitive soul, you'll find a uniquely supportive space here. My approach honors your emotional complexity and creative nature, offering healing that feels both sacred and practical.
The Invitation to Begin
Trauma therapy in my practice isn't about fixing what's broken—it's about remembering what's whole. It's about creating space for all parts of you to be witnessed, understood, and ultimately integrated into a more expansive sense of self.
Whether you're navigating the lingering effects of childhood wounds, processing more recent traumatic experiences, or simply feeling the weight of accumulated life stressors, I offer a gentle, curious, and deeply validating space for your healing journey.
Taking the First Step
Beginning trauma therapy can feel vulnerable, especially when you've been holding so much alone. The consultation process offers us both an opportunity to feel into whether we're the right fit for this sacred work together. During our initial conversation, we'll explore what kind of support you're seeking, what you've already done to care for yourself, and what has or hasn't worked in previous therapeutic experiences.
Most importantly, you'll get a felt sense of what it's like to be in session with me—whether my approach to trauma healing resonates with your inner knowing about what you need.
Your Healing Awaits
Trauma may have shaped your story, but it doesn't have to define your future. Through our integrative work combining Internal Family Systems, depth psychology, somatic practices, and creative expression, you can transform your relationship with trauma from one of survival to one of thriving creativity and authentic self-expression.
If you're ready to explore trauma therapy that honors both your wounds and your wholeness, that speaks to both your intellect and your intuition, I invite you to reach out. Together, we can create a healing journey that feels uniquely yours—one that honors where you've been while opening doors to where you're meant to go.
For more information about scheduling and beginning your trauma therapy journey, please contact me directly. I offer online sessions for individuals throughout Sonoma County, the North Bay Area, Seattle, Washington State, and New York State.
