Trauma and PTSD

How Trauma Affects the Nervous System

Trauma can rewire your nervous system, putting you in a state of chronic threat or shutdown. This is why trauma responses aren’t just “in your head.” You might notice:

• Hypervigilance or feeling constantly on edge

• Panic attacks, anxiety, or intrusive thoughts

• Numbness, dissociation, or disconnection from your body

• Difficulty sleeping or concentrating

• Emotional overwhelm or quick reactivity

• Feeling stuck in patterns that you can’t explain

These responses are survival mechanisms. Your nervous system adapted to protect you. Therapy can help your body and mind learn that you are safe now.

PTSD and Complex PTSD

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening or terrifying event. Symptoms often include flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance, and intense emotional or physical reactions to reminders of the trauma.

Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) occurs after repeated or prolonged trauma, often beginning in childhood. This might include years of emotional abuse, neglect, or being in environments where you had to suppress your needs to survive. In addition to typical PTSD symptoms, C-PTSD often involves:

• Difficulty with emotional regulation

• Chronic shame or self-blame

• Trust and attachment difficulties

• Feeling empty, broken, or “too much”

• Persistent negative beliefs about yourself and others

If this sounds familiar, you are not alone — and there is help.

How Therapy Can Help

We offer a trauma-informed, compassionate approach that moves at your pace. You won’t be rushed to talk about anything before you’re ready. Instead, we create a safe space where your nervous system can begin to feel what safety and connection actually feel like.

Relational Psychotherapy

Healing happens in relationships. Relational therapy uses the therapeutic connection as a model for trust, attunement, and emotional safety. Many clients with trauma have learned to suppress, please, or hide. In this work, you don’t have to do that anymore. You get to experience what it’s like to be fully seen and accepted.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Trauma often lives in the unconscious — shaping your beliefs, defenses, and emotional patterns. Psychodynamic therapy helps you understand how past experiences have impacted your inner world, and how those patterns show up in the present. We also explore transference, which can reveal deeper relational wounds and help them heal within the therapy relationship.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT can help reduce the intensity of trauma symptoms by identifying and shifting distorted beliefs that often develop after trauma. For example, beliefs like “I’m not safe,” “It was my fault,” or “I can’t trust anyone” can be explored and gently restructured.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Trauma can make it hard to regulate emotions or tolerate distress. DBT teaches grounding skills, mindfulness, and emotional regulation tools to help you stay present and stable, especially when working through painful memories or triggers.