Trauma & PTSD Therapy
in El Cerrito, CA
Does Your Past Still Live in Your Body?
Maybe you startle easily, or go numb in moments that call for feeling. Maybe certain smells, tones of voice, or types of conflict send you somewhere else entirely -- not quite here, not quite now. Maybe you function well by every outward measure and still feel, underneath it, like you are bracing for something that already happened.
Trauma isn't only the aftermath of a single catastrophic event, though it can be that. It can also be the slow accumulation of many smaller moments -- being unseen, unsafe, or unsupported over years, particularly in childhood -- that never resolved into a single, nameable "before and after." Both forms deserve trauma therapy, and both are real.
When Trauma Comes From One Event
For some, trauma has a clear point of origin: an accident, an assault, a loss, a diagnosis. PTSD therapy often addresses the specific symptoms that follow -- flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, avoidance of reminders -- that keep a single event alive in the nervous system long after it has ended.
When Trauma Builds Over Time
For others, especially those with difficult childhoods, trauma is cumulative -- a thousand small moments of feeling unsafe, unseen, or responsible for things too big for a child to carry. Childhood trauma therapy has to account for this layered, ongoing quality, rather than treating it like a single wound with a single fix.
Whatever form it takes, with trauma counseling, you can build a different relationship with your history -- one where the past stops dictating the present.
Reach Out with any Questions About Trauma & PTSD Treatment
Trauma Is Common, and Its Effects Make Sense
You are not alone, and you are not overreacting. The majority of Americans will experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, and an estimated 6% will develop PTSD at some point [1]. Complex trauma -- repeated or prolonged exposure to harm, often within relationships that were supposed to be safe -- is even more common, and often goes unnamed for years because it doesn't fit the prevailing image of "trauma."
Trauma responses are not a character flaw or a sign of weakness. They are the nervous system doing exactly what it's built to do: protect you, even long after the danger has passed. Hypervigilance, numbness, people-pleasing, difficulty trusting, a hair-trigger nervous system -- these were adaptive once. The good news is that with trauma-informed, body-centered treatment, a nervous system that has been stuck in survival mode can learn, slowly and safely, that it's allowed to stand down.
[1] National Council for Mental Wellbeing, "How to Talk to Clients About Trauma."
Trauma Therapy That Moves at the Pace of Safety
A Gentle, Paced Approach
As a trauma therapist trained in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Internal Family Systems, I don't believe healing requires reliving every painful detail of what happened to you. In fact, moving too fast can retraumatize rather than heal, which is why my approach to trauma treatment is always paced and collaborative. We proceed gently, often working with just a sliver of an experience at a time, always checking in about what feels tolerable.
Working With the Body, Not Just the Story
Much of trauma recovery therapy in my practice happens in the body as much as in the story. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy helps you notice and work with the physical sensations, impulses, and patterns that trauma leaves behind -- the held breath, the braced shoulders, the urge to flee or freeze -- so that healing isn't just intellectual understanding but a felt sense of safety in your own skin. I also draw on Internal Family Systems to help you build relationships with the parts of yourself that are still protecting you from old danger, whether that looks like hypervigilance, numbness, or a fierce inner critic keeping you small so you won't be hurt again.
For complex trauma therapy in particular, this slow, relational, body-inclusive approach matters even more, since the wounds were often relational to begin with -- which means healing often happens in-relationship, including the one we build together in this work. Whether you're seeking PTSD counseling for a specific event or complex trauma counseling for a longer history, many clients find that memories which once felt unbearable become something they can hold, rather than something that engulfs them.
A Sociological Lens on Trauma
As a trauma counselor with a background in sociology, I also bring a wider lens to this work. Trauma doesn't happen in a vacuum. It's shaped by the systems around you -- the family you were raised in, the community that did or didn't protect you, the broader forces of race, class, gender, and culture that determine whose pain gets taken seriously and whose gets dismissed. Understanding your trauma in this fuller context isn't about diluting your individual healing; it's about making sure that healing doesn't quietly ask you to blame yourself for wounds that were never only yours to carry. Many clients find real relief in realizing that their trauma responses make complete sense given everything they were navigating, rather than being evidence of some personal failure to simply "get over it."
Questions You May Have About Trauma Therapy
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This is one of the most common and reasonable fears clients bring to trauma counseling. My approach is deliberately gentle and paced -- we never open more than you are ready for. Much of our work in the beginning is about building the internal capacities necessary to work with traumatic material. This includes teaching you how to stay grounded in your body throughout the process.
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Trauma isn't measured by how dramatic the story is or how complete your memory is. If something has left a mark on your nervous system, it's worth addressing. PTSD treatment and trauma-informed care can help regardless of how clearly you can narrate what happened.
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Many clients come to me after trauma treatment that focused on talking about the trauma or developing coping skills to manage the symptoms. This kind of therapy doesn’t address the ways trauma is held in the body or the deeper protective patterns underneath. My work as a ptsd therapist is different, and I'm happy to talk through what you've tried before during a free consultation.
You Don't Have to Carry This Alone
If your history is still shaping your present in ways that feel too heavy to hold by yourself, I'd love to talk. I offer a free 20-minute consultation and provide trauma healing and PTSD therapy in person in El Cerrito and the East Bay, and virtually throughout California.
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