Therapy for Trauma & PTSD
TRAUMA THERAPY IN LOS FELIZ
You’re not overreacting. You’re responding to what your nervous system still remembers.
When survival becomes the default.
Post-traumatic stress doesn’t always come from a single event—it can stem from years of emotional neglect, boundary violations, or feeling unsafe in your own body. You might appear high-functioning on the outside while inside, you’re stuck in survival mode—anxious, numb, or constantly on edge.
Hi, I’m Emma!
You deserve to feel safe—within yourself, and in the world
Trauma can leave you feeling on edge, hyper-aware, or disconnected from your own body. Therapy provides a space to gently explore these experiences, understand your reactions, and begin to rebuild a sense of safety. You can learn tools to regulate your nervous system, set boundaries, and reconnect with your inner strength.
Feeling safe is not just a distant goal—it is something you can start experiencing here and now.
Therapy offers a space to gently process trauma and build new patterns of safety and regulation.
Work with your nervous system, not against it
Use trauma-informed approaches like EMDR and IFS
Rebuild trust in your body and your responses
Heal from shame, hypervigilance & emotional overwhelm
Move from just surviving to living fully and freely
How I Work
My approach is collaborative, trauma-informed, and rooted in curiosity and compassion. I integrate modalities like
✓ EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
to help you process stuck trauma and shift long-held beliefs
✓ IFS (Internal Family Systems)
to build a deeper relationship with your inner parts and restore self-trust
✓ Mindfulness and somatic practices
to bring awareness and regulation to your nervous system
✓ Attachment-focused talk therapy
to heal relationship wounds and reconnect with your core self
Together, we’ll move at your pace. Some sessions might focus on skills and tools for the present moment. Others might go deeper—gently exploring your past to understand how it shows up now.
What to Expect
Starting therapy can feel vulnerable—but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here’s how it works:
Initial Consultation (Free, 20 mins)
We’ll connect briefly by phone to see if we’re a good fit and talk through any questions you may have.First Session (60 mins)
We’ll explore what’s bringing you in and what you’re hoping for. You don’t need a perfect narrative—just honesty, curiosity, and openness.Ongoing Sessions
Most clients attend weekly or biweekly sessions, depending on your needs and goals. You’ll set the pace and direction—we’ll work as a team.
Your experiences make sense.
And healing is possible—with support that honors your pace, your story, and your resilience.
Common Questions about Trauma Therapy
FAQs
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Emotional numbness can be a protective nervous system response to overwhelm, chronic stress, or unresolved trauma. Many people disconnect from their emotions in order to cope or survive difficult experiences. Therapy can help you reconnect with yourself gradually and safely.
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Trauma can condition the nervous system to stay in survival mode long after the original experience has passed. This can lead to intense emotional reactions, shutdown, anxiety, people-pleasing, avoidance, or feeling emotionally flooded in situations that activate old wounds. Therapy can help you better understand and regulate these responses.
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Trauma responses can look different for everyone. Some common signs include anxiety, hypervigilance, emotional numbness, people-pleasing, dissociation, perfectionism, burnout, difficulty trusting others, chronic shame, feeling emotionally unsafe, or reacting strongly to certain triggers or relationships.
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Many people understand their trauma logically but still feel emotionally reactive, anxious, disconnected, or overwhelmed. Trauma is not only stored cognitively. It can also live in the nervous system and body. Therapy can help process trauma on a deeper emotional and physiological level so healing feels more integrated, not just intellectual.
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No. Trauma is not only about extreme events. Many people are impacted by chronic emotional stress, emotionally immature parents, narcissistic abuse, neglect, bullying, religious trauma, unstable relationships, or environments where they did not feel safe, seen, or supported. Therapy can help you process both acute and relational trauma experiences.
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Complex trauma usually develops from repeated or ongoing experiences such as childhood emotional neglect, chronic criticism, unstable relationships, narcissistic abuse, or environments where someone consistently felt unsafe or emotionally unsupported. It often impacts self-worth, relationships, boundaries, and emotional regulation.
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Trauma-informed therapy recognizes how past experiences can impact the nervous system, emotional regulation, relationships, self-worth, and sense of safety. Rather than asking “What’s wrong with you?” trauma-informed therapy asks “What happened to you?” and creates a collaborative, supportive environment for healing.
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Yes. EMDR therapy can help people process traumatic memories, distressing experiences, anxiety, and nervous system activation in a way that helps reduce emotional intensity and create new internal associations. EMDR is often helpful for both single-event trauma and complex relational trauma.
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My approach is trauma-informed, relational, and collaborative. I integrate EMDR therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), mindfulness, attachment-focused therapy, and somatic practices to support emotional processing, nervous system regulation, and long-term healing.
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Yes. People-pleasing and perfectionism are often adaptive survival strategies rooted in fear, shame, rejection, or the need to stay emotionally safe in relationships or family systems. Therapy can help you understand where these patterns come from and build healthier ways of relating to yourself and others.
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I offer in-person trauma therapy in Los Feliz for adults navigating anxiety, attachment wounds, childhood trauma, emotional overwhelm, burnout, and relationship patterns connected to past experiences.
I provide online trauma therapy for clients throughout California and Oregon. Virtual therapy can be a supportive and accessible option for clients who prefer the comfort of their own space or need greater flexibility.