Trauma

My practice focuses on trauma, because I find that trauma is often at the root of anxiety and depression, and the trauma we’ve experienced in the past colors how we respond to all kinds of challenges and transitions in life. Trauma can profoundly impact our beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world we live in. It can lead to stress and anxiety, anger, or numbness and depression. It can look like trying to control everything or feeling panicked and out of control. It makes it difficult to build trust and relationships. We might push people away, or we might become people pleasers who have a hard time standing up for ourselves.

Trauma goes hand in hand in with grief. Losing people we love is traumatic. Sometimes we mourn the loss of how things were before a trauma, or we may mourn for the loss of future we had planned.

My training and background focused on trauma, working with service members injured in combat. I’ve learned to apply these skills to working with all kinds of trauma, including sudden losses, frightening accidents, interpersonal violence, childhood abuse, and sexual assault, and also the often overlooked complex trauma of discrimination. There is trauma in living in an hostile environment, being subjected to bullying, racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, and ableism.

Disability

Much of my experience has been working with folks with disability - initially with TBI (traumatic brain injury), amputations, or spinal cord injuries working with the military population, and then in the years since I’ve worked with individuals with a wide variety of chronic illness and disabilities. I work from the social model of disability, focusing on the stress of living with societal barriers, and how this can impact self-esteem and mood.

Neurodivergence

A focus of my practice is working with individuals whose brains are wired differently than “typical.” I am neurodivergent myself, and I enjoy working with ADHDers, autistic folks, and individuals with TBI and other neurological differences. Neurodivergent individuals are often subject to trauma through bullying and abusive “treatment,“ and trying to adapt to a neurotypical world can be a huge source of stress. Neurodivergent folks also far more likely to be queer or trans, and subjected to discrimination and trauma for their identity. I believe our differences are valuable, and I look forward to connecting with clients about their special interests, creativity, and different ways of thinking and experiencing the world. My goal is to make therapy a supportive, validating experience where clients feel safe to unmask and work through stress and trauma.