YOU’VE TRIED EVERYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF TO FEEL BETTER, BUT NOTHING’S STICKING.
Trauma Therapy in Encino and Los Angeles, California
EMDR and IFS-Informed Therapy
Trauma isn’t just what happened.
It’s how those experiences continue to live in your body, your relationships, and the way you respond to the world.
Trauma isn’t always obvious. Sometimes it shows up as anxiety, emotional overwhelm, disconnection, or patterns that don’t seem to change—no matter how much insight you have.
Trauma therapy offers a space to understand and process these experiences at a deeper level, so they no longer feel as present or overwhelming in your day-to-day life.
I integrate EMDR and IFS-informed approaches to support lasting, meaningful change—not just understanding, but real shifts in how you feel and respond.
People often come to trauma therapy because…
they feel easily triggered or overwhelmed by their emotions
they experience anxiety or a constant sense of being on edge
they notice patterns in relationships that feel hard to change
they feel disconnected from themselves, their emotions, or their body
they feel stuck, even with insight into their patterns
PLEASE KNOW THIS:
HEALING IS POSSIBLE.
UNDERSTANDING TRAUMA
Trauma isn’t just about what happened—it’s how those experiences continue to live in your body, your nervous system, and the way you relate to yourself and others.
When something feels overwhelming or unresolved, the brain doesn’t always fully process it. Instead, it can stay “active” in the system, showing up as anxiety, emotional reactivity, disconnection, or patterns that feel hard to change.
These responses aren’t random—they’re your system’s way of trying to protect you, even if they no longer feel helpful.
HOW TRAUMA THERAPY WORKS
Trauma therapy focuses not just on understanding your experiences, but on helping your mind and body process them in a way that feels more complete.
While insight is important, trauma is often stored beyond thoughts: in the body, nervous system, and emotional responses. That’s why this work includes both top-down approaches (understanding, reflection) and bottom-up approaches (working with the body, emotions, and nervous system).
By integrating both, therapy helps you move beyond knowing why you feel a certain way, into actually feeling more grounded, regulated, and less reactive in your day-to-day life.
EMDR: PROCESSING WHAT FEELS STUCK
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is one way we help the brain process experiences that feel “stuck.”
In EMDR, we gently activate a memory while using bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements or tapping). This supports the brain’s natural ability to reprocess and integrate what wasn’t fully resolved at the time.
Over time, the memory doesn’t disappear, but it begins to feel different. Less intense, less activating, and more like something that happened in the past rather than something you’re still reliving.
EMDR can be especially helpful if you feel triggered, overwhelmed, or stuck in patterns that haven’t shifted through insight alone.
IFS-INFORMED APPROACH: UNDERSTANDING YOUR INNER WORLD
Alongside EMDR, I integrate an IFS-informed (Internal Family Systems) approach, which helps us understand the different “parts” of you that may have developed in response to your experiences.
You might notice an inner critic, a part that avoids or shuts down, or a part that feels anxious or overwhelmed. Rather than trying to get rid of these parts, we approach them with curiosity and compassion—understanding how they’ve been trying to protect you.
This allows us to build a more connected and compassionate relationship with yourself, while gently working toward more balance and flexibility in how you respond.
Trauma therapy can help you…
feel less triggered and more in control of your emotional responses
feel more grounded and regulated in your day-to-day life
understand and shift patterns that feel hard to change
develop a more compassionate and supportive relationship with yourself
feel more connected to your emotions, your body, and your sense of self
build trust in yourself and your relationships
move through your experiences without feeling defined by them
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TRAUMA THERAPY
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Trauma isn’t defined only by major events—it’s about how an experience impacted you.
If something still feels activating, overwhelming, or continues to shape how you feel, think, or relate to others, it’s worth exploring. You don’t need to label it perfectly for therapy to be helpful.
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No. You don’t have to share every detail for this work to be effective.
We move at a pace that feels safe and manageable, and much of the work focuses on how experiences are held in your system—not just retelling the full story.
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While talk therapy often focuses on insight and understanding, trauma therapy also works with the body, nervous system, and emotional responses.
This allows for deeper processing—so you’re not just understanding your patterns, but actually feeling less triggered and more regulated.
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EMDR helps process experiences that feel stuck, while an IFS-informed approach helps us understand and relate to the different parts of you that developed in response to those experiences.
Together, this allows for both deeper processing and a more compassionate, connected relationship with yourself.
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The length of therapy depends on your goals, history, and what you’re working through.
Some people notice shifts relatively quickly, while others benefit from a longer-term process. We move at a pace that feels supportive and aligned with what you need.
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A bottom-up approach focuses on how experiences are held in the body and nervous system—not just in thoughts.
Instead of only talking through what happened, we also work with emotional and physical responses, helping your system process and release what feels stuck. This is often what allows for deeper, more lasting change—especially when insight alone hasn’t been enough.
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Getting started is simple. You can reach out to schedule a free 15-minute consultation, where we’ll talk about what’s bringing you in and what you’re hoping for.