Trauma & Stress

Trauma has a way of embedding itself quietly. It shapes how safe you feel in your own skin, how you respond when things get hard, what happens in your body before your mind has even caught up. It doesn't have to be something dramatic to leave a mark. The things we survive, the things we witness, the things that were done or not done to us all leave traces. The good news is that your mind and body want to heal. That's what we're working toward together.

You don't have to call it trauma for it to count

People often dismiss their own experiences because they weren't catastrophic enough by some outside measure. But trauma isn't defined by the event. It's defined by the impact. If something happened that changed how you move through the world, it matters, and it deserves care.

What you carry might show up as hypervigilance, difficulty trusting people, reactions that feel out of proportion, or a body that's always braced for something. Or it might show up more quietly, as a persistent sense that you're not quite safe, not quite enough, not quite at home in your own life.

How we approach trauma work

I'm trained in EMDR and other trauma processing approaches, and I bring a psychodynamic lens to understanding how early experiences shape current patterns. We don't rush. Trauma work that moves too fast can do more harm than good. We build a foundation first, go at a pace that feels workable, and find the right combination of approaches for what you're carrying.

The goal is integration. Not forgetting what happened, but processing it enough that it stops running your life from the background.

Taking the first step

You don't have to have it all figured out before you call. Most people aren't sure what they're carrying until we start looking together.

I work with clients in Issaquah, Sammamish, North Bend, Snoqualmie, and the broader Eastside, and with anyone in Washington via telehealth. The free 15-minute call is the place to start.