Trauma Therapy

Palo Alto & Del Mar, CA

Are You Fearful Of Entering Relationships Because Of Past Trauma Or History Of Abuse?

Are you isolating because you are overall distrustful of people?
Do you know you are harboring a lot of unresolved rage because of past trauma?
Difficulty enjoying sex or intimacy because you have been sexually abused?
Suffering from dissociative episodes?

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All Of These Symptoms Are Completely Normal

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These are only a few of potential long-term consequences of a history of trauma. Whether one of those statements resonated with you or you have a different symptomatic response, you are not alone. Traumatic events, unfortunately, are relatively common but there is help. So much research in the trauma therapy field has been done on the emotional and behavioral sequelae of traumatic episodes that we now know a lot about how to treat these symptoms. You may have developed chronic depression or a phobic response, or feeling jumpy and distractible with difficulty concentrating. Or you avoid people and relationships. These symptoms are common and normal. Therapy for trauma helps. While we cannot undo the past, we most definitely can undo the reverberating consequences of the past. That is what trauma counseling and PTSD therapy is about. There is help and I am glad you are here.

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What Exactly Can Trauma Therapy Help Me With?

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There are specific benefits of trauma therapy such that your symptoms disappear entirely, or are significantly alleviated. We start with an inquiry into your presenting issues whether we think they are a consequence of your trauma or not. If you have been fearful of entering relationships, PTSD counseling can help you overcome this such that you feel safe taking risks again. Of course we cannot guarantee that people will always be there for you, or act the way you want them to, or even that your relationships will last long term. But we can definitely work together in trauma counseling, to make sure that you are always there for yourself and that you feel free taking a chance on yourself again. If you are suffering from depression, panic attacks or hypervigilance as a consequence of your trauma history, our goal will be to help you overcome these natural responses. Trauma therapy is designed to specifically target your problematic symptoms to help you alleviate those. The solution in PTSD treatment is to work through together, at a pace you feel comfortable with, the consequences of your specific traumatic event or episode.

So How Does PTSD Therapy Or Counseling Work Exactly?

Together we take an inventory of your concerns and symptoms, both general and specific. I may ask for concrete examples if you can help with that. Occasionally, a trauma response can be dissociative episodes, which can make remembering concrete examples of your struggles difficult. But rest assured, trauma therapy helps with that too. DIssociation is a natural human response to trauma so that you survive. We can significantly reduce and eliminate dissociative episodes and help you better deal with powerful emotions such that there is no automatic dissociative response.

Most people who experienced traumatic events, whether through what we call cumulative “small t events” over an extended period of time, or “big T events", which often is one extremely traumatic episode, develop symptoms. Examples of cumulative small “t” can include a very dismissive or neglectful parent or a childhood of poverty. Big “T’ events can be catastrophes, sexual or physical abuse or bullying. In some cases, there is both which is what we call very complex trauma. Trauma therapy will help us decipher what your response to your trauma was and we work together over time, to help you deal with your feelings about what happened. Defenses of the feelings resulting from trauma, help you survive in the moment so those defenses are adaptive. But those defenses often persist and can keep you stuck.

The emphasis on “together” in PTSD or trauma counseling is important. Many experienced their traumas and the aftermath alone. Any therapy, as well as complex trauma therapy, is a means to an end. The goal is that you can safely experience and deal with, (not just talk about, see the ISTDP page), your feelings in the therapeutic relationship. When this happens without a trauma response of defenses, you can also deal with the full extent of your feelings outside of trauma therapy.

Common Questions About Trauma Therapy

This is a common question and concern. My answer to that is “not necessarily and it depends”. Every trauma case is unique and so are you. People’s responses to trauma vary significantly and I cannot know if it is necessary to go back over the actual trauma together. I definitely never insist on it. One major component of trauma or PTSD therapy, or any therapy, is that you should have complete control. We can evaluate what happens currently in your life and work through your feelings about that. But it often leads back to the origin of that response so sometimes the actual traumatic event comes up organically. Regardless, together we keep close track of your physiological and emotional responses such that you never feel overwhelmed in therapy. I never end a session if you do not feel comfortable or safe with yourself. People often say they want to just forget about the negative aspects of their past and “get over it” already. But have you really gotten over it if you are re-enacting consequences of your past? Trauma therapy can really help you fully get over your past.
Whatever the reason you clicked on this page, no of course there is no requirement that everyone who experiences trauma must go through trauma counseling. As I mentioned above, there are so many different responses to trauma and I make no assumptions about what yours was. Yet, many who initially come in for therapy for a different reason sometimes discover that in fact, these symptoms originated following trauma.
While length of treatment varies from individual to individual, a couple of intake sessions should give us an idea. Most issues addressed in therapy depend on some level of individual issues at the beginning of therapy which is why it is difficult to give an exact timeframe. But stress counseling should not take more than a few months, given our mutual investment in our defined goal and treatment plan. What you do outside of sessions is of course paramount.
There is so much research on PTSD treatment and complex trauma therapy. I practice ISTDP which incorporates aspects of many modalities of empirically proven treatment methods. There is never a guarantee that any therapy will work but we have a lot of evidence that it does. Even if it doesn’t completely eliminate symptoms, most of the time people experience improvement. We should have a timeframe in mind and together we will develop a protocol or a framework to assist us. This can be modified over time as necessary of course.
I have helped thousands of people better manage their stress levels and participate more fully in other areas of their lives. These include areas which have often suffered, like relationships for example. I have helped people feel more in control in the areas where they experience the most stress. It is all about how you manage yourself and your life.
When we meet together you will get a feel for how I work and decide if this is a good fit for you. I am very active in therapy and work collaboratively with you. I have over 30000 hours of therapy behind me, and I have also lived through many life phases which I know inevitably brings us stress.
You are in charge of determining this over time. I have helped thousands of people work through the consequences of traumatic events. I have extensive training in trauma therapy and have done my own work. Yet, over time in therapy, you decide if you think the trauma therapy is working for you. You should have relief of your symptoms over time. Again, it is paramount that you are always in control over your treatment. You are not alone and there is hope and help.