Trauma Therapy In Chandler & Across AZ & HI

Discover a life beyond survival mode.

You’ve tried to move on.

But no amount of logic stops the sleepless nights, sudden overwhelm, or moments where everything goes numb.

You might not always have words for what’s happening, just a sense that something isn’t right, and a feeling that you can’t talk about it with anyone around you. Some days your thoughts won’t slow down, circling what happened, wondering why you feel this way, or fixating on what could go wrong next. Other days, you feel flat, disconnected, or oddly distant from your own life.

Sometimes, you find yourself snapping at people you care about over seemingly small things, then experiencing waves of shame afterward because you feel out of control of your own reactions. And you often question why it’s such a struggle to deal with daily life, beating yourself up for not being able to move forward when everyone else seems to be handling things just fine.

Maybe you’ve been struggling with…

Thoughts that get intrusive or dark, including moments when you wonder if it would be easier not to be here, and then feel scared or ashamed for even thinking that.
Sudden surges of anger or irritability that feel out of proportion, followed by guilt and confusion about where they came from.
Replaying a specific event or period of your life and questioning what you should have done differently to prevent it.
Avoiding certain places, conversations, or situations because they remind you of something you’d rather not think about.
Difficulty sleeping, eating, or taking care of yourself in basic ways, even when you want to.
Having a hard time with intimacy, closeness, or taking up space because being present in your body and visible feels unsafe or overwhelming.
Telling yourself that what you went through “wasn’t that bad,” or that you “should be past this,” especially when others have had it worse.
Questioning your use of substances to help manage anxiety, distress and pressure in social situations and noticing patterns that are difficult to name

You’re not broken. You were never broken.

And I’m not here to fix you, but to walk with you on the path forward.

how we'll work together

Helping you turn the intensity down so life can open back up.

From the beginning, I’m focused on creating a sense of choice and collaboration in our work together.

You’ll often hear me use invitational language, like: “Would it be okay if…?” “We can try this, or not.” “You can tell me as much or as little as you want.” Choice is often the first thing taken away in traumatic experiences, and restoring it is an important part of healing. We move at your pace, and I pay close attention to what your body and nervous system are telling us about what feels manageable.

Early in this process, I spend time talking about the biology of trauma and the resiliency of survival, which helps make sense of what happens in the body when we’ve experienced too much or too little for too long, or too much too fast. We also unpack how cultural identity and gender expectations can show up in how we experience chronic stress and trauma over time.

We talk about how the nervous system can become “hijacked,” and why reactions like anxiety, anger, numbness, or shutdown are common responses—not personal failures. You’ll learn simple, practical skills you can use outside of session to help bring your body back toward an okay zone, so you’re not relying on willpower alone.

I’m very intentional about not moving into deeper trauma processing until you have what I call a “life jacket” outside of session.

When it feels appropriate, we may bring in somatic (body-based) approaches like the Trauma Resiliency Model or Brainspotting, which works with how the body stores both explicit and implicit trauma memory and can help process experiences without needing to relieve them in detail while restoring balance to your nervous system. Somatic approaches understand that the mind and body are connected, and many cultures of the global majority have practices that support this way of being. We may also use Internal Family Systems, and narrative therapy techniques to help integrate your experiences to create more harmony, compassion and power as the story is rewired in your nervous system. Again, these things are always optional and you can always say no.

Throughout this work, I’m following your nervous system and checking in often about what’s helping and what’s not.

Healing here is about creating more capacity—more room to feel, respond, and choose—rather than trying to erase what’s happened. Over time, our goal is that your reactions feel less intense, your body feels easier to live in, and you trust yourself more with how you move through the world.

Specialized culturally-responsive, somatic trauma therapy can help you…

Feel less hijacked by your reactions, with more moments where you can pause, notice what’s happening, and choose how you want to respond.
Learn how to consult your body and trust your gut when making decisions, instead of feeling trapped by confusion or analysis paralysis.
Feel more compassion for yourself and stop beating yourself up for responses that once helped you survive, and may continue to help you even now.
Foster a growing sense of control over your emotions, choices, and relationships, even when life feels stressful.
Recognize the resiliency in your story—what helped you get through—and build on that as you move forward.
Handle situations that once felt overwhelming with more confidence, a broader perspective, and greater sense of agency.
Release what your body has been holding for years to create space for more balance, harmony and increase in well-being
Connect to body-based practices that resonate with your lived experience and cultural and ancestral ways of healing that can support your well-being as we explore what works best for you

You can feel safer in your body & in charge of your life.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kinds of trauma do you have experience working with?

I work with a wide range of trauma experiences, including single-incident trauma, complex and developmental trauma, intergenerational trauma, and chronic stress that has built up over time.

This includes experiences such as childhood survivors of sexual, physical or emotional abuse and neglect, sexual assault, military sexual trauma, car accidents, witnessing family violence, medical trauma, traumatic grief, racism, sexism, or experiences that were never named “trauma” but still show up in the body.

Sometimes, even something we experienced many years ago may show back up in our life due to a new life event. The anxiety you feel around certain situations isn’t random—it’s your body carrying the memory from your past.

You don’t need a specific label or event for your experience to be valid or worth exploring here. Individual perception of the situation(s) is a key part of how we define trauma in this space, and often this can look different from one person to another.

What methods do you use for trauma therapy?

My trauma work integrates body-based, experiential and cognitive-based approaches to follow the cues of your body responses (sensations) as part of the compass while interweaving a new narrative (insert neuroplasticity, our brain can change!) that comes from you. When trauma happens, our whole body is involved in the experience and every thought and feeling has a sensation that lives in the body. Our autonomic nervous system becomes greatly impacted in traumatic experiences, and this can have a deep effect on cognitive, emotional, behavioral, physical, relational and spiritual aspects of our lives.

For these reasons, I practice the Trauma Resiliency Model, which is a set of nine skills. The first six are wellness skills to help bring your nervous system into a greater sense of balance that you can practice on your own outside of session and the last three skills offer opportunities to reprocess trauma with my support. Brainspotting, which supports deeper processing by working with how the brain and body store memory and experiences; and parts work to help you understand different aspects of yourself with more compassion. We always move at a pace that feels manageable for you, with your choices guiding how and when different methods are used. I also offer the integration of trauma-informed yoga alongside anything we are doing to support your well-being, create your own practice and to support your own capacity in and out of session. Because I integrate body-based methods into the trauma recovery work we do together, I welcome any questions about these approaches during your consultation so you can assess if this is a good fit for you.

I have intrusive thoughts or thoughts about not wanting to be here—is it okay to talk about that?

Absolutely, and that’s not uncommon. Many people I work with experience intrusive thoughts, intense shame, or periods where thoughts of not wanting to exist feel overwhelming. We’ll approach this with compassion, without judgment or panic, and by focusing first on support, safety, and helping you feel more grounded before exploring anything deeper. The bottom line is, you don’t have to hide these thoughts to be welcome here.

What if I don’t remember everything that happened?

That’s very common, and it’s not a problem. Trauma isn’t stored as a clear linear narrative for many people because of how our neurobiology holds trauma memory, and memory gaps don’t mean you’re doing therapy “wrong.” We aim to honor what the body has been doing and continues to do to help you survive. Many individuals have had significant shifts in their lives and freedom from chronic trauma symptoms without knowing the details of what happened to them. We work with what’s present—sensations, emotions, patterns, and responses—and trust that your body remembers what happened and healing is possible to live a more harmonious life.

How will I know if trauma therapy is working?

Many people notice changes like feeling more present in their body, fewer intense reactions, improved sleep, or a greater sense of choice in how they respond to stress. Progress often shows up gradually and in everyday moments, rather than as one big breakthrough. Although at times when we work with the body, a completion of a survival response may help to support a long held pattern that no longer serves a purpose in a few sessions. Each person is different and we can discuss what your goals are and create a plan that supports you and adjust our approach as needed.