Trauma Therapy Online — Utah and Washington

What is trauma therapy?

Trauma therapy is therapy that recognizes the body as a primary site of healing, not just the mind. It's grounded in the understanding that trauma isn't fundamentally a story problem — it's a nervous system problem. The body remembers what the mind sometimes can't, and lasting healing has to involve both.

Modern trauma therapy draws on decades of research from people like Bessel van der Kolk, Peter Levine, Dan Siegel, and Stephen Porges. We now understand that trauma changes how the brain processes threat, how the body holds activation, and how relationships feel safe or unsafe. Effective trauma treatment addresses all of these.

I work primarily with EMDR and brainspotting — both evidence-based, body-aware approaches — within a broader frame that's attachment-informed and parts-aware. That means we pay attention to how early relationships shaped your nervous system, and we work gently with the protective parts of you that may have developed strategies to manage pain by avoiding it.

Who is it for?

• PTSD from accidents, assaults, medical events, or single-incident trauma
• Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) from prolonged or repeated trauma
• Developmental and childhood trauma
• Relational trauma — abusive or chronically invalidating relationships
• Birth trauma and pregnancy loss
• Trauma from religious, cultural, or institutional contexts
• Adults who suspect their anxiety, depression, or chronic pain has trauma underneath
• Clients who've done years of talk therapy and feel like they understand themselves but still don't feel different

What does a session look like?

We meet via secure video. The first phase of our work is assessment and stabilization — understanding your history, building grounding skills, and making sure your nervous system has what it needs before we approach the harder material. This isn't a delay; it's the work.

Once we move into reprocessing, sessions use either EMDR or brainspotting depending on what fits best. Some clients use both. You'll never be pushed faster than you're ready to go, and we always leave time at the end of each session to ground and integrate.

Trauma therapy is rarely linear. Some sessions are intense; some are quiet. Some weeks feel like progress; some feel like setbacks. Both are part of how the system reorganizes.

The modalities I use for trauma

I'll match the approach to the work — sometimes one of these is clearly the right fit, sometimes we use two together.

• EMDR: structured bilateral processing for stuck memories. Most extensively researched trauma therapy in the world.
• Brainspotting: sustained eye-position focus that lets the body process what language can't reach.
• IFS / DMNS: parts work — the framework that says you're not one self, you're a system of parts, and the protective ones developed strategies for good reasons. We work with them, not against them.

My training

• Trauma specialty: Trauma training with Bessel van der Kolk. Specializing in trauma since 2014.
• EMDR: EMDRIA-certified Phase 1 and Phase 2, plus advanced attachment training. Practicing EMDR since 2014.
• Brainspotting: Certified Phase 1 and Phase 2 with Melanie Young and Cherie Lindberg, beginning 2023.
• IFS / DMNS: IFS and DMNS training through the DMNS Institute (2014 and 2020).

I believe trauma work is, above all, relational. The therapist isn't the technician applying a protocol — the therapist is the second nervous system in the room, helping yours remember what regulated feels like. Whatever modality we use, that's the foundation.

Frequently asked questions

I don't know if what happened to me counts as 'trauma.'

If something is still affecting how you sleep, how you connect, how you feel in your own body — it's worth working on, regardless of what label fits. Trauma isn't measured by the size of the event. It's measured by the impact on your nervous system.

Can therapy actually heal trauma, or just help me cope with it?

Trauma can be processed, not just managed. EMDR and brainspotting in particular target the underlying neurological storage of traumatic memories. Many clients reach a point where the memory still exists but no longer carries the same emotional weight or somatic charge.

What's the difference between PTSD and complex trauma?

PTSD typically refers to the response to a single overwhelming event or a contained set of events. Complex trauma (C-PTSD) refers to the impact of repeated, ongoing trauma — often relational and often beginning in childhood. Treatment looks different for each: complex trauma usually requires more time on stabilization, parts work, and relational repair before reprocessing.

Will I have to talk about everything in detail?

No. Both EMDR and brainspotting can work without you giving a full narrative. You bring what feels accessible, and the body-based work does much of the rest internally. You're always in control of how much you share.

How do I know I'm ready for trauma work?

Readiness is something we assess together. We look at whether you have basic stability in your daily life, whether you have grounding skills, and whether your support system can hold you between sessions. If those pieces aren't in place yet, we build them first — that's real trauma work too.

Is trauma therapy going to make me feel worse before I feel better?

There can be hard sessions and emotionally raw days, especially early on. But "worse before better" is not the goal — it's a sign we may be moving too fast. Good trauma work titrates: small doses, integration time, then more. You should be feeling capacity grow alongside the discomfort.

Can I do trauma therapy if I'm also seeing a psychiatrist or on medication?

Yes. Many clients work with a psychiatrist or prescriber alongside therapy, especially for complex trauma. Medication can stabilize the system enough to do the deeper processing work. I'm happy to coordinate care if you'd like.