Trauma Therapy in Encino, CA

For adults still carrying the weight of what happened, even when no one called it trauma at the time.

In-person in Encino and online therapy across California

A woman reads a book while relaxing on a couch, positioned in front of a window that lets in bright daylight.

Trauma Is Not Always About One Event

Many of my clients have spent years wondering whether what happened was bad enough to be traumatic. Their childhood may have looked stable from the outside, without anything obvious they could point to and call trauma. And yet they learned to stay alert, hide their needs, manage others’ emotions, or become very good at not needing much from anyone.

Trauma is not only about what happened. It is also about how you had to adapt to get through it and stay connected to the people you depended on.

People often dismiss the impact of their experiences because their history does not match what they think trauma is supposed to look like: war, violence, accidents, or obvious abuse. They tell themselves, “Other people had it worse,” “I should be over this,” or “Nothing that bad happened.”

How your experiences affected you is not determined by how they compare with someone else’s. It also matters whether you had support, whether anyone helped you make sense of what was happening, and whether there was room for your own feelings and needs.

When Trauma Doesn’t Look Like Trauma

Trauma can come from abuse, neglect, loss, betrayal, or violence. It can also develop through experiences that are harder to name, such as growing up with caregivers who were unpredictable, emotionally unavailable, highly critical, or unable to respond consistently to your needs.

Things may have looked perfectly fine from the outside while you learned to hide what you felt, ask for very little, or pay close attention to other people’s moods in order to stay connected.

Years later, those experiences may show up as chronic anxiety, depression that is hard to explain, difficulty trusting or depending on other people, people-pleasing, staying highly alert to other people’s moods, or repeatedly finding yourself in relationships where the closeness you want isn’t there.

These patterns often make more sense when we understand the relationships in which they developed. Ways of relating that are difficult to change in adulthood may have begun when you depended on others and had little control.

Relational Trauma Therapy

In my work with relational and complex trauma, I often see the effects of being dismissed, shamed, expected to take care of a caregiver’s emotional needs, or left alone with feelings that were too much to manage on your own. When experiences like these are repeated in important relationships, they can shape what you come to expect from other people and what feels possible to ask for or express.

Relational trauma therapy focuses on how those early experiences may still affect you when you need someone, disagree with them, feel hurt, or become close. We can look at what you came to believe about yourself and other people, and how those beliefs continue to influence your relationships now.

Beginning Trauma Therapy

Trauma therapy can begin with taking seriously experiences you may have spent years minimizing or explaining away. Reactions that seem confusing or frustrating now often make more sense when we understand when they developed and what was happening around you at the time.

Instead of asking only, “Why do I keep doing this?” we can become curious about what you learned in the relationships that shaped you and how those experiences may still influence the way you relate to yourself and others.

In therapy, we can look at both what happened and how those experiences may still be shaping your emotional reactions, relationships, and sense of yourself. Understanding where these patterns came from can create more room to respond differently in the present.

Who This Is For

Trauma therapy may be a good fit if you have spent years trying to make sense of your reactions and relationships but still find yourself struggling in familiar ways.

Many of the adults I work with are thoughtful, capable, and self-aware. They may have read the books, listened to the podcasts, been in therapy before, or learned the language of attachment and trauma. They may understand why certain patterns developed and still find that knowing where they came from does not always lead to change.

Signs You May Be Living With Unresolved Trauma

You might recognize yourself in anxiety that never fully turns off, depression that feels hard to explain, difficulty trusting that good things will last, or a sense that you are waiting for the other shoe to drop.
You may read into someone’s tone of voice, facial expressions, or changes in communication and wonder if something is wrong. You may over-explain, feel responsible for other people’s feelings, or become anxious when someone seems distant or slow to respond.
You may shut down, go numb, minimize your needs, or convince yourself that you are better off not relying on anyone.
You may have difficulty recognizing what you are feeling until it comes out as anger, tears, or a growing sense of resentment.
You may feel ashamed of needing reassurance or of how hard it is to let someone get close.
You may keep up with work, relationships, and responsibilities while privately feeling exhausted by how much effort it takes to hold everything together.

Many clients describe feeling “too sensitive,” “too much,” “not enough,” or somehow different from other people.

How Childhood Trauma Can Affect Relationships and Parenting

Some people come to trauma therapy because they repeatedly find themselves in relationships with emotionally unavailable partners, feel anxious while dating, lose themselves in relationships, or pull away when they start to feel close.

Others come to trauma therapy because becoming a parent has brought their own early experiences into sharper focus. They may react more strongly to their child’s behavior than they expect, feel overwhelmed by their child’s needs, or recognize patterns from their own upbringing that they do not want to repeat.

Working With Trauma in the Present

In trauma therapy, we can explore both the experiences that shaped you and what happens now when certain situations or relationships bring familiar reactions to the surface. Slowing those moments down can help us understand what is happening and work toward responses that fit the life and relationships you have now.

You may already know a great deal about why certain situations affect you the way they do. Therapy gives us a place to pay attention to what happens when those reactions arise and begin
working with them differently in the present.

How I Approach Trauma Therapy

Trauma therapy does not require you to revisit every painful memory in detail. We can begin
with what is affecting you now and pay attention to what happens when certain situations, emotions, or relationships bring familiar reactions to the surface.

When a reaction feels automatic or difficult to understand, we can slow the moment down and become curious about what is happening emotionally, what you are expecting from the other person, and what feels difficult to express or ask for.

A Flexible, Individualized Approach

I draw from attachment-based, somatic, IFS-informed, and EMDR-informed approaches depending on what we are working on together.

Some sessions may focus more on current relationships or situations, while others may involve earlier experiences, emotions, or what you notice physically. We may also spend time identifying boundaries, expressing needs, or understanding a recurring pattern.

Trauma therapy does not have to feel intense or emotionally exhausting every session. We can work at a pace that allows us to pay attention to what matters without overwhelming you.

An Attachment-Based Lens

Because my work is grounded in attachment-based therapy, I pay close attention to what happens in relationships when you feel close, hurt, disappointed, dependent on someone, or uncertain about where you stand.

We may notice what happens in those moments, such as assuming someone will pull away, feeling responsible for keeping the relationship steady, or hesitating to say what you need.

Exploring these responses together can help us understand how earlier experiences may still be influencing the way you relate to others now.

Trauma Therapy Can Start With What Is Affecting You Now

You do not need to have everything figured out before beginning therapy. We can start with what is bringing you in, whether that is anxiety, relationship difficulties, reactions you do not fully
understand, or experiences from the past that continue to affect you.

If you are wondering whether trauma therapy might be a good fit, the questions below address some of the things people often want to know before getting started.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between PTSD and complex trauma?

PTSD is often associated with experiences involving actual or threatened harm, such as an accident, assault, medical emergency, or violence. Complex trauma more often refers to the
effects of repeated or ongoing experiences, particularly when they occur in important
relationships or during childhood.

Someone may experience one or both. In therapy, what matters is not only what happened, but
how those experiences continue to affect your emotions, relationships, and reactions in the present.

Can I have trauma if I don't remember specific events from my childhood?

You do not need to remember every detail of your childhood for therapy to be helpful. We can work with what you do remember, what you experienced in important relationships, and what you notice in your life now. The goal is not to search for hidden memories or assume that something happened because you cannot remember it.

How do I know if what I went through was bad enough to count as trauma?

Many people with high-functioning trauma symptoms spend years minimizing what happened. They may have careers, relationships, and a stable-looking life, while feeling anxious, disconnected, or unable to relax. They are often ashamed they are still affected by something they believe “wasn’t that bad.” Trauma is not defined by whether someone else would find your story severe enough. It is defined by what your nervous system experienced. If you had to keep your needs silent, stay alert, become self-sufficient, or disconnect from parts of yourself to preserve connection or safety, those adaptations matter. You do not need an identifiable trauma story to deserve support.

Is anxiety or depression a sign of underlying trauma?

Anxiety and depression can sometimes be connected to trauma or difficult earlier experiences, but they can have many causes. In therapy, we can look at when these feelings began, what tends to bring them up, and whether there are experiences or relationship patterns that may be contributing to them.

Do you offer online trauma therapy in California?

Yes. I offer online trauma therapy to adults located anywhere in California, as well as in-person therapy at my Encino office. We can discuss which option feels like the better fit for you during your free 30-minute phone consultation.

What is the difference between EMDR and attachment-based trauma therapy?

EMDR is a specific therapeutic approach that can be used to work with traumatic memories and experiences. Attachment-based therapy is a broader way of understanding how early and important relationships can shape the way you relate to yourself and others.

My work is primarily attachment-based, and I draw from EMDR-informed approaches when they are useful for what we are working on. The approach is individualized rather than using the same method with every client.

Will I have to relive the worst moments of my life in therapy?

No. You do not have to describe every painful experience in detail for trauma therapy to be helpful. Sometimes we may talk directly about earlier experiences, while other sessions may focus more on what is happening in your life now, such as anxiety, shutting down, boundaries, or recurring relationship difficulties. We can decide together what feels useful to explore and move at a pace that feels manageable.

You’ve been carrying this long enough. Let’s talk.

Schedule a free 30-minute phone consultation to talk about what is bringing you to therapy and see if we might be a good fit.