What is being trauma informed : Being trauma informed means that I recognize the widespread impact of trauma. Trauma informed also prioritizes creating safety first in a supportive and understanding environment that affects someone’s mind and body. The mind body connection is vastly different than if you're not trauma informed. 

What is somatic experiencing and what does a session look like? Somatic Experiencing by Dr. Peter Levine is a body centered approach that focuses on releasing stored stress and trauma through gentle awareness and sensation tracking. This helps people reconnect with their bodies and process trauma in a safe way. This is a space that allows the person to set the pace where they feel comfortable so they can feel seen, heard, and understood, allowing protective parts to feel safe enough to let down defenses getting to the root of the pain. 

Internal Family Systems: How does it work? IFS helps people understand and heal different parts of themselves, such as inner critics or protectors. The goal is to foster self-compassion, understand how these parts interact, ways in which they keep you safe, and bring harmony to the internal system. We do this by understanding the part and working with it by allowing the part to take up space. Over time the goal is to love yourself, every part. 

How do I know if Trauma informed work is right for me? If you’ve experienced trauma and want a supportive, empathic, experience that prioritizes your safety above all else, as well as your comfort in your body, then trauma informed work is a path worth trying. I have found that in doing this work that it comes down to the connection between me and you. The ability to trust someone to hear your story and work through it with you is an important process to find the right fit for you. Once you’ve emailed me we can set up a time to chat for 20 minutes to make sure we are the right connection. 

How does my approach to abuse differ from others? My approach to abuse can differ from traditional psychotherapy since I use trauma informed approaches such as somatic experiencing and IFS parts work. I have my doctorate in clinical psychology and studied domestic violence, sexual abuse, intimate partner sexual violence and trauma. Using the education I acquired over the years and my personal experience of childhood trauma and DV from my ex husband I combine a unique approach in how my deep understanding of what abuse actually looks like and the process of healing with it.  

Will I have to leave my partner if I work with you and he’s abusive? The answer is no. I do not have expectations about where you need to be, who you are, and what you want to do with your life. I am here as a woman with deep education in understanding narcissistic abusers and their tactiques. I help women learn to text their partner or ex partners in a way that is calmer for them and less interaction without punishment from the abuser. I look to understand each person in how they got into an abusive relationship and how to understand their trauma pain. 

Do you work with women who have chronic pain or illness from abuse: As a woman that has had rheumatoid arthritis since I was 26 years old I know chronic pain. Together we will figure out emotional triggers, self regulating techniques, and explore ways to live with chronic illness if one must. When you live with chronic pain or illness, it takes over your entire life and mental health. Usually a woman stops sharing her pain in fear everyone is tired of hearing it. Having a space where you can share about your pain and then find ways to accept it can help emotional states of hopelessness. 

How does trauma create addiction? According to Gabor Mate, trauma creates addiction, period. You will not find an addict who was not seriously traumatized. We can see this from the Vietnam war where soldiers after being exposed to such violence and physical pain, many soldiers became addicted to morphine and then heroin. As an addict, i understand what it takes to live as an addict, what it takes to detox off of substances, and what it looks like to be sober long term. Addiction can be an intense experience of dark night of the soul where identity is stripped, one almost would say dies to oneself and is reborn. Making a taper plan when the time comes and if the time comes is helpful and important to the process of detoxing. I feel addicts are the revolutionaries, visionaries, creatives, and truth seekers and tellers. Many addicts worry that they will no longer be able to express themselves creatively, however, this isn’t true. Creativity lived inside of you before drugs and it lives on inside of you after, it about finding a new process, medium, or mindself as you have become a new person. 

What if I’m still using and addicted am I able to receive support? I know there are many therapists, healers, practitioners, ect that do not take addicts when they are using. To me this doesn’t make sense. A person struggling with addiction needs to heal some of their trauma first before they can get sober! Also not everyone will choose to be fully sober. This is not about the substance to me and if you’re using it or not. This is about a safe place one can explore their fear, pain, memories, and goals while being in a safe, warm, loving space where there is no judgement or agenda. 

What is conscious parenting? 

Conscious parenting involves learning your own trauma triggers and patterns you  have that get displaced onto a child due to the parents lack of experiencing parenting in a way that was different from their own childhood. If one does not know there are other ways of parenting and interacting with our children then how can one change? Conscious parenting is a door to walk through in order to learn to feel calmer inside as a parent and to allow your child to live, not as a mini you but as their own sovereign, autonomous being. The parent learns to focus on empathy for the child instead of feeling attacked. There is a focus on self-awareness as the parent, stopping yourself from reacting in a way that doesn't feel aligned with you or your child. Conscious parenting focuses on a deep connection that is fostered through not reacting out of habit and trauma triggers but instead in a thoughtful response. This allows the parent to see, hear, and understand their child’s perspective and experience in order to grow together. 

What is your experience using conscious parenting? 

Conscious Parenting changed my daughter and my life once I understood how to change reactions I was taught from my family during times of stress. My daughter is resistant to every suggestion I have called Pathological Demand Resistance (PDA) which is usually associate with autism or adhd. However, a child does not have to be either of these in order to struggle with PDA. Using conscious parenting I was able to not become reactive to her reactivity, recognize I don't have to fight all the time or ever, it taught me to slow down with my parenting and work on my past emotional trauma triggers from childhood so I’m not passing down the trauma I obtain during my life. 

How does it work with working with my child? 

Conscious parenting needs one parent to participate in sessions. I come to your environment in order to experience what your routine looks like, how conflicts are created and carried out and how the family moves through problems. Sessions are usually two hours.