Trauma Therapy
Most people will experience something traumatic at some point. A car accident. The sudden death of someone close. Abuse or neglect. A violent act. Exposure to war or disaster.
But trauma does not only happen in dramatic settings. It can build over years of being humiliated, dismissed, or made to feel unwelcome. It can come from unpredictable caregiving, from growing up somewhere you never quite felt safe, or from a household where no single event stands out, but something felt consistently missing. The impact of an experience is not always determined by how dramatic it appears from the outside. What often matters more is what the experience meant to the person living it, and whether there was any support to make sense of it or repair relationship ruptures afterward.
When Trauma Does Not Resolve on Its Own
Most of the time, people recover from difficult experiences naturally, with time and support from others. That is the most common outcome for traumatic events or episodes. Not every painful experience requires therapy.
For others, something stays. The event passes but the responses do not. Months or years later, there is still a reaction. It may show in ways that can be hard to connect back to the original experience.
Some of what people notice:
If several of these sound familiar, and they have been present for a while, that is worth taking seriously. These are recognizable responses to something that has not fully resolved: a "normal" reaction to an abnormal or painful experience.
How I Approach Trauma Work
I do not choose a treatment approach before I understand what someone is dealing with. The first part of our work together is understanding your history, what you are experiencing now, and what feels manageable to work on. From there, we can decide together how to proceed.
What that looks like in practice varies. A central standard in my trauma work is that people need to have, or build, stability and internal resources before doing processing work. Some come in ready to address something specific. Some do not have a clear memory to point to, only a pattern that keeps repeating.
In this work, there is no fixed timeline. With complex trauma, the work tends to have phases. There are periods of deeper processing, periods of integration, and sometimes pauses when life requires attention elsewhere. It is also OK to step back, stop, and resume the work together later. People I help can return. The door is open.
Approaches I Use
Research supports several effective approaches to trauma treatment. The ones I draw on most often include:
EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is an established treatment for PTSD with substantial research support. It works with the memory and the associated distress rather than requiring a detailed retelling of what happened. EMDR can be useful for intrusive memories, panic, and reactions that stay activated long after the experience itself.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR)
DBR is a newer trauma-focused approach that works slowly and follows physical sensation rather than narrative. It can be particularly helpful for early attachment or pre-verbal experiences, for people who are overwhelmed by their own reactions, and for those who have not found effective change through other approaches. The research is still developing, with promising early results.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is a practical, well-researched approach that addresses how trauma affects thoughts, emotions, and behavior. It can help reduce anxiety, build coping skills, and interrupt patterns that keep distress in place. For some people, CBT is the right primary approach. For others, it works alongside the methods above.
Attachment-Informed and Relational Work
Much of what people bring to trauma therapy, especially when they feel stuck, involves early relationships and what those relationships taught them about safety, trust, and their own worth. That work runs through everything I do, regardless of which specific methods we use. Attachment issues may not be obvious and can be more subtle. Talking together, we can identify foundational issues.
Who I Work With
I work with adults who are choosing therapy for themselves, not because someone else has told them they should. The people who do best in this work tend to be ready to look at something honestly, even when the answers are not immediate.
I am not the right fit for everyone. If you are currently in an acute mental health crisis, need intensive addiction or crisis stabilization services, or are court-ordered to attend therapy, a different setting will serve you better. Also, if you are seeking therapy with a predetermined short-term endpoint regardless of what the work requires, my approach may not be the right fit either.
Getting Started
If some of this sounds like what may be underlying your present difficulties, a conversation with me can be a good place to start. We can talk, without pressure or obligation, about what you are experiencing, and you can see if working together makes sense.
I offer a free phone consultation. You can reach me at 845-202-9774 or through the contact page.
I see clients in person at my Suffern, NY office and via telehealth throughout New York State and Florida.
Curious if this feels like the right fit?
I invite you to start with a consultation. There is no pressure, just a conversation to see whether working together makes sense.