Trauma

Trauma can continue to affect us long after an event has ended. 

You may find yourself constantly on edge, struggling to trust others, feeling emotionally overwhelmed, disconnected or numb. Perhaps you experience anxiety, shame, self-criticism, intrusive memories, difficulties in relationships, or a persistent sense that you are never quite safe. 

Sometimes trauma is linked to a single event. At other times, it develops through repeated experiences over months or years, leaving us carrying the impact long after the original circumstances have passed. 

Many people describe feeling as though they are surviving rather than truly living. 

Therapy offers a space to begin making sense of what happened, what you are left carrying, and how you might move forward.

I offer a free 20-minute initial consultation so we can discuss what is bringing you to therapy and whether working together feels the right fit.

There are many effective approaches to working with trauma. Treatments such as EMDR and trauma-focused CBT have helped many people and are often available through  NHS Talking Therapies. These approaches are typically structured and time-limited, often focusing on reducing the distress associated with traumatic memories and symptoms. 

Alongside these approaches, many people find it helpful to have a therapeutic space in which they can make sense of the wider impact trauma has had on their lives. Trauma can affect far more than our memories of what happened. It can shape our relationships, our sense of self, our ability to trust, our confidence, our emotional wellbeing and our capacity to feel safe in the world. 

As a Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapist, I offer a space where we can explore these wider impacts together. Not simply focusing on the traumatic experience itself, but on how it may still be shaping your life today and what is needed to help you move forward. 

I draw on attachment theory, relational psychotherapy, psychodynamic thinking, nervous system-informed approaches and contemporary trauma research. This allows me to integrate different ways of working according to your individual needs, experiences and goals. 

The past matters, not because we want to remain there, but because experiences that have never been fully understood or processed can continue to shape how we live and relate in the present.

Modern understandings of trauma recognise that its effects are often felt throughout the whole person. 

Trauma can affect our nervous system, our sense of safety, our relationships, our beliefs about ourselves and our ability to remain present in everyday life. You may find yourself stuck in patterns of hypervigilance, people-pleasing, avoidance, emotional overwhelm, shutdown or self-protection. These responses often developed for understandable reasons. They may once have helped you survive difficult circumstances. 

Part of our work together may involve understanding these patterns with compassion and helping your mind and body recognise when you are safe enough in the present.

I do not believe trauma work is about repeatedly revisiting painful experiences or forcing disclosure before you are ready. 

Therapy can provide a steady, supportive relationship within which difficult experiences can be explored, processed and integrated at a pace that feels manageable. 

My role is not to push you into difficult material before you are ready, but to help provide an anchor as we navigate experiences that may have felt overwhelming, confusing or isolating. Together, we work carefully and collaboratively, paying attention not only to what happened, but also to your capacity to process it safely in the present. 

The goal is not to erase the past. We cannot change what happened, even when we desperately wish we could. 

The goal is to help the past have less power over how you experience your life in the present. 

Over time, many people find that they become more able to do more than simply survive, and more able to engage with the present, their relationships and the future they want for themselves.

Whether you are struggling with the impact of childhood experiences, difficult relationships, abuse, neglect, loss, betrayal, medical trauma, accidents or other overwhelming life events, therapy can provide a space to explore what is happening and what needs to change. 

Together, we can work towards helping you feel safer, more connected, more self-understanding and freer to live a life that is no longer organised around surviving the past.

Trauma is an area of particular professional interest for me. I am passionate about supporting people not only to understand the impact of trauma, but to build lives that are no longer defined by it. 

Alongside my Master’s training in Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy, I have undertaken additional professional training in trauma, attachment, nervous system regulation and trauma-informed practice. 

Our understanding of trauma continues to evolve. I am committed to keeping my knowledge and practice up to date through ongoing professional development and by engaging with respected practitioners, researchers and contemporary developments in the field. 

If you’re wondering whether therapy could help, I offer a free initial consultation call. It’s an opportunity for us to talk about what is bringing you to therapy, answer any questions you may have, and get a sense of whether working together feels like the right fit.