Trauma Therapy in Columbia SC

Trauma affects not just memories, but how you experience your body, your interpersonal relationships, and your internal sense of safety in the world. Whether carrying the weight of complex trauma rooted in childhood, navigating adolescence in the wake of overwhelming events, or piloting through the aftermath of experiences that have never fully settled — healing is possible. While it is not always about us directly, the idea of "what happened to you" matters deeply in how we approach that healing together.

I feel it is important to recognize that trauma impacts each person differently and requires a pace and process that feels right for you. Sometimes healing works as if tacking a sailboat in a stiff wind; rather than forcing a direct course into the buffeting headwind, we find our way forward through a series of purposeful course headings and changes until we are able to near our destination.

Working with adults and teens (ages 14+) in Columbia, SC, I use evidence-based approaches tailored to your specific experience. This includes attachment-based therapy to address relationship patterns and build secure connections, somatic techniques to help process trauma held in the body and regulate your nervous system, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) to work through difficult emotions and develop self-compassion, and narrative therapy to reshape your story and separate your identity from what happened to you.

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Complex Trauma

Complex trauma often develops from prolonged or repeated experiences of abuse, neglect, or other overwhelming situations — particularly during childhood, or in relationships and circumstances where self-removal or resistance was simply not available. Unlike single-incident trauma, complex trauma can affect how you relate to others, regulate your emotions, and perceive yourself and the world. It can shape identity in ways that feel permanent but are not.

I use attachment-based and somatic approaches to help clients process complex trauma at a pace that feels genuinely safe. This means paying attention not just to your thoughts and memories, but to how trauma lives in your body and affects your nervous system. Through our work together we develop tools to navigate overwhelming feelings, build healthier relationship patterns, and reconnect with a sense of safety and stability that feels like you as you want to be.

Trauma therapy and healing in Columbia SC

Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse

Childhood abuse, whether physical, emotional, sexual, or through profound neglect, can leave lasting impacts that continue into adulthood. Many survivors struggle with deep feelings of shame, difficulty trusting others, relationship challenges, or a persistent sense that something is fundamentally wrong with them. It isn't. You also do not have to carry these burdens alone.

Through narrative therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), we can work together to reshape the story of your past and reconnect it with your emotional needs in the present; and with your dreams for the future. Narrative approaches help you separate your identity from what happened to you, because what happened to you is not who you are. EFT can help you feel that you deserve and are worthy of solidly attached connections with others. The goal is not just a sense of relief but a genuine reclaiming of your sense of worth, agency, and the life you deserve to be living.

Teen Trauma Therapy

Teenagers face unique challenges when processing trauma, whether from family conflict, abuse, peer or familial bullying, loss, or other overwhelming experiences. Trauma can complicate adolescent identity development, peer relationships, and emotional regulation.

I integrate attachment-based and somatic techniques tailored specifically for adolescents aged 14 and up. Drawing on my experience working with teens in school and foster care settings (and being a parent of adult children myself), I understand the particular pressures young people face. Our work would typically focus on building coping skills, processing difficult experiences, and strengthening your teen's ability to navigate relationships and stress. Creating a respectful, collaborative environment where teens feel heard and empowered in their own healing process in something I feel is of critical importance with people growing toward adulthood.