Trauma-Informed Work
A space for presence, choice, and understanding.
Not every experience needs to be explained. Not every moment needs to be changed.
My trauma-informed approach recognizes each person’s experiences, needs, and readiness.
Sometimes the most meaningful thing we can offer is presence - the willingness to sit, listen, and witness without judgment.
You are more than what has happened to you
People carry different experiences.
Some are navigating addiction or recovery. Some are trying to make sense of what happens when a person they love struggles with addiction.
Others carry the effects of trauma, anxiety, difficult relationships, loss, or experiences that have changed how safe they feel in the world.
Not everyone arrives knowing exactly what they need.
And I don’t believe they should have to.
My approach begins with listening, understanding, and respecting the person in front of me.
I meet you where you are.
Not where someone else thinks you should be.
What does trauma-informed mean to me?
Trauma-informed work recognizes that our experiences can influence how we feel, respond, connect with others, and move through the world.
It means paying attention to safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and the importance of not recreating the very experiences that caused someone harm.
I do not believe in forcing someone to tell a story they are not ready to tell.
I don’t believe every emotion needs to be analyzed or every moment turned into a lesson.
Sometimes there is important work to do.
Sometimes we need practical tools and a different way of looking at a situation.
And sometimes the most helpful thing is to have someone sit beside us, listen, and understand.
Different people. Different pathways.
One of the reasons I have continued learning different approaches throughout my career is that I have seen how differently people respond.
There isn’t one method that works for everyone.
For some people, the structure and community of 12-step recovery and step work are meaningful.
Others connect with the practical, self-directed tools of SMART Recovery.
Some benefit from exploring beliefs, patterns, relationships, emotional regulation, or the ways past experiences continue to influence the present.
My work is informed by different approaches, but I don’t begin by deciding which one you must follow.
I begin by getting to know you.
Together, we can begin by exploring what you’re experiencing, what kind of support you’re looking for, and which approaches may be appropriate for you.
Support for people affected by addiction
Addiction does not affect only the individual who is using substances.
It can touch partners, parents, children, siblings, and entire families.
Living alongside someone’s addiction may bring fear, anger, confusion, exhaustion, guilt, or the feeling that your life has become organized around another person’s choices.
You deserve support, too.
Whether you’re personally navigating addiction and recovery or you’re affected by the addiction of someone close to you, your experience matters.
We can explore boundaries, communication, patterns, emotional responses, and ways of finding steadier ground in your own life.
Your well-being does not have to wait until someone else changes.
Trauma, anxiety, and difficult life experiences
You do not have to identify with addiction to seek support here.
People may be navigating anxiety, painful experiences, relationship difficulties, major transitions, or the lasting effects of situations they have been through.
We can begin with whatever feels most important to you.
You do not have to share everything at once.
There is room for uncertainty, for reflection, for learning new tools, and for simply being heard.
My professional philosophy
Throughout my career I have trained in many approaches, but I have never believed that collecting techniques is the same as understanding a person.
I value professional knowledge, clinical experience, and lived experience.
What matters to me is using that knowledge thoughtfully, with respect for your story and your readiness.
I don’t believe a person should be defined by the hardest chapter of their life.
I believe in the courage it takes to begin again.
Questions people may have
Do I need to have an addiction to work with you?
No. This pathway is not limited to addiction. The concerns people bring may include trauma, anxiety, the effects of a loved one’s addiction, or other difficult experiences.
Do you only use a 12-step approach?
No. I recognize the value of different recovery pathways, including 12-step approaches and SMART Recovery. The goal is to understand which approaches may be meaningful and appropriate for you.
Will I have to talk about my trauma?
You will not be pressured to disclose personal experiences before you’re ready. Safety, choice, and pacing are important parts of a trauma-informed approach.
What if I don’t know where to begin?
That’s okay.
You don’t have to arrive with the right words or a complete explanation.
We can begin with where you are.
Sometimes we move. Sometimes we breathe. Sometimes we simply sit and witness.
There is no single map for being human.