Complex PTSD
Complex PTSD Therapy in Los Angeles
Healing from Complex Trauma & Reclaiming Your Life
If you are living with Complex PTSD (C-PTSD), life can feel like a constant battle with invisible echoes from the past. You might struggle with deep-seated insecurity, intense emotional storms, rocky relationships, or a harsh inner critic that never sleeps.
You do not have to carry this weight alone. In my practice, I work with individuals, couples, and adolescents to untangle the layers of complex trauma, build lasting resilience, and foster deep, meaningful connections.
My Therapeutic Approach
Complex trauma requires a multi-dimensional approach. Because C-PTSD affects your mind, body, and relationships, I integrate different therapeutic modalities to provide holistic, tailored care:
Attachment Theory: We explore how your earliest relationships shape how you view yourself and connect with others today, helping you build a secure foundation.
Psychodynamic Therapy: We look beneath the surface to understand deep-rooted patterns, unconscious defense mechanisms, and the origin of your relational habits.
Attachment-Focused EMDR (AF-EMDR): A gentle, somatic-based trauma therapy designed to process painful memories and bodily distress without needing to talk through every detail.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): We develop practical, present-day coping tools to challenge negative thought loops and manage daily anxiety or emotional overwhelm.
Who I Work With
👤 Individual Therapy
Focus: Deep trauma processing and rewriting negative self-narratives.
Best for: Adults navigating childhood abuse, emotional neglect, chronic stress, or identity struggles.
👥 Couples Counseling
Focus: Breaking painful communication cycles, healing relational trauma, and building secure attachment.
Best for: Couples where one or both partners have C-PTSD, causing chronic misunderstandings, trust issues, or emotional distance.
🧑🤝🧑 Adolescent Therapy
Focus: Emotional regulation, building self-esteem, and navigating identity development in a safe space.
Best for: Teens (ages 13-19) struggling with early trauma, family disruptions, anxiety, or intense mood swings.
What to Expect in Our Work Together
Healing is not linear, but you can expect a collaborative, compassionate, and paced environment.
[ Phase 1: Safety & Stabilization ] ➡️ [ Phase 2: Trauma Processing ] ➡️ [ Phase 3: Integration & Growth ] Learning tools to manage daily symptoms. Gently healing root causes via AF- EMDR. Building a vibrant, connected future.
Take the Next Step Toward Healing
You've survived the past—now it’s time to live your life. Let's see if we are a good fit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have questions? Take a look at the FAQ or reach out anytime.
-
Because complex trauma develops over years, healing takes time. While CBT tools can offer quick relief for daily symptoms, deeper psychodynamic and EMDR work typically requires a longer-term commitment to create lasting, structural change.
-
Attachment-Focused EMDR is specifically adapted for relational and developmental trauma. It places a heavier emphasis on a safe therapeutic relationship, resource tapping, and processing early childhood deficits or neglect.
-
Standard PTSD usually develops after a single, shocking event, such as a car accident, a natural disaster, or a singular assault.
Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) stems from chronic, repeated trauma that occurs over months or years, often where escape is difficult or impossible. Examples include childhood emotional neglect, long-term domestic abuse, or ongoing bullying.
The Key Difference: C-PTSD includes the core symptoms of PTSD (like flashbacks and hypervigilance) but also heavily impacts a person's identity, emotional regulation, and ability to form secure relationships.
-
C-PTSD symptoms typically fall into a few primary categories:
Emotional Dysregulation: Experiencing intense rage, deep depression, or sudden emotional numbing.
Negative Self-Concept: Living with chronic feelings of guilt, shame, worthlessness, or a harsh inner critic.
Relational Challenges: Struggling to trust others, feeling constantly isolated, or repeating unhealthy relationship dynamics.
Somatic Complaints: Chronic physical pain, fatigue, digestive issues, or muscle tension without a clear medical cause.
Emotional Flashbacks: Suddenly feeling the exact terror, despair, or helplessness of the past, even if no visual memory is triggered.
-
True healing is completely possible.
The Goal: Therapy isn't just about managing your symptoms or "getting over it." By integrating AF-EMDR and Psychodynamic therapy, we can actually re-wire how your brain and body hold onto past trauma. Over time, the intensity of flashbacks fades, and a genuine sense of safety and self-worth takes its place.
-
Because C-PTSD impacts your mind, body, and your relationships, no single therapy tool can fix it all.
We use Psychodynamic & Attachment theories to heal relationship wounds and understand why you feel the way you do.
We use AF-EMDR to process the painful trauma stuck in your body and nervous system.
We use CBT to give you immediate, practical mental tools to handle daily anxiety and negative thought loops.