Trauma Therapy for When the Past Still Feels Present
Compassionate trauma therapy for teens and adults healing from PTSD, complex PTSD, and childhood trauma so they can finally feel like themselves again. Based in San Diego and offering virtual therapy throughout California.
Do you ever wonder why you react the way you do?
It doesn’t take much to bring you right back there. A certain smell, sound, touch, place, or tone of voice can make your heart race before you even understand why. You freeze when someone gets too close, startle easily at sudden noises, or find yourself constantly scanning your surroundings without realizing you’re doing it.
You know logically that what happened is over. You may have even spent years trying to put it behind you. But sometimes your mind and body still react as though the danger is happening right now.
Trauma can leave you feeling stuck between knowing you’re safe and actually feeling safe.
Signs You May Benefit From Trauma Therapy
Memories of what happened come back when you don’t want them to. You replay certain moments in your mind, have nightmares that disrupt your sleep, or experience flashes of memories that feel so real they pull you right back into what happened.
You may have learned to avoid anything that could bring those feelings back. Certain places. Certain people. Conversations. Physical touch. Intimacy. Situations where you don’t feel completely in control.
Or maybe your body always feels prepared for something to go wrong. You’re easily startled, constantly aware of your surroundings, tense even when you’re supposed to be relaxing, or unable to fully let your guard down.
Trauma can also leave you feeling:
On edge, anxious, or easily overwhelmed
Irritable or quick to react
Disconnected, numb, or emotionally shut down
Easily startled by sounds, movements, or unexpected touch
Unable to sleep or struggling with nightmares
Distracted or unable to concentrate
Unsafe in situations you logically know aren’t dangerous
Exhausted from constantly being on alert
Living this way can be exhausting, especially when part of you knows the danger has passed but another part of you still feels like you need to protect yourself.
Trauma Can Come From Many Different Experiences
Sometimes you know exactly where your trauma comes from. Other times, you’ve spent years minimizing what happened, pushing it away, or telling yourself you should be over it by now, which is a normal part of healing. Trauma can come from experiences that left you frightened, violated, powerless, or unsure of when you would feel safe again. It can be one devastating event or something you endured repeatedly over time.
Traumatic experiences can include:
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Physical abuse or violence
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Sexual abuse, assault, or unwanted sexual experiences
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Emotional or verbal abuse
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Witnessing violence or abuse
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Bullying, threats, rejection, or chronic humiliation
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The sudden or traumatic loss of someone you love
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Experiencing or witnessing a frightening or life-threatening event
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Living through ongoing violence, instability, or an environment where you did not feel safe
What happened may be in the past, but that doesn’t mean the impact automatically disappeared when the experience ended. You don’t have to minimize what you went through, convince yourself you should be over it, or compare your experience to someone else’s for it to be worthy of healing.
Types of Trauma We Treat In Therapy
Trauma doesn’t look the same for everyone. Some people can point to one specific moment when everything changed. For others, the trauma happened repeatedly or over a longer period of time, also known as complex trauma or C-PTSD. Understanding what you experienced and how it continues to affect you helps us determine what healing can look like for you.
Relationship Trauma and Emotional Wounds
Some of the most painful trauma comes not from a single event, but from patterns of harm within relationships. Emotional abuse, emotional neglect, abandonment, and physical abuse can leave deep marks, even when they don’t leave visible ones. You may have grown up feeling unseen, unloved, or like you had to make yourself small to stay safe. These experiences shape how you see yourself and how you move through the world, often in ways you’re still uncovering.
Single-Event Trauma
Single-event trauma can develop after one frightening, dangerous, or overwhelming experience, such as an assault, serious accident, sudden loss, act of violence, or other traumatic event.
Even after the experience is over, reminders of it can bring back the fear and emotions you felt at the time. You may experience intrusive memories, nightmares, avoidance, hypervigilance, or feel as though your body is constantly preparing for something bad to happen again.
Complex or Ongoing Trauma
Complex trauma can develop when traumatic experiences happen repeatedly or continue over a longer period of time. This can include ongoing physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, repeated exposure to violence, or living in an environment where you never knew when you might be hurt, threatened, or unsafe.
When your mind and body have had to stay in survival mode for a long time, it can become difficult to turn that response off even after the danger has passed.
Whether your trauma comes from one experience or many, you deserve support that takes into account not only what happened to you, but how it is affecting you today.
How We Support Your Healing
There is no single path through trauma. When you work with Inward Healing Therapy, your therapist takes time to truly understand your story, what you’ve been through, how it has shaped you, and what you want your life to look like on the other side. From there, we build a plan that fits you.
We meet you where you are emotionally. Some clients come in ready to dig into the past. Others need to build a sense of safety first before going deeper. Both are completely valid, and your therapist will follow your lead.
Over time, we work to get to the root of what’s driving your patterns, reactions, and pain. We also build emotional regulation skills that work for your life, practical tools for managing what comes up between sessions and beyond.
Meet Our Therapists
Our therapists are here to support you with a compassionate and personalised approach. Each professional brings their own experience and areas of focus, so you can choose someone who feels like the right fit for you.
Below are the therapists available for this service. You can explore their profiles and book a consultation with the one you resonate with most.
Founder & Therapist
Availability: Available for Initial Consultation
What Healing Can Look Like
We want to be honest: healing takes real work and it isn’t always a straight line. But the changes that come from trauma therapy are real and they last. Over time, clients often share that they experience:
Feeling safer and more at ease in your own body
Being able to encounter reminders of the past without feeling like you’re right back there
Feeling less on edge or constantly prepared for something to go wrong
Experiencing fewer intrusive memories, nightmares, or overwhelming trauma responses
Feeling more present instead of disconnected, numb, or stuck in survival mode
Being able to go places, have conversations, or experience situations you once avoided because they felt too triggering
Sleeping more peacefully and allowing yourself to actually relax
Feeling like your life is no longer being controlled by what happened to you
You don’t have to stay stuck in how things feel right now. The version of you that feels safe, grounded, and free is closer than you think.
Why Choose Inward Healing for Trauma Therapy?
Choosing a trauma therapist is personal. Here’s what we want you to know:
Our therapists are trained in evidence-based and trauma-focused approaches
We specialize in trauma and attachment wounds
Every plan is built around you, not a template
You'll always be met with warmth and zero judgment
We see clients virtually across California
Initial consultations are free, no pressure, no commitment
Ready to Take the First Step?
We know reaching out can feel hard. Maybe you’re not sure what you’ve been through is bad enough. Maybe trauma therapy hasn’t worked before. Maybe you’re just tired and not sure you have the energy for something new.
All of that makes sense. None of it means healing isn’t possible for you.
A free 20-minute consultation is a no-pressure way to ask questions, share a little of what’s going on, and see if we’re the right fit. No obligation. No need to have it all figured out first.
Whenever you’re ready, we offer virtual support from anywhere in California.
Phone: (408) 516-0363
Email: hello@inwardhealingtherapy.com
If you have any further questions, feel free to check out my FAQ page for more information.
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