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Together, we’ll explore the root causes of your struggles, identify patterns, and develop strategies to overcome the lingering effects of trauma. My approach is centered on creating a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental space where individuals feel empowered to embrace their experiences and reclaim their authentic selves. By fostering self-awareness, resilience, and inner strength, I help individuals reclaim their lives and move toward a future filled with hope, fulfillment, and well-being.
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As a trauma-informed coach (and a survivor), I am dedicated to guiding individuals through the transformative journey of healing and growth. I understand that trauma can leave a profound impact on one’s life, shaping thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. With empathy, compassion, and a deep understanding of trauma’s effects, I empower individuals to navigate their healing process with gentleness and strength.
Returning Client?
Welcome back! I’m so glad you’ve decided to continue your journey of healing and growth with me. I know that revisiting past traumas can be challenging, but I’m here to support you every step of the way. Your courage and resilience are inspiring, and I’m honored by the opportunity to once again be a part of your healing process.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Trauma Informed Life Coach?
A trauma-informed life coach is a professional who supports individuals in overcoming the challenges associated with trauma and developing strategies for personal growth and well-being. They possess a deep understanding of trauma’s impact on an individual’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, and they employ a holistic approach that encompasses physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
Trauma-informed life coaching differs from therapy in several ways. While both professions aim to help individuals heal and grow, life coaches focus on empowering clients to identify their goals, develop strategies, and take action toward achieving their desired outcomes. Therapists, on the other hand, delve into the underlying causes of psychological distress, utilizing specialized techniques to address mental health conditions.
What is Complex Trauma?
Complex Trauma (Or Complex PTSD) is related to PTSD and functions to label the more extreme reactions to the most severe form of traumatic abuse. The traumatic experiences are distinguishable by their severity in levels of violence, over an extended period, and/or by a person with a close relationship, with complex trauma resulting from incestuous abuse being the most impactful and difficult to treat.
It happened years ago, why can't you just get over it?
Trauma experienced during childhood interrupts and alters the child’s brain development. It also alters the functioning of the brain, resulting in problems with perceptions of self and interpersonal functioning, which are not found in PTSD. These changes in brain structure and function take place during the critical period of brain development and are cemented into a person’s subconscious sense of self and the world around them, making them difficult to address. In many cases of mental illness trauma experienced in childhood is a universal contributor. While the brain remains plastic throughout an individual’s lifetime, the ability to change the brain’s function declines drastically after puberty making individuals with a diagnosis of Complex PTSD some of the most difficult to treat.
What are the symptoms of Complex Trauma?
Van der Kolk, a leading researcher in complex trauma categorized the survivors’ symptoms into 7 categories:
- Alterations in Affect Regulation – Extreme states of emotion with no ability to calm themselves.
- Alterations in Consciousness – Flashbacks, memory loss, dissociation (spacing out), emotional numbing.
- Alterations in Self Perception – Self-blame, guilt, self-hatred, a sense of not being human or a part of this world.
- Alterations in Perceptions of the Abuser – Idealized and all-powerful
- Alterations in Interpersonal Relationships – Isolation, distrust, and a search for a rescuer.
- Alterations in Biological Functioning – easily startled, hyperarousal, hypervigilance, physical complaints
- Alterations in Cognitions – no sense of future, hopelessness, lack of purpose.
Many times individuals are misdiagnosed as having chronic depression, somatization disorders, dissociative disorders, or personality disorders, which neglect to acknowledge the true reality of the trauma’s lifelong impact on the individual.
What are the signs someone may have Complex Trauma?
In addition to the symptoms listed above, four defining signs have been identified for Complex Trauma.
- Self-Harm
- Suicide
- Dissociation
- Revictimization