Across the street, a car door slams. Your heart races, you brace for impact, the old fear is back.
01 / TRAUMA THERAPY
Trauma Therapy in Iowa City
One overwhelming event, or years of stress, harm, or neglect, can leave your body reacting as if the danger is still waiting there, like it never left. Trauma therapy can help your mind and body learn that the danger has passed. We work at a pace that is safe, secure, and trauma-informed.
02 / What it can look likeWhen the past keeps showing up today
Your body may remember what happened, even on an ordinary day. You may have nightmares, or memories that come back when you do not want them. A sound, a smell or a tone of voice can make you feel as if the harm is happening all over again.
You may avoid the places and faces that bring the memories back. You may stay so busy that the memories never get a quiet moment to surface. You may feel numb, lose interest in hobbies you used to enjoy, or carry guilt and shame about what happened.
Your body may stay on guard. Sleep can be hard to come by, a loud noise can make you jump, and anger can flare fast.
Nightmares, jumpiness and poor sleep are common after a frightening event, and they often ease within a few weeks. If yours have lasted longer, or keep getting in the way of your work, your sleep or your time with the people you love, therapy can help.
Source: VA National Center for PTSD
03 / What trauma therapy isCare shaped around your safety and your say
My practice is trauma-informed. The term means I plan every part of our work with trauma in mind, from the first call on. I assume trauma may be part of your story, and I work to make sure nothing in our sessions repeats the harm.
In practice, I explain each step, and why we are taking it, before we start. You tell me what feels safe and what does not, and your treatment plan follows your answer. We set your goals together, and you choose what we talk about and how fast we go.
I also ask who supports you outside our sessions, like friends, family or a group of other trauma survivors. If that support is missing, we work on building it together. The ways you learned to cope helped you survive, and we put them to work.
Trauma therapy, such as EMDR, is the treatment. Being trauma-informed is how I run each session around it.
Source: SAMHSA
04 / How I Work with itFour approaches
First, you learn practical skills to calm your body and stay in the present, so strong feelings can become easier to handle. We build those skills before we turn to any memory of the harm.
EMDR works on specific memories that still carry a charge, such as the one that keeps coming back. We turn to EMDR work once the groundwork is in place.
DBT skills work gives you ways to stay steady when your body reacts before you can think. These skills can help on the nights sleep will not come, and in the moments a startle turns into panic.
Ego-State Therapy is for the moments you feel detached from your body or your surroundings, which is called dissociation.
For the patterns you built early to get through childhood, which still shape how you connect with the people closest to you.
05 / Two kinds of traumaOne terrifying event, or years of pain
Some trauma comes from one event, such as an accident, a serious injury or violence. This can be referred to as shock trauma, or capital T trauma in some pop culture spaces.
Childhood/developmental trauma builds up over years. It can come from a home where your caregivers were not there for you emotionally, or where you never knew what mood they would be in, leading you to always be on the lookout, molding your behavior or identity around their moods.
I work with both kinds. If the harm went on for years, you can read more about complex PTSD. If you sometimes cannot remember stretches of your day, or feel far away from your body, you can read more about dissociation.
06 / Your first sessionWhat the first few weeks look like
We start with a free 15-minute consultation, so you can ask questions and see whether we fit therapeutically.
In our first sessions, we talk about what brought you in and what you hope to change or work on. We also look at what helps you feel safe, empowered and more connected to the world and people around you.
Before we work on any memories via EMDR, you learn ways to regulate and calm your body and come back to the room you are in safely, which you can use in session and at home.
We can always pause or slow down at any point.
07 / The logisticsWhat it costs and how long it takes
I do not bill insurance, so you and I decide how your care goes. No insurance company sets a limit on the sessions you get.
You can still ask your insurer to pay you back. I will give you a superbill, which is an itemized receipt you send to them yourself.
You can also ask for a Good Faith Estimate before we start, and the No Surprises Act gives you the right to one. It lists what your care is likely to cost.
How long therapy takes is different for every client. One clear goal may take a handful of sessions, and patterns you have carried since childhood can take longer. I will give you my thoughts after the first few sessions, rather than a firm number on day one.
Free
Free Consultation
A relaxed, 15-minute talk about what you need and whether we fit. By phone, by video, or in person.
$185
Therapy Sessions
Weekly 53-minute sessions shaped around your needs, in Iowa City or by telehealth in Iowa and North Carolina.
Free DownloadThe Grounding Guide
A one page set of grounding tools you can use the next time your body runs ahead of you.
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08 / QuestionsQuestions about trauma therapy
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Only when you decide to, and only as much as you choose to share. At the start, we focus on helping you feel at ease in the room.
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Yes. I see adults in person in Iowa City, and by video anywhere in Iowa and North Carolina.
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We save time at the end of each session to help you catch your breath before you leave. You also take home tools for the days between sessions. If you are ever in crisis, call or text 988.
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You can begin without one. We will work out together what is going on and what will help.
09 / Reach outA fifteen-minute call, and no obligation afterwards
Tell me what has been going on, and what you hope therapy with me can change. If I am not the right fit, I will tell you early and help you find a clinician who is.