What Happened to You Doesn’t Have Be in Charge of Your Life.
Sometimes what happened is over, but parts of you don't know you've moved forward into the future because they need validation and compassionate care.
Trauma doesn’t always look the way we expect it to or how you see it in the media.
Sometimes there is a specific experience you can point to and say, “That changed me.”
But sometimes the impact of trauma can be harder to recognize because everyone's experience is so different or our culture tries to convince you what happened to you wasn't harmful.
Trauma can be something that everyone can point to as life or safety threatening OR it can be:
• Growing up in a home where your needs weren’t noticed
• Losing someone you love
• Being betrayed or abandoned
• Living through illness
• Being criticized, controlled, or manipulated
• Being made to question your own reality
• Having to be the strong one for far too long
And sometimes you look at your life and think, “Nothing that bad happened to me. Why am I struggling so much?”
You don’t have to prove that what happened to you was “bad enough” to deserve help.
Trauma Isn’t Just About What Happened
Trauma can also be about what your mind and body had to do to survive what happened.
Maybe you learned to stay quiet.
• Maybe you learned to anticipate other people’s moods before you even noticed your own.
• Maybe you overthink everything.
• Maybe you shut down during conflict.
• Maybe you struggle to trust people.
• Maybe you feel responsible for everyone around you.
• Maybe you disconnect from your body.
• Maybe you have a hard time knowing what you actually want.
These responses may have made a great deal of sense at one point in your life.
The problem is that sometimes our protective strategies keep working long after the danger has passed and repeat patterns that we no longer want to keep reliving.
That’s where trauma therapy can help.
We Don’t Have to Start With the Worst Thing That Ever Happened to You
One of the biggest misconceptions about trauma therapy is that you’ll immediately have to tell me every painful detail of your life.
You won’t.
Before we ever work directly with difficult memories, I want to understand you.
I want to know YOU and what makes you the unique person that you are.
I want to get to know you by asking questions like:
• What brought you here, and what feels important for me to understand about you?
• What are you hoping might feel different in your life?
• What helps you feel safe, grounded, or more like yourself?
• What tends to leave you feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or shut down?
• Who are the people who have made you feel deeply loved or cared for?
• Are there relationships that have left you feeling hurt, disappointed, or alone?
• Who has believed in you, encouraged you, or cheered you on along the way?
• Have there been times when you felt like you had to carry things on your own?
• What would you like me to understand about the family you came from?
• What was your family culture like, and how has it shaped who you are?
• What parts of your family story, traditions, or ways of being would you like to carry forward?
• And what might you be ready to understand differently—or perhaps leave behind?
We go at a pace that respects your nervous system.
Sometimes that means processing a memory. Sometimes it means learning to recognize what happens in your body when you feel threatened. Sometimes we explore a belief you’ve carried for years:
“I’m not enough.”
“I’m too much.”
“It’s my fault.”
“I can’t trust myself.”
“I’m responsible for everyone.”
“I’m not safe.”
“I don’t matter.”
And sometimes we simply get curious about a pattern in your life and ask:
Where did you learn that you had to do this to survive?
My Approach to Therapy
I don’t believe there is one technique that works for every person.
My approach is integrative, which means we may draw from different methods depending on who you are and what you need.
One of the primary approaches I use is EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), an evidence-based psychotherapy commonly used to treat trauma and other distressing life experiences.
EMDR is different from traditional talk therapy because you don’t have to explain or analyze every detail of an experience for healing to occur.
Using bilateral stimulation—such as eye movements or other forms of alternating stimulation—we work with memories, emotions, physical sensations, and beliefs that may still feel unresolved.
The goal isn’t to erase what happened.
You’ll still know it happened.
But the experience may begin to feel more like something that happened to you rather than something your nervous system is continuing to experience as though it is happening now.
EMDR can also help us work with beliefs that became attached to difficult experiences.
Instead of simply trying to convince yourself, “I am safe now,” or “It wasn’t my fault,” we work toward helping that understanding feel more deeply integrated using the evidence based tools that EMDR offers.
I may also incorporate mindfulness, nervous system regulation, somatic awareness, cognitive approaches, grounding, resourcing, reflection, and other experiential or symbolic practices.
But the technique is never more important than the person sitting in front of me.
We’ll pay attention to what works for you.
I would love to talk to you about where I can meet you to start our therapy journey together.
I don’t believe there is one technique that works for every person.
My approach is integrative, which means we may draw from different methods depending on who you are and what you need.
One of the primary approaches I use is EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), an evidence-based psychotherapy commonly used to treat trauma and other distressing life experiences.
EMDR is different from traditional talk therapy because you don’t have to explain or analyze every detail of an experience for healing to occur.
Using bilateral stimulation—such as eye movements or other forms of alternating stimulation—we work with memories, emotions, physical sensations, and beliefs that may still feel unresolved.
The goal isn’t to erase what happened.
You’ll still know it happened.
But the experience may begin to feel more like something that happened to you rather than something your nervous system is continuing to experience as though it is happening now.
EMDR can also help us work with beliefs that became attached to difficult experiences.
Instead of simply trying to convince yourself, “I am safe now,” or “It wasn’t my fault,” we work toward helping that understanding feel more deeply integrated using the evidence based tools that EMDR offers.
I may also incorporate mindfulness, nervous system regulation, somatic awareness, cognitive approaches, grounding, resourcing, reflection, and other experiential or symbolic practices.
But the technique is never more important than the person sitting in front of me.
We’ll pay attention to what works for you.
I would love to talk to you about where I can meet you to start our therapy journey together.
Sometimes 60 Minutes Doesn’t Feel Like Enough
Traditional weekly therapy works well for many people, and I do offer one-hour therapy sessions, but because sometimes you just need more space...
I also offer therapy intensives and retreats.
An intensive or retreat gives us a longer block of uninterrupted time to focus on a particular issue, memory, belief, relationship pattern, or area where you feel stuck.
Instead of reaching something important and realizing our session is almost over, we have more room to prepare, explore, process, pause, be creative and integrate.
You don’t have to be in crisis to choose an intensive.
You may simply know there is something you’re ready to give more focused attention to.
Trauma Therapy Isn’t About Becoming Someone Else.
I don’t see trauma therapy as fixing what is “wrong” with you. A lot of what we call symptoms began as adaptations.
Your mind and body found ways to protect you.
We can appreciate why those strategies developed while also asking whether you still need them in the same way today.
Over time, the work becomes less about fighting yourself and more about understanding yourself.
You may begin to recognize your patterns sooner and start to:
• Trust yourself more.
• Feel safer setting boundaries.
• Stay more connected to yourself in relationships.
• Make choices based on what you actually want rather than what you’re afraid might happen.
• Experience more freedom to be who you are now—not only who you had to become to survive what happened then.
• You don’t need the perfect explanation for why you’re struggling.
• You don’t need to know whether what happened “counts” as trauma.
• You don’t need to arrive knowing exactly what you want to work on.
• You can simply start with: “Something isn’t working anymore.”
• That’s enough.
• We’ll get curious about the rest together.
If something here feels familiar, you’re welcome to reach out.
You don’t have to know exactly what you need or where to begin. We can start with a conversation about what’s happening in your life and what you hope might feel different.
Therapy Retreats:
Sometimes you need more than an hour. Sometimes you need time to step away.
Weekly therapy can be exactly what you need. And there may also be times when you want more space—space away from your normal routine, space to hear yourself think, and space to focus on something you've been carrying without immediately having to rush back to work, make dinner, answer emails, or take care of everyone else.
A therapy retreat creates intentional time for deeper therapeutic work, reflection, rest, and reconnection with yourself.
There are times when weekly therapy is exactly what you need.
And there are other times when you need space.
Space away from your normal routine. Space to hear yourself think. Space to focus on something you've been carrying without immediately having to rush back to work, pick someone up, make dinner, answer emails, or take care of everyone else.
Therapy retreats offer an opportunity to intentionally step away from everyday life and create time for deeper therapeutic work, reflection, rest, and reconnection with yourself.
What Is a Therapy Retreat?
A therapy retreat combines therapeutic work with the spaciousness of stepping outside your usual routine.
Depending on the retreat, our time together may include:
- Therapeutic exploration and conversation
- EMDR and trauma-focused work when appropriate
- Mindfulness and grounding practices
- Nervous system regulation
- Journaling and reflection
- Somatic or experiential exercises
- Guided meditation
- Creative or meaning-making practices
- Time for rest and integration
Not every retreat looks the same.
Some retreats may center around trauma or grief. Others may focus on relationships, identity, life transitions, reconnecting with yourself, or exploring the question:
Who am I now?
The retreat is structured enough to give our time intention while leaving room for what emerges.
Create Your Own Personal Retreat.
You don't necessarily have to attend a scheduled group retreat to have a retreat experience.
One option is to create your own private retreat.
You can rent an Airbnb, cabin, hotel room, or other place where you feel comfortable staying and build intentional time away around your therapeutic work.
You choose and pay for your own accommodations, which means you can decide what kind of environment feels restorative to you and what fits your budget.
Maybe that's a quiet cabin surrounded by trees.
Maybe it's a comfortable hotel where you don't have to cook or take care of anything.
Maybe it's simply somewhere peaceful enough that you can step outside your normal responsibilities for a night or two.
We can schedule an extended therapy session or intensive during your time away, and the rest of your retreat can include whatever helps you integrate and reconnect with yourself—sleeping, walking, reading, journaling, being outside, creating, eating a meal alone, exploring somewhere new, or simply doing absolutely nothing for a while.
There doesn't have to be a packed itinerary.
In fact, I would encourage you not to have one.
The space around the therapy can be just as meaningful as the therapy itself.
Why Combine a Retreat With Therapy? Sometimes we do meaningful work in therapy and then immediately return to everything demanding our attention.
A retreat creates a little breathing room around that work.
One of the benefits of a therapy retreat is having time to process what comes up instead of immediately returning to work, family responsibilities, or your normal routine. That extra space can help you:
• Stay with an important insight instead of having to put it aside when the session ends.
• Write down thoughts, memories, or realizations while they are still fresh.
• Take a walk, rest, eat, or spend some quiet time regulating your nervous system after deeper therapeutic work.
• Notice emotions or patterns that become clearer once you have some time alone.
• Think through boundaries, decisions, or changes you may want to make when you return home.
• Practice listening to what you need without immediately shifting your attention to someone else.
• Give your mind and body time to settle before continuing with additional therapeutic work.
• Leave with a clearer understanding of what you want to carry forward—and what you may be ready to leave behind.
A Retreat Isn’t an Escape From Your Life
It’s an opportunity to step outside of your everyday life long enough to see it a little differently.
Away from some of the responsibilities, expectations, routines, and noise, you may finally have room to hear yourself.
You might begin asking:
• What am I carrying that I no longer want to carry?
• What am I ready to put down?
• What do I actually want?
• What needs my attention right now?
• What would it feel like to trust myself?
• Who am I becoming?
The goal isn’t to return home as a completely different person.
It’s to return with a little more understanding of yourself and clarity about what you want to do next.
Your Retreat Can Be Simple
You don’t need a luxury resort or an elaborate wellness weekend.
Your retreat might simply include:
• A comfortable place you rent for a night or weekend
• A longer therapy or EMDR intensive with me
• A journal
• Comfortable clothes
• Food you enjoy
• A walk somewhere beautiful
• A book you’ve been meaning to read
• A nap without feeling guilty about it
• Quiet
• And permission to stop taking care of everything else for a little while
Sometimes creating space is the beginning of hearing yourself again.
Group Retreats
I also periodically offer retreats and workshops centered around particular themes. These experiences may include:
• Therapeutic education and practical tools
• Guided reflection and mindfulness
• Journaling and experiential exercises
• Meaningful conversation
• Opportunities to connect with others navigating similar seasons of life
You will never be required to share your deepest experiences with a group. You decide what you share and what you keep for yourself.
Interested in Creating Your Own Therapy Retreat?
You don’t have to wait until you’re overwhelmed or falling apart to give yourself time and space.
If the idea of stepping away for focused therapeutic work feels meaningful to you, reach out and tell me a little about what you’re hoping for.
We can talk about whether an individual therapy retreat, therapy intensive, or one of my upcoming group retreats feels like the right place to begin.
My intention is to create a thoughtful, supportive environment where you can learn, reflect, connect, and perhaps discover that you aren’t the only person trying to figure some of this out.
ALSO: I am developing a piece to my business that is reflecting upon Astrology and Tarot! Did you know that both can be helpful to understand your personality?
Tarot & Astrology Integration
For clients who are interested in symbolism, archetypes, or spirituality, tarot and astrology can be incorporated as reflective tools within an intensive. I do not use either to predict the future or tell you what you should do. Instead, we use the images, themes, and archetypal language as another way to explore patterns, meaning, identity, and the questions you may be carrying. If you are interested in adding this to any session, please let me know. This is of course, completely optional.
The focus remains on your own insight, discernment, and self-understanding.
Options:
One-Hour Therapy Session — $150
Ongoing individual therapy for trauma, grief, relationships, life transitions, and the places where you may be feeling stuck.
3-Hour Therapy Intensive — $600
A focused three-hour session that gives us more time to explore and work with a specific issue, experience, belief, pattern, or therapeutic goal.
6-Hour Therapy Intensive — $1,200
A more immersive day of therapeutic work with time built in for breaks, reflection, grounding, and integration.
Two-Day Private Therapy Retreat — $2,400
Two days with up to six hours of therapeutic time each day, creating space for deeper exploration while allowing time between sessions for rest, reflection, journaling, walking, or simply being quiet.
Group Retreats:
3-hour small group retreat - $125–$150/person
6-hour day retreat $225–$300/person
2-day group retreat, no lodging$400–$500/person
2-day group retreat with substantial extras $500–$650/person
For the retreat experience, you choose and reserve your own accommodations—a cabin, Airbnb, hotel, or another place that feels comfortable and restorative to you and attend our sessions at my office. Lodging, meals, transportation, and other personal expenses are separate from the therapy retreat fee.
Your retreat can be intentionally simple: a comfortable place to stay, meaningful therapeutic work, good food, rest, nature, a journal, and enough space to hear yourself again.
Not sure how much time you need?
You don’t have to figure that out before reaching out. Tell me a little about what you’re hoping to work on, and we can talk about which format might make the most sense for you.
