Trauma Processing Therapy in San Marino

When the Past Won’t Stay in the Past

Trauma can leave lasting imprints — in the body, in the nervous system, and in daily life. Flashbacks, anxiety, nightmares, or constant tension can make it feel as though the past is never fully behind you. Even when the event is over, your system may stay stuck in “survival mode.”

While talk therapy can be an important part of recovery, sometimes trauma requires specialized approaches that go beyond conversation — techniques designed to help the body and mind feel safe again, and to process experiences that words alone can’t resolve.

How Trauma Therapy Can Help

Trauma therapy isn’t one-size-fits-all. Depending on your needs, it can support healing in different ways:

• Mind–body processing (Brainspotting) to release trauma stored in the nervous system when words aren’t enough.

• Compassionate parts work (Internal Family Systems) to connect with, understand, and heal the parts of yourself carrying pain or protection.

• Structured skills and coping tools (TF-CBT) to reduce symptoms and build resilience — especially helpful for children, teens, and families.

• Catalysts for change (Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy, when appropriate) to open new pathways for processing trauma when other approaches haven’t brought enough relief.

No matter the path, the goal is the same: to reduce symptoms, restore safety in your body and mind, and reconnect with a sense of peace and confidence in your life.

My Approach

Trauma affects people in different ways, and recovery often requires going beyond standard talk therapy. Depending on your needs, we may use body-based, relational, structured, or even medicine-assisted approaches to support healing.

• Brainspotting: An emerging, neuroscience-informed therapy that helps identify, process, and release trauma stored deep in the brain and body. Brainspotting is especially useful when words aren’t enough. By accessing subcortical regions of the brain where trauma responses are stored, it creates openings for deep emotional and physiological healing.

• Internal Family Systems (IFS): A parts-based model of therapy that helps people work with “parts” of themselves that carry trauma, fear, or protective roles. IFS allows clients to approach painful experiences with compassion and curiosity, and is effective across ages.

• Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT): A structured, skills-based protocol primarily developed for children and teens. TF-CBT combines cognitive-behavioral strategies with gradual exposure and coping skills. While most often used with younger clients, many of its strategies can be adapted for adults who want a more structured, step-by-step framework for trauma recovery.

• Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP): For clients whose trauma has not responded to traditional approaches, KAP may be an option. When prescribed and monitored by a medical provider, ketamine can create openings for processing trauma in new ways. In therapy, we focus on preparation, support during sessions, and integration to ensure lasting change. To learn more about my work with KAP, please click here.

Together, we’ll tailor the approach to your needs — whether that means a neuroscience-informed, body-based process, a compassionate exploration of inner parts, a structured skills model, or a medicine-assisted catalyst for deeper processing.

Ready for the Next Step?

If you’re interested in working with me — or simply want to learn more about how therapy could help — I invite you to schedule a free 30-minute consultation.