Do you struggle trusting others or, when you do, are you frequently let down? Are you often focusing on others' needs rather than your own? Feel as if your childhood wasn't "that bad" even though you're still reminded of pain from when you were a kid? Growing up in a family with addiction, violence, abuse, and emotional neglect where we do not feel safe, secure, and loved, we adapt to our environment as best as we can. What happens inside of us when the people we love do not love us back? What do we do with that pain? When our primary attachment relationships do not support a supportive and nourishing emotional connection, we can see the impact that follows us well into our adult lives. Jennifer Freyd’s research on trauma describes this as “betrayal blindness”, the ability to know and not know at the same time. When we fear a relationship we depend upon might be lost, we may minimize, explain away or simply fail to put together what is right in front of us. We know and don’t know at the same time. 

It can be tricky to figure all of this out because relational trauma frequently happens very subtly, over a long period of time. Recovery means understanding past experiences while developing the skills to live in the present. Learn how to develop emotional security and reconnect with shut-down parts of yourself. Relational trauma repair therapy may be helpful for those who’ve experienced peer bullying, patterns of unhealthy romantic relationships, professional setbacks (“not a team player”), or family conflict that results in low contact or estrangement. If you identify as a highly sensitive person, or AuDHD, or an introverted creative, you might find this type of therapy helpful, as you navigate through a world where you feel it necessary to hide your most authentic self. You may benefit from relational trauma if you’ve been diagnosed by a clinician as having Complex PTSD, or chronic stress.

Together, we can explore how your early coping strategies continue to shape your current relationships and collaborate on how to get you where you want to be; to live a healthier life, filled with deep connections to others, explore paths to fulfillment, and develop the tools to understand yourself in an increasingly complex and disorienting world.  Discovering, accepting, and loving, who you are, after all this time, could open up a whole new world for you. You deserve the chance to find out. Reach out today to see if we click.