When people ask  how I work with trauma, I go back to my roots and framework learning about the neurobiology of trauma that I learned from beloved mentors (Candace Saunders, Lyn Sanford) at Simmons College. It was their exposure to the idea that the brain’s neurobiology changes based on these intense, overwhelming, and traumatic experiences that motivated me to wait, and wait, and wait for just the right opportunity for my first job out of graduate school. I was very lucky to find a position at the Acton (metrowest Boston) location of The Trauma Center and I had amazing supervisors and teachers there.

All of us were working with clients based on our trauma compass, which was established by Bessel van der Kolk and many other talented psychologists, social workers at the Trauma Center in Brookline, MA. I feel so lucky I had the chance to study and work alongside them as a new clinician those first years out of school.

The following are two links to core articles that explain how I work with trauma. I hope this helps to explain a bit more about my approach.

Although these articles are about children, keep in mind that when children go through traumatic, overwhelming experiences, those child parts are carried through every age and milestone. Therefore, the descriptions in these articles still hold true for my treatment with teens and adults. I hope you find these articles illuminating.

Once I share my information on the neurobiology of trauma and how the brain has changed, I have had many clients say to me: “I thought there was something really wrong with me” and “I thought I was crazy” and “I thought it was my fault I felt this way.” They come to know that they were surviving as best they could, with the few emotional resources at hand.

Through our work, I hope we can find new ways to handle the habitual survival responses so that you can focus on the present, rather than be in overwhelming anxiety and fear about the future, or stuck in the terror of the past (credit goes to Bessel, here).

I believe clients come to know and grow their resilience when they are empowered with information, to engage the wisdom within.

You can find these and many other articles at the following website:

The Trauma Center at JRI – Articles