Let’s Address The Trauma You’re Finally Ready To Release
You’re aware of your trauma and some of the ways it’s still impacting you.
Some popular methods of talk therapy help us identify our thoughts and feelings, get validation and compassion about what happened to us, make sense of why we’ve adapted the ways we have.
For example…
You know that because of how your caregivers raised you, you’ve got an anxious or avoidant attachment style.
You experienced neglect or other abuse, and that’s part of why you have a hard time regulating your nervous system.
You’ve come to see that your parents struggled with emotional immaturity, and that history makes you tend to people please or caretake.
These insights are helpful and life changing.
BUT…
Intellectual awareness and skills alone aren’t enough to HEAL trauma.
No matter how smart you are, the part of your brain that traditional talk therapy reaches often can’t heal and release trauma.
Stop looping on trauma and move it out of your body.
The methods I use help people:
Move trauma out of the body
Release its grip on relationships, decisions, self‑trust, and freedom
Shift beyond looping on the same stories or feelings over and over
Live in a more regulated nervous system
You are aware of your trauma. Now it’s time to release it.
You can start to form an identity that’s more aligned with how you want to live.
We’ve created adaptive strategies to cope, get through and achieve things in our lives.
Those strategies have become maladaptive. You don’t have to be limited by your trauma forever.
If trauma is showing up in your life in any of these ways, working with me can help you live with more freedom and ease:
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You want a deeper, more trusting relationship with your partner, but when you get into conflict, you find yourself feeling so anxious you can’t calm down. Your conversations loop in a painful way or one of you ends up storming out. After trauma release you can feel more able to slow down, soothe yourself and even co-regulate with your partner so you can stay connected.
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You hit a certain level of closeness with friends and then you tend to pull away or shut down as soon as there’s a sign of difficulty. After trauma release you can stay more open and share your thoughts and feelings in tough moments so you that can build closer friendships.
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You try to set boundaries with your family of origin about how you’re treated, but when they don’t listen, you give up and “go with the flow”, and then feel resentful or even depressed. After trauma release you can hold on to your boundaries with courage, kindness and self-compassion.
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You fear you’d be wasting your time if you pursued the creative pursuit that you love. Really, you’re protecting yourself from feeling rejection or disappointment. After trauma release you can feel more joy and freedom as you create.
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You find yourself numbing out, using substances or staying incredibly busy to avoid painful feelings. Being alone with your thoughts and feelings is super-uncomfortable. After trauma release, you can come to welcome some quiet, undistracted time in your own company.
These experiences are especially difficult and persistent for anyone who lives with an identity that leaves them having to protect themselves.
If you’re queer, trans, POC, a non‑traditional thinker, an immigrant, an adoptee, or part of any marginalized group, your trauma can be amplified by how the world responds to you every day.
When you can’t always be yourself safely, it can dig the trauma in a bit deeper.
We will get to the root of your emotional pain so you can feel more free.
We’ll use one or both of these profoundly effective methods:
Brainspotting
Brainspotting is a cutting edge, body-based technique that uses eye gaze to access and heal trauma and difficult emotions. Specific eye positions allow you to activate healing in the part of the brain where trauma and unresolved feelings are stored. Traditional talk therapy often does not access that part of the brain, even with a very skilled therapist.
If you’ve heard of Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing or EMDR, this is a very similar process. I used to be an EMDR practitioner, and while I loved it, I find Brainspotting even more effective.
In a Brainspotting session, you might talk a lot or you might say very little.
I’ll guide you to identify a brainspot and then process your emotions and body sensations.
This is important because you’re going to heal MUCH more quickly when you access your body’s wisdom.
Good news: Folks who don’t have an easy time tuning into their bodies often find Brainspotting allows them to do this.
After just a few sessions, people experience a sense of release and healing.
Learn more about Brainspotting.
Parts Work
IFS (Internal Family Systems) is a healing approach that recognizes that we all have different parts of ourselves.
Think of it like this: each person has various parts of their personality that need care and attention. Your inner world is like a family, where each member (or part) needs to be heard. Even parts that lead us to do things that are harmful actually have a good intention for us. When we work together, I guide you through a process to connect with these different parts of yourself, listen to what they need, and help them heal.
Some of our parts hold trauma, and IFS allows us to gently and safely help those parts unburden that trauma. At the same time, IFS helps you access your own most peaceful and resourceful energy. (Yes, you do have this kind of energy inside of you, even if you don’t think so. We ALL do.)
While you will likely feel significant progress within a few sessions, deeper healing may take several months.
Even people who find self-compassion hard to come by notice that IFS finally allows them to start liking and even loving themselves.
Video featuring JVN of Queer Eye and IFS founder Dick Schwartz.
Issues helped by Brainspotting and/or Parts Work:
Persistent or stuck feelings of grief or sadness
Needing to heal from a traumatic incident that has you in a lot of distress
Overwhelming conflict or distance in a close relationship
Anxious thoughts and feelings
Being constantly stressed out or shut down
Feeling distressed or confused about parts of your childhood
Feeling stuck in trying to move through a painful feeling or experience
Integrating psychedelic experiences
Needing to work through things that are hard to talk about
Feeling like you don’t like yourself sometimes (even if you also do)
About Annie
I always knew I had trauma healing to do. Like many of us, I heard that the way to deal with emotional struggle was to go to therapy. I spent years (and years!) in therapy trying to heal. Therapy did bring me some significant tools and insights. I was able to manage my pain better and improve my relationships.
While these results were good, I still often felt hypervigilant or shut down. I figured I would live with those things forever.
Then, as a client of Brainspotting and IFS parts work myself, I found deeper relief from childhood trauma and emotional pain. I experienced my body’s ability to activate deep healing.
These tools of healing have been so monumental in my journey that I knew I had to learn more. While studying the specific ways that these methods encourage trauma healing, I experienced a magnetic pull towards the idea of using these methods as a practitioner.
I want that relief for all of us, and I love using these methods!
I’m queer, neurodivergent, white, a parent, and have been with my partner since the turn of the century.
Here are some things that matter to me very much. To say these things “matter” to me is a ridiculous understatement, but I want to at least name them: anti-racism, anti-fascism, gender liberation and body liberation.
I was a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist for 20 years.
I’ve given up my license and no longer work within the medical model. I don’t use mental health diagnoses with my clients.
I’m a certified Brainspotting Practitioner and have training in Internal Family Systems from Internal Family Systems Counselling Association.
How this process works
1: Book A Free 20-Minute Call
We’ll meet over zoom or phone (your choice). I’ll hear a little bit about what you’d like to work on, I’ll tell you about the way I work, and I’ll answer your questions.
2: Decide to work together
Once we both decide we’re a good fit, I’ll send you a questionnaire to fill out and you’ll schedule your first session.
3. Set up your space
You’ll make sure you have privacy, a computer and internet connection for zoom calls.
4. Have your first session
During your first 50-minute session I’ll learn more about you and we’ll set specific goals for your healing.
5. We’ll check in frequently about your progress.
I want to make sure you’re experiencing significant shifts. If you’re not, we’ll talk about adjusting our work or finding you another practitioner.
6. You will graduate and return when you want a tune-up.
When you work with me, my goal is always your graduation, not your dependence on me.
Rates:
$325 per 50-minute session
(Some lower fee spots are available right now with the lowest being $225. Please ask when you book your free call.)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fee to work with you?
The fee for each 50-minute session is $325. There may be a lower fee spot available and the lowest would be $225. Let me know if you need a lower fee spot when you book your free 20-minute call.
Do IFS and Brainspotting really work?
Yes. My clients report feeling less anxious, less distressed by the trauma they experienced, and more regulated in their nervous systems. When I used more traditional talk therapy methods, my clients made progress more slowly. Internal Family Systems is considered an evidence based method for trauma (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. Brainspotting is an emergent treatment, and evidence shows it has strong outcomes especially for deep, trauma-related issues.
How often do I need to have sessions?
Changes (like feeling less anxious and more calm) happen much more quickly when you have the momentum of weekly sessions. I recommend starting with weekly sessions, and then reassessing together if you like. You’ll always be in choice about this.
How long does this take?
We work together on a session by session basis. Through experience, most people report wanting at least 20 sessions.
However, you don’t need to commit to several sessions up front. You can start by scheduling just one session at a time.
Do I have to live in California to work with you?
You can work with me no matter where you live.
Do I have to do regular talk therapy before I work with you?
No, this work is wonderful for folks who have never gone to therapy before. It’s also a great fit for people who feel anxious about getting started in therapy or feel shy about talking a lot.
Can I keep working with my therapist and also work with you?
Absolutely. If you’re working with a therapist you adore, but they don’t offer parts work or Brainspotting, you can work with me while continuing working with your wonderful therapist.
Can I use my health insurance to pay for sessions?
Sessions with me are NOT covered by health insurance because I am not a licensed therapist and do not work within the medical model.
What payment methods can I use?
You can use a debit or credit card. I accept Visa, American Express, Discover or MasterCard.
Free Newsletter
You’ll hear from me 2 times a month about…
Healing your trauma
Therapists and practitioners doing their own healing
Estrangement or being low or no contact with family members
Recovering your attention from the digital monsters
Doing relationships and friendships better
Regulating your nervous system
Stuff I care about, from weight lifting to adoption to aging without ageism to growing food
Announcements about my workshops and other things