Healing from Childhood Trauma: A Journey Toward Healing
Childhood is often seen as a time of innocence and joy, but for many, it can come with overwhelming challenges that leave emotional scars. Whether you’ve faced neglect, emotional, sexual, or physical abuse, or lived through challenging circumstances (e.g., moving, bullying, etc.), childhood trauma can have a lasting impact on how you feel, think, and relate to the world around you.
If you find yourself struggling with the long-term effects of childhood trauma, you’re not alone—and healing is possible.
How Childhood Trauma Affects You Today
The experiences we go through as children shape our views of ourselves, others, and the world. When we go through trauma, especially as children, it can leave us feeling disconnected, fearful, or mistrustful, even as adults. You may feel like you have to wear a mask around others, struggle with relationships, or experience a deep sense of self-doubt. Perhaps you find yourself reacting to situations in ways that feel out of your control, or you carry an overwhelming sense of guilt or shame.
These responses are normal. When trauma occurs at a young age, our brains and bodies adapt to survive. These survival mechanisms often follow us into adulthood and can create feelings of hopelessness, powerlessness, and frustration.
Signs of Unresolved Childhood Trauma
It can be difficult to know if childhood trauma is still impacting you. Oftentimes, we think we didn’t have it that bad, or should be able to resolve the feelings and thoughts alone. Your experiences do matter and you don’t have to face them alone.
Here are some common signs that childhood trauma might still be affecting you:
Difficulty forming and maintaining relationships – Trust and vulnerability may feel unsafe, leading to anxiety, fear, or avoidance in relationships.
Low self-worth – You may carry a constant inner critic (“ugh, why do I always do that, what’s wrong with me?”) or feelings of "not being good enough." You struggle to trust yourself.
Anxiety or hypervigilance – Feeling on edge or like something bad might happen, especially when things seem fine. You scan every room you walk into to gauge how people are feeling and to determine who might be trustworthy (enough).
Emotional numbing – Struggling to connect with your feelings, shutting down or avoiding your emotions. You worry you’ll never be able to get out of the hard feelings if you actually felt them.
Persistent guilt or shame – Feeling like everything is your fault or that you're inherently "bad."
Avoidance of memories or triggers – Going out of your way to avoid reminders of the past or feelings that are too painful to confront.
If any of these resonate with you, it’s important to know that these are common responses to trauma—and these responses have kept you safe for so long.
Why Therapy for Childhood Trauma is Important
It’s easy to believe that you should be able to "just get over" what happened in the past. But trauma isn’t something you simply move on from. It gets stored in your body and mind, often surfacing in ways you don’t expect—through emotions, behaviors, and patterns that seem out of your control. Your body may also hold pain without any medical explanation.
Trauma therapy offers a safe and supportive space to unpack these experiences, understand how they’ve shaped you, and start the healing process. Trauma-informed therapy can help you:
Process painful memories in a way that feels safe.
Understand your reactions and find healthier ways to cope with triggers & emotions.
Reconnect with your emotions and learn to trust yourself again.
Improve relationships by addressing attachment wounds and building healthier connections.
Develop self-compassion and challenge the inner critic that may have formed as a result of your trauma.
Learn more about trauma therapy here.
How Therapy Can Help You Heal
In trauma therapy, my primary focus is on creating a safe space where you feel supported, understood, and accepted. We will focus on building a solid and trustworthy therapeutic relationship.
Therapies such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) or Internal Family Systems (IFS) can be particularly effective for childhood trauma. These methods help you process traumatic memories in a way that feels manageable, allowing you to release the pain stored in your body and mind.
We’ll also explore ways to strengthen your emotional capacity, manage anxiety and depression, and improve your overall well-being. Healing from childhood trauma is not a quick process, but with the right support, it is possible.
Taking the First Step Toward Healing
If you’ve been feeling stuck or weighed down by the effects of childhood trauma, trauma therapy can help you understand yourself on a deeper level, reconnect with yourself, and begin to heal.
You deserve to live a life free from the shadows of your past. If you’re ready to start this journey toward healing, I’m here to walk alongside you.
Ready to Begin?
If this resonates with you and you're ready to start healing from childhood trauma, I invite you to schedule a free consultation. Together, we can create a space that meets your needs and helps you take those first steps toward a more fulfilling, peaceful life.
Schedule a free consultation here!
Not sure if we would be a good fit? You can learn more about me here:)
