You don’t have to carry this alone.
Whether your trauma was obvious or hidden, its impact is real. At Integrative Path Therapy, I offer trauma therapy that meets you with compassion and helps you heal at a pace that feels safe for you. You deserve care that understands how trauma shapes your body, mind, and relationships—and how healing is possible.
If you’ve ever wondered whether what you went through “counts” as trauma, you’re not alone. Many people carry deep emotional pain for years without realizing that their experiences were traumatic—or that those experiences are still affecting their nervous system, relationships, and sense of self today.
Trauma isn’t just about what happened. It’s about how your system responds when something overwhelms your ability to cope or makes you feel unsafe. In those moments, your brain and body do exactly what they’re designed to do: protect you.
Sometimes, trauma comes from a single event, like an accident or assault. Other times, it builds over time through emotional neglect, ongoing invalidation, or living in an environment where you had to hide parts of yourself to feel okay. Often, it’s not just the event that causes harm but also the silence, confusion, or lack of support that follows.
Trauma doesn’t always look dramatic. It can feel like unexplained anxiety, emotional numbness, or a lingering sense that something’s wrong—even when life seems fine.
Whatever your story, it matters. And healing is possible.
At Integrative Path Therapy, trauma therapy is grounded in respect, compassion, and a collaborative approach. You don’t need to have the right words or a clear memory to begin. You just need a willingness to start. Together, we’ll move at your pace and work toward healing your nervous system, which never had the chance to experience it the first time around.
Trauma doesn’t always show up as flashbacks or nightmares. Sometimes, it looks like anxiety that doesn’t seem to make sense, or shutting down in the middle of a conversation, and or feeling disconnected—even when you want to feel close.
These confusing responses are often signs that your nervous system is still working hard to protect you.
Some of the trauma responses I commonly work with include:
These are not signs of weakness or failure. They’re survival strategies—creative, resilient ways your system adapted to get through pain.
Over time, these patterns can start to feel limiting or lonely. Trauma therapy creates a space to understand your responses with compassion and begin building new ways of relating—to yourself, your body, and the people around you.
Trauma doesn’t just live in your memories. It lives in your body and nervous system, shaping how you think, feel, connect, and respond to the world around you.
When something overwhelming or threatening happens, your brain and body shift into survival mode. Your amygdala—your brain’s alarm system—sounds the signal: danger. Your body releases a rush of stress hormones. Your heart rate spikes, your muscles tense, and your body prepares to fight, flee, freeze, or shut down completely.
These responses are automatic. You don’t choose them—your nervous system does. And in the moment, they’re adaptive. They help you survive.
But when trauma is unprocessed or ongoing, those same survival responses can get stuck in the “on” position. Even long after the threat is gone, your nervous system may still be reacting like you’re in danger.
That’s why trauma doesn’t always show up in obvious ways. It might look like:
These responses aren’t just “in your head.” They’re in your body, nervous system, and wiring. And they make sense in the context of what you’ve lived through.
Trauma is often misunderstood or misdiagnosed, especially when symptoms show up as anxiety, restlessness, or emotional reactivity without a clear cause.
When we go through everyday experiences, the brain processes them in a structured, organized way. But trauma overwhelms that system. The brain shifts from processing to survival, and that experience may never get filed away as a typical memory.
Instead, it can live on in your system as:
This can be disorienting. You might even wonder if something is wrong with you. But the truth is that your brain did what it had to do. It protected you.
And just as trauma changes the brain- healing can, too.
Chronic trauma—especially in childhood— is often referred to as complex trauma, and it can shape how the brain wires itself around safety, connection, and identity. You may have never felt truly safe in your body or relationships. You may have learned to ignore your own needs or become hyper-aware of others’ moods to stay out of harm’s way.
And if your pain was dismissed, denied, or mocked? That adds another layer: traumatic invalidation. Being hurt is one thing. Being told your pain isn’t real—or that you are the problem—can leave wounds that are just as deep.
The good news is that even if these patterns have been with you for years, they’re not permanent. The brain can change. The nervous system can heal. And therapy can help you build new pathways—ones rooted in safety, connection, and trust.
There’s no “right way” to begin healing. And there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to trauma therapy. At Integrated Path Therapy, I offer trauma treatment that is compassionate, individualized, and grounded in how it impacts the brain, body, and nervous system.
My approach is collaborative—we work together to understand what has been happening, what is getting in the way, and what healing might look like for you. There’s no pressure to move faster than you’re ready. Whether you’re beginning to explore your trauma for the first time or returning to therapy after years of coping on your own, we’ll start where you are.
Some sessions may focus on staying grounded in the present moment. Others may center around understanding your emotions, working through painful memories, or rebuilding trust in relationships. As an experienced trauma therapist in Las Vegas, I ensure that your pace and your needs guide every step we take.
These tools are used flexibly—no rigid protocols, no pressure to go deeper than you’re ready for. Some clients begin with skills and grounding, others with emotional insight or memory processing. We decide together based on what feels right for you.
If you’ve tried therapy before and felt like it didn’t help—or worse, left you feeling more alone—you’re not alone. You don’t need to have the right words, a clear memory, or a perfect explanation to begin. You can show up exactly as you are—numb, angry, uncertain, shut down, or overwhelmed. That’s where we begin. From there, we build something new.
You don’t have to keep carrying this on your own.
Whether your trauma was loud or quiet, obvious or dismissed—its impact is real. And healing is possible. At Integrated Path Therapy, I offer trauma treatment that’s compassionate, collaborative, and grounded in fundamental tools for change.
I offer both in-person sessions at my offices in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Torrance, California, as well as online therapy for adults located in Nevada, California, and Oregon. If you’re not sure whether trauma therapy is right for you, we can talk about your goals and see if it’s a good fit.
Between-session coaching and support are available to help you apply skills and stay grounded—not as a substitute for therapy but as a bridge when things feel intense.
Healing doesn’t mean erasing what happened; it means learning from it and creating a new relationship with yourself—one rooted in safety, clarity, and self-compassion. As a compassionate trauma therapist in Las Vegas, it is my goal to offer this experience to all of my clients. If you’re ready to begin that process, I’m here to walk with you.
Reach out today to take the next step.
In addition to trauma therapy, I provide several other services to support adults navigating emotion dysregulation and complex life challenges. If trauma therapy isn’t what you need right now—or if you’re seeking additional support—we can explore other paths together.
At Integrative Path Healing (formerly DBT Center of South Bay), I offer EMDR therapy, comprehensive DBT therapy, and DBT skills training group sessions to individuals, couples, and families searching for balance. I also offer support to those struggling with dissociation, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. For clinicians, I’m pleased to offer therapist consultations and DBT training for those looking to broaden their skillset.
I work exclusively with adults and see clients in person in Las Vegas, NV, and Torrance, CA, as well as online across California, Nevada, and Oregon.
Healing doesn’t look the same for everyone. Whether you need help dealing with unprocessed trauma or want to explore another therapy path, you don’t have to navigate it alone.
What is trauma therapy?
Trauma therapy is a focused process that helps you heal from experiences that were overwhelming, frightening, or left a lasting emotional impact. Trauma isn’t just about what happened—it’s also about how your mind and body adapted to survive. You may find yourself stuck in patterns of anxiety, emotional numbness, shame, self-blame, or disconnection from others. Trauma therapy helps you safely process those experiences, understand your responses, and begin to feel more empowered and whole.
At Integrative Path Healing, trauma therapy is centered around you—your pace, your values, and your goals. Whether you’ve experienced a single traumatic event or a long history of complex trauma, therapy is a space to explore, untangle, and move through what still feels unresolved.
What happens during trauma therapy?
There’s no one way that trauma therapy looks—it’s shaped by what you need. Our work begins with creating safety and stability: building a strong foundation through trust, emotional regulation, and skills that help you manage overwhelming thoughts or sensations.
As you feel ready, we may begin processing trauma memories more directly. This can happen through EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) or DBT-Prolonged Exposure, two evidence-based approaches that help reduce the emotional charge of painful experiences. With EMDR, we use bilateral stimulation to help your brain reprocess trauma in a new, more adaptive way. With DBT-PE, you retell the story of what happened in a structured, supported way, helping to desensitize the memory. We also work together on in-vivo exposure—gradually facing the real-life situations you’ve been avoiding because of trauma, often things that matter to you, but now feel unsafe.
Beyond protocols, trauma therapy also includes grounding, self-compassion, nervous system regulation, and making sense of how trauma is showing up in your daily life. Some sessions may focus on emotional patterns, relationship triggers, or the internal parts of you that hold different pieces of your story. Healing unfolds over time—not by reliving the past, but by building the capacity to live more fully in the present.
What is the difference between trauma therapy and regular therapy?
The main difference is the focus. While regular therapy might help you cope with stress, improve relationships, or manage emotions, trauma therapy goes deeper—it helps you understand how past overwhelming experiences are still shaping your thoughts, feelings, body responses, and behaviors today.
In trauma therapy, we’re not just talking about what’s going wrong—we’re also looking at why those patterns formed in the first place. Many trauma responses are protective—they once helped you survive. Trauma therapy honors that, while gently helping you process what happened so those responses no longer run your life.
Another difference is the pace and structure. Trauma therapy often involves creating safety before processing, developing tools for regulation, and sometimes using structured approaches like EMDR or DBT-Prolonged Exposure. It’s about healing the root, not just managing the symptoms.
That said, trauma therapy can look like “regular therapy” in many ways—it’s still about connection, insight, growth, and change. The difference is that it’s trauma-informed every step of the way.
What is the best type of trauma therapy?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer—the best trauma therapy is the one that works for you. Some people find relief through structured, evidence-based approaches like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) or DBT-Prolonged Exposure, both of which I offer at Integrative Path Healing. Others may benefit from therapies like Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Somatic Experiencing, or Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).
What makes trauma therapy effective isn’t just the method—it’s how well the approach fits you. It’s about feeling safe, supported, and understood. For many people, healing begins when they find a therapist who can attune to their pace, help them make sense of their experiences, and walk alongside them with care and consistency.
Whether you’re looking for a specific method or just trying to find someone who “gets it,” I’m happy to talk with you about what you’re looking for and whether I might be a good fit. And if not, I’ll do my best to help you find someone who is.
Is EMDR therapy the same as trauma therapy?
EMDR is one type of trauma therapy, but it’s not the only one. Trauma therapy is a broad term that includes many approaches designed to help people heal from overwhelming or distressing experiences. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a specific method within that—an evidence-based therapy that helps people reprocess traumatic memories so they feel less disturbing and less stuck in the present.
At Integrative Path Healing, EMDR is one of the tools I use to support trauma recovery. For some clients, it becomes the primary focus of therapy. For others, it’s woven in alongside other approaches like emotion regulation skills, relational healing, or DBT-Prolonged Exposure. EMDR can be incredibly effective, but it’s not the only path—and it’s not always the first step. Trauma therapy is about meeting you where you are and using whatever tools best support your healing.
How do I know if I need a trauma therapist?
You don’t have to be sure you’ve experienced “trauma” to benefit from trauma therapy. What matters is how you’re feeling now. If you’re struggling with things like anxiety, shame, emotional numbness, flashbacks, chronic self-criticism, or a deep sense that something inside you hasn’t healed—working with a trauma therapist may help.
You might notice that certain situations feel more intense than they “should,” or that you avoid places, people, or emotions that feel too overwhelming. You may have a hard time feeling safe in your own body or trusting others. Or maybe you’re just tired of feeling stuck, disconnected, or confused about why you react the way you do. These are often signs that past experiences are still affecting your present, and trauma therapy is designed to help with exactly that.
While general therapy can be supportive, trauma therapy goes deeper. It helps you safely process the root of your pain and offers specialized tools for healing, not just coping. You don’t need a diagnosis or a clear memory to start. If something in you is saying, “I think something deeper is going on,” that’s reason enough to reach out.
How do I know if I’m suffering from trauma?
Trauma doesn’t always look the way people expect. You might not have a single event you can point to. You might not even call what happened to you “trauma.” And yet, you may still feel the effects of it in your daily life.
If you notice patterns like:
These can all be signs that unhealed trauma is still living in your nervous system.
One form of trauma that often gets overlooked is traumatic invalidation. This happens when your emotional experiences were consistently dismissed, criticized, or punished, especially during important stages of your development. You may have been told you were “too sensitive,” ignored when you reached out for comfort, or punished for expressing pain or fear. Over time, this kind of invalidation can leave deep wounds, making it hard to trust your emotions, your instincts, or your worth.
Sometimes people say, “But others had it worse,” or “That was so long ago—why am I still affected?” The truth is, trauma isn’t about how “bad” something was on the outside—it’s about how it impacted you on the inside. If your body and emotions still feel stuck in survival mode, even years later, it’s worth exploring with a trauma-informed therapist.
You don’t have to be sure you have trauma to get support. If something in you feels like it’s carrying pain, fear, or confusion from the past, that’s enough to start.
What can trauma be mistaken for?
Trauma can often be mistaken for other mental health issues because the symptoms can show up in so many different ways. You might be told you have anxiety, depression, mood swings, or even a personality disorder, when in reality, your nervous system is still responding to past pain. Trauma doesn’t always look like flashbacks or nightmares. It can show up as:
Trauma can also be misinterpreted as laziness, overreacting, attention-seeking, or being “too sensitive.” This is especially true for people who experienced traumatic invalidation, where your emotional needs were ignored, criticized, or punished. When no one reflected your pain back to you accurately, you may have learned to doubt your own experience.
Getting the right kind of support can make all the difference. Trauma therapy helps connect the dots between your symptoms and your story, so you can stop blaming yourself and start healing the source.
