Relational Trauma Therapy
At Gradients Counseling, I work with clients healing from relational trauma — the kind that begins in the places we expected safety and connection. Over time, these experiences can make trust, closeness, and vulnerability feel risky. Therapy offers a space to understand these patterns, rebuild safety, and create relationships that feel secure, connected, and authentic.
What Is Relational trauma?
Relational trauma develops when the people who were supposed to provide safety, consistency, or love instead caused harm — often through emotional neglect, rejection, manipulation, or inconsistency.
These experiences can come from caregivers, family systems, or even early relationships that shaped how you see yourself and others.
Relational trauma isn’t always one big event. It’s often the accumulation of smaller, repeated moments that taught you to stay quiet, suppress your needs, or question your worth. Over time, those patterns can lead to anxiety, disconnection, and a sense that closeness is unsafe.
How relational trauma shows up
You may notice relational trauma through patterns like:
• Feeling anxious or avoidant in relationships
• Difficulty trusting or feeling safe with others
• People-pleasing or fear of disappointing others
• Emotional numbness or self-blame
• A deep sense of loneliness, even when surrounded by people
Relational trauma affects the nervous system, attachment style, and self-concept — shaping the way you experience intimacy, boundaries, and belonging.
How Trauma Therapy Can Help You Heal
In our work together, we focus on helping you rebuild safety — internally and relationally. We explore how early experiences influence your current relationships and emotional responses, and we use this understanding to create new patterns rooted in trust and authenticity.
My approach to trauma recovery blends a variety of evidence-based interventions, with Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) as my primary guide. CPT is a structured, research-supported therapy designed to help you examine and reframe the beliefs that took root because of trauma — the “I should’ve known better” or “It was my fault” thoughts that keep you stuck.
What to expect in therapy
Relational trauma work takes patience, safety, and compassion. Our sessions will move at a pace that feels manageable — balancing exploration with grounding and practical tools for emotional regulation.
You can expect therapy to include:
• Building awareness of triggers and relational patterns
• Learning to regulate your nervous system when connection feels threatening
• Practicing boundaries that protect your energy and values
• Exploring self-compassion and healthy interdependence
Healing doesn’t mean forgetting — it means remembering differently, with more understanding and less pain. If you’re ready to start making sense of your story and reconnect with safety in your body, I’d love to help you begin. I provide trauma therapy for adults and young adults across Texas, including Dallas, Plano, and surrounding areas. Virtual sessions are available for clients throughout the state.
You don’t have to face this alone. Let’s start your recovery together.