You Carried It.
Now You Can Heal.
Evidence-based and culturally rooted therapy — in a space where your whole story is understood, not explained away.
What Is Trauma?
Trauma is not just about what happened — it is about what it did to you. It is a response to any experience that overwhelms your ability to cope and leaves a lasting imprint on how you move through the world.
Trauma can be a single event or a lifetime of experiences. It can be loud and obvious, or quiet and invisible — the kind that gets minimized, dismissed, or never named at all. What matters most is not the event itself, but how it lives inside you.
PTSD
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
A diagnosable condition that develops after exposure to a traumatic event. Symptoms include flashbacks, hypervigilance, avoidance, and persistent negative thoughts or feelings.
Childhood Trauma
Childhood Trauma
Adverse childhood experiences including neglect, abuse, household dysfunction, or witnessing violence — which shape how the nervous system develops and how we experience safety as adults.
Complex Trauma
Complex Trauma
Repeated, prolonged exposure to traumatic experiences — often in childhood or within relationships — that shapes identity, attachment, and self-worth over time.
Single-Incident
Single-Incident Trauma
A specific event — an accident, assault, sudden loss, or natural disaster — that overwhelms the nervous system and leaves a lasting emotional imprint.
Grief & Loss
Grief & Loss
Complicated grief responses, especially losses that go unacknowledged — including the death of a loved one, loss of safety, cultural loss, or the end of an important relationship.
Medical Trauma
Medical Trauma
Frightening medical experiences, including serious illness, invasive procedures, or healthcare encounters where your pain was dismissed or your identity was ignored.
Racial Trauma
Racial Trauma
The cumulative psychological harm of racism, discrimination, and racial violence — including microaggressions, systemic inequity, and witnessing violence in your community.
Generational Trauma
Generational & Historical Trauma
Unresolved trauma passed down through families and communities — including the enduring psychological effects of historical oppression and systemic harm that shape how generations relate to safety, trust, and identity.
Immigration Trauma
Immigration & Cultural Trauma
The stress and grief of navigating cultural displacement, loss of community, documentation uncertainty, and the ongoing process of belonging in a new country.
Community Violence
Community Violence
Exposure to violence in your neighborhood or broader community — including gun violence, systemic harm, and the constant threat of danger in daily life.
You have been told to be strong your whole life.
Strength is real — and so is the cost of never being allowed to rest. Carrying it all without support is not strength. It is survival. You deserve more than survival.
How Trauma Shows Up
Trauma rarely announces itself clearly. More often, it hides in patterns — the way you respond to stress, the way your body holds tension, the way you move through relationships and the world. These signs often get labeled as personality traits, attitude problems, or personal failures. They are not.
Re-Experiencing Symptoms▾
- Intrusive memories or flashbacks
- Nightmares or disturbing dreams
- Intense emotional reactions to reminders
- Physical responses like racing heart or sweating when triggered
Avoidance & Shutting Down▾
- Avoiding people, places, or situations that feel unsafe
- Emotional numbness or feeling detached from your own life
- Difficulty remembering parts of what happened
- Losing interest in things you once cared about
Negative Thoughts & Mood▾
- Deep negative beliefs about yourself or the world
- Shame, self-blame, or guilt that does not let go
- Feeling hopeless, empty, or disconnected
- Difficulty feeling joy, love, or calm
Body & Nervous System Signs▾
- Always on edge — scanning for what is coming next
- Trouble sleeping or staying asleep
- Headaches, stomach issues, or unexplained physical pain
- Easily startled or jumpy
- Irritability or sudden anger
Signs That Often Go Unnamed▾
- Heightened alertness or fear in certain spaces
- Chest tightness or physical reactions to distressing news
- Exhaustion from constantly navigating systems that were not built with you in mind
- Grief after violence in your community
- Internalized negative beliefs rooted in how you have been treated
Your lived experience is central to how we heal.
Our Trauma Therapy
Approach
We blend evidence-based modalities with a culturally rooted lens — because your identity, your history, and your lived experience are not side notes. They are where the work begins.
Eye Movement Processing
EMDR Therapy
▾
Reprocess without reliving.
EMDR helps your brain reprocess traumatic memories so they no longer hold the same emotional charge — allowing you to remember without being overwhelmed.
Trauma-Focused CBT
TF-CBT
▾
Change the patterns, not just the pain.
TF-CBT helps you identify and shift the thought patterns and behaviors that trauma created — building new pathways toward safety, connection, and self-trust.
Present-Moment Awareness
Mindfulness-Based Approaches
▾
Come back to the present, gently.
Mindfulness tools help regulate your nervous system, reduce reactivity, and build a steadier relationship with yourself — especially in moments when trauma pulls you into the past.
Body-Based Healing
Somatic Approaches
▾
Heal what lives in the body, not just the mind.
Trauma is not just a thought — it is stored in your muscles, your gut, your chest. Somatic approaches work directly with those body sensations to release what words alone cannot reach.
Culturally Rooted.
Evidence-Based.
You Do Not Have to Explain Yourself Here
Our clinicians understand the weight of navigating systems that were not designed with you in mind — and you will not have to teach us about your experience before we can help you heal from it.
Your History Is Part of the Healing
Generational trauma, community grief, and identity-based harm are not background noise. They are part of your story — and central to how we approach your care.
Science and Culture Together
We use clinically proven methods — EMDR, TF-CBT, somatic work — within a framework that respects and centers your cultural identity, values, and lived experience.
A Clinical Team That Reflects Who We Serve
SHIFT Your Journey® was founded by clinicians who share the lived experiences of the people they serve. This is not a retrofit — cultural understanding is built into everything we do.
Understanding Your
Trauma Response
A guide for anyone who has been carrying trauma quietly — and is ready to understand what is happening and what healing can look like.
Understanding Your Trauma Response
A Guide · SHIFT Your Journey®
“This was written for you.”
↓ Download the GuideThree Steps to Getting Started
Request an Appointment
Fill out our simple intake form. Tell us a little about what you are carrying — we will take it from there.
Get Matched
Through our Therapeutic Fit™ process, we connect you with a clinician who fits your background, needs, and goals — someone who understands.
Begin Healing
Your first session is the beginning — not just of therapy, but of something that can change how you carry yourself through the world.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to get started? ▾
You can begin by completing our intake form. We will gather clinical and insurance information to match you with the right clinician through our Therapeutic Fit™ process.
Will therapy make things worse before they get better? ▾
It is normal to feel more aware of difficult emotions early in therapy as you begin to process what you have been carrying. Your clinician will pace the work carefully and make sure you always have grounding tools available. You are never pushed to go faster than you are ready for.
Will my therapist understand my cultural background? ▾
Yes. SHIFT Your Journey® was built by clinicians who share the lived experiences of the people they serve. Our team reflects a wide range of cultural backgrounds — and cultural understanding is a clinical practice here, not a one-time training.
Do you accept insurance? ▾
We accept 1199SEIU, Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, Healthfirst, Molina, and UnitedHealthcare. Visit our insurance page for current details. Reduced-cost sessions are also available through our SHIFT Access to Care Program at $50 per session.
How do you match me with a therapist? ▾
We use our Therapeutic Fit™ process to pair you based on your background, concerns, goals, and preferences. A good fit matters — and we take it seriously.
How long does trauma therapy take? ▾
It depends on your history, goals, and the type of trauma you have experienced. Some people see significant progress in 12–20 sessions. Others benefit from longer-term support. Your clinician will be transparent about the process and pace with you at every step.
What Our Clients Say
Her expertise as a therapist shines through in every session. She creates a space where I feel genuinely heard — not just listened to.
SHIFT Your Journey® ClientFrom the very first session, she created a safe, welcoming space. I finally feel like I have someone in my corner who truly understands where I am coming from.
SHIFT Your Journey® ClientI came into therapy not knowing if I was ready. I finally feel like I have room to breathe — and like my story actually matters.
SHIFT Your Journey® ClientYou Do Not Have to
Keep Carrying This Alone.
Reaching out does not mean you have all the answers. It just means you are ready to explore what is possible. We will go from there — at your pace, on your terms.
Begin Your Healing