Trauma Informed Therapy in Lafayette, CA
Do you feel like you're always on alert, even when nothing is wrong?
Do you find that you are:
Feeling on edge?
Difficulty feeling safe, even when things are safe?
Expecting something to go wrong?
Feeling emotionally numb, disconnected, or dissociated?
Being highly self-critical or feeling pressure to be perfect?
Trouble trusting or feeling safe in relationships?
Avoiding distressing reminders of past experiences?
If you recognize yourself in some of these experiences, it does not necessarily mean you have experienced trauma. However, for people who have experienced or witnessed trauma, they may be signs that their mind and body are still responding to past stress or difficult experiences. They may notice changes in their thoughts, emotions, relationships, or their sense of safety.
Getting trauma-informed therapy can provide a supportive space to better understand these patterns, develop greater self-compassion, and discover new ways of feeling grounded, connected, and empowered.
How Trauma Affects the Nervous System
Our nervous system is designed to protect us from danger. When we experience overwhelming stress or trauma, it can remain in a heightened state of alert long after the original threat has passed.
This can make everyday situations feel exhausting, unpredictable, or emotionally intense. You may notice that your body reacts before your mind has time to even process what's happening.
Although it can feel confusing or scary when it shows up without the context, these responses make sense. Your nervous system learned to protect you in the best way it knew how. Therapy is about understanding how these responses show up for you and helping your body learn that the danger has passed.
When the Past Continues to Affect the Present
Some experiences can leave a lasting impression on the way we see ourselves, relate to others, and respond to the world around us. For some people, these responses may be connected to past experiences that felt overwhelmingly unsafe or difficult to process at the time.
If you have had experiences like these, you may notice that they continue to influence how you feel and respond today. Sometimes this happens when a current situation, relationship dynamic, or emotion reminds your mind or body of something you experienced in the past.
You may notice your body reacting with anxiety, tension, fear, or a strong emotional response, even when you recognize that you are currently safe. These reactions are connected to your body's natural survival responses, which are designed to protect you during times of danger.
During these difficult experiences, you may have needed to set aside your emotions or physical reactions in order to get through what was happening. Perhaps it did not feel safe to express fear, sadness, or vulnerability. Perhaps there were other immediate needs that required your attention, or the experience was confusing and difficult to make sense of at the time.
These physical, emotional and relational responses often develop for a reason. They can be the ways your mind and body adapted to help you cope during challenging circumstances.
However, what helped you survive in the past may begin to feel exhausting in the present. You may find yourself experiencing anxiety, panic, feeling disconnected, being easily overwhelmed, or struggling to feel fully present in your daily life.
Understanding these patterns with compassion can be an important step toward healing. Therapy can help you explore these responses, reconnect with yourself, and develop new ways of feeling safe, grounded, and supported.
Trauma-Informed Therapy Can Help If You Experience
Childhood trauma
Complex trauma (C-PTSD)
Emotional neglect
Anxiety (including high functioning anxiety)
Panic attacks
Difficult family relationships
Relationship trauma
Perfectionism
Burnout
Narcissistic abuse recovery
Attachment wounds
Medical trauma
Birth trauma
Grief
Chronic stress
Whether your experiences stem from one significant event or years of accumulated stress, your story matters, and healing is possible.
Why Is It Helpful to Work With a Trauma Trained Therapist?
When you have experienced something that has had a lasting impact on you, feeling safe and understood in therapy can be an important part of the healing process. A true trauma-informed therapist understands that your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors often make sense when viewed through the lens of your lived experiences.
A trauma trained therapist is trained to help you explore your experiences at a pace that feels manageable while creating a supportive environment where you can build trust, develop coping tools, and reconnect with yourself. Therapy is not about forcing you to revisit painful experiences before you are ready. Instead, it begins with understanding your responses, building safety, and strengthening your ability to navigate difficult emotions.
Trauma trained therapists also recognizes that responses such as feeling constantly on alert, experiencing panic, becoming overwhelmed, shutting down, or having strong emotional reactions may be connected to how your mind and body learned to protect you. These responses are explored with curiosity and compassion rather than viewed simply as problems to be eliminated.
The trauma therapist considers the connection between your thoughts, emotions, and body responses. They can help you develop greater awareness of your nervous system and learn tools that support grounding, emotional balance, and a greater sense of safety. Together, you can work with your therapist toward building the ability to stay present, connected, and engaged, even during challenging moments.
Shohreh Schmuecker’s, LMFT Approach to Trauma-Informed Therapy
Beginning therapy can feel intimidating, especially if you've had painful experiences in the past. My approach is warm, collaborative, and paced according to your comfort level.
We won't begin by revisiting painful memories before you feel ready. Instead, we focus on creating a sense of safety, building emotional regulation skills, increasing self-awareness, and helping you understand how past experiences continue to influence the present.
As therapy progresses, we work together to reduce the emotional intensity of painful experiences while strengthening your ability to feel grounded, connected, and empowered.
Healing is not about reliving trauma. It's about helping your nervous system discover that you are no longer living in those moments.
Specialized Training in Trauma-Informed Therapy
My work with trauma is informed by specialized training in approaches that recognize the connection between the mind, body, emotions, and relationships.
I have advanced training in Somatic Psychotherapy, which supports clients in developing awareness of how stress and difficult experiences show up in the body. This approach can help clients build skills for nervous system regulation, grounding, and reconnecting with themselves.
I am also trained in Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS), an evidence-informed approach that helps clients explore different parts of themselves with curiosity and clarity. IFS recognizes that many thoughts, emotions, and protective patterns developed for important reasons and can help clients develop a more compassionate relationship with themselves.
Additionally, I am rostered as a Child-Parent Psychotherapist (CPP) and completed an 18-month training through trainers from the UCSF Child Trauma Research Program. This training provides a deeper understanding of early attachment, childhood experiences, and how early relationships can shape emotional development and patterns that continue into adulthood.
My continued trauma education includes coursework focused on trauma and post-traumatic stress, experiential workshops in Somatic Experiencing and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and continuing education in working with complex trauma.
I bring this knowledge into therapy with respect for each person's unique experiences and the ways they have adapted to life's challenges.
What Trauma Therapy Can Look Like in Session
I believe healing happens when we approach individuals holistically. Trauma affects our thoughts, emotions, relationships, and physical responses, so treatment should reflect that whole-person experience.
Depending on your needs, therapy may incorporate evidence-based approaches such as:
Trauma is not only remembered in our thoughts, it is often experienced through the body. Somatic therapy helps you notice physical sensations, regulate your nervous system, and develop a greater sense of safety and connection within yourself.
Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS)
We all have different parts of ourselves. Some parts may be anxious, self-critical, withdrawn, or constantly striving for perfection. Rather than trying to eliminate these parts, this approach helps us understand how these parts of us developed and recognize that they were often trying to protect us.
Through greater self-awareness and compassion, these protective patterns can begin to shift.
Mindfulness teaches us to observe our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations without becoming overwhelmed by them. Rather than reacting automatically, you learn to respond with greater awareness, helping you build emotional resilience and remain more grounded during life's challenges.
Ready to find out more? Next steps:
Click on the button below to schedule your free 15 minute phone consultation to discuss your situation and to see if I am a good fit for your needs.
On the call, we will discuss your needs, I can answer any questions you have, and I can share how we can work together.
We will discuss if I am a good fit for your needs.
If so, we can move forward with scheduling or you can think it over to see if you’d like to proceed.
If not, I can offer you referrals to other therapists that may be a better fit.
Trauma Therapy in Lafayette, CA
Shohreh Schmuecker, LMFT
936 Dewing Ave Q, Lafayette, CA 94549
Hours of Operation
Monday: 7:30AM–7:00PM
Tuesday: 7:30AM–7:00PM
Wednesday 7:30AM–7:00PM
Thursday 7:30AM–7:00PM
Friday 7:30AM–7:00PM
Saturday 9:00AM–5:00PM
Sunday Closed
By Appointment Only
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