Trauma, C-PTSD, and PTSD Therapy
in Phoenix, AZ
When the Past Still Shapes How Safe You Feel Being Yourself
Trauma, C-PTSD, and PTSD Therapy
Might Be For You! Do You…
Feel responsible for keeping everyone else happy, even at your own expense?
Find yourself constantly anticipating someone's reaction or bracing for something to go wrong?
Suddenly feel overwhelmed, defensive, or desperate to escape a situation that seemed perfectly fine moments earlier?
Recognize that your reaction feels bigger than the situation warrants, but can't seem to calm yourself or stop replaying it in your mind?
Shut down, disconnect, lose your voice, or feel an intense urge to fight or flee during conflict?
Understand your patterns intellectually but find yourself caught in the same anxious loops, even when you know you're safe?
Are you a professional first responder who…
regularly observes others' suffering?
finds your perception of the world feels dark and depressing?
has friends & family members that say you've become a bit jaded, cynical or callous?
However you arrived, I’m glad you’re here!
Continue Reading to
See if Trauma, C-PTSD, or PTSD
Therapy is right for you.
A little support between sessions—or before you’re ready to begin.
Every other week, receive thoughtful reflections and gentle practices to help you feel more grounded, understand your protective patterns, and build a greater sense of safety and connection.
First, let me start by defining trauma, because many say, “I didn’t have it that bad. There are others who had it far worse.” And yet, they are still hurting, even deeply struggling.
Trauma: Too much too soon, too much for too long, or not enough for too long.
C-PTSD (Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) can develop following prolonged or repeated trauma. Alongside PTSD symptoms, it involves persistent difficulties managing emotions, feeling worthy, and feeling connected in relationships.” Repeated trauma doesn’t automatically mean C-PTSD
If any of these apply to you at any level, it’s quite possible your nervous system adjusted around this difficulty. Sometimes those adjustments look like addiction, other ways of escaping, people-pleasing, shutting down or feeling numb, eating disorders, and so much more.
You might be tempted to view your symptoms as an indication of brokenness, but the opposite is true.
These adaptations helped you when the help you needed just wasn’t available. However, when the threat is no longer present, and the heightened reactivity and the protective mechanisms may no longer be necessary. Still, they can be hard to shake.
If you’ve courageously attempted to heal your trauma, C-PTSD, and PTSD in the past, and it didn’t work, don’t lose hope.
The process often proves too intense, like having an exposed nerve ending. Perhaps your ability to tolerate distress was overwhelmed, and healing efforts were aborted. If this is you, you’re not alone. Still, failed attempts at healing might have left you feeling hopeless like you’re doomed to the disruptive and unpredictable fallout forever.
How Therapy Can Help to Heal Your Trauma, C-PTSD, and PTSD
Together, we’ll approach your healing in layers. The first step is to build what’s called “distress tolerance.” That means that when hard things happen, they still suck, but they don’t knock you over.
Then the next layer is to discover the parts of yourself that have protected you, but might still be overfunctioning. We will see them, understand them, and feel gratitude for the ways they’ve helped you.
Finally, we will work with the wounds underneath all the protection. We will use somatic techniques like EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), and other body-based, nervous system rewiring approaches.
Why Choose Wise Body Therapy?
Trauma, C-PTSD, and PTSD Counseling in Phoenix, AZ
30+ Years of Witness to Post Traumatic Growth
Over many years of working with people who have endured painful experiences, I’ve witnessed what can become possible when their pain is met by an attuned, caring person. Some people discover a deeper connection with themselves, more freedom in relationships, or a clearer sense of what matters to them. This is sometimes called post-traumatic growth.
That doesn’t mean the trauma was necessary, or that you need to be grateful for it. There is no expectation to turn your pain into something beautiful. We can make room for what hurt while remaining open to what you want your life to become.
Healing Through Safety In Relationship`
Experiencing the aftermath of emotions of trauma can be so scary that we might question whether we can do it. But I’m not scared of those dark places. I can go there with you. And what I find is that many times we can tolerate places together that it feels impossible to be alone with.
Trained In Evidence-Based Models
My work is informed by polyvagal theory and ego-state parts work, with attention to how the nervous system responds to stress and trauma. I’m also an EMDRIA Certified Therapist in EMDR, an evidence-based treatment for PTSD.
Questions About Trauma, C-PTSD, and PTSD Therapy
If I’ve experienced trauma, does that mean I have PTSD?
No. Not everyone who experiences trauma will develop PTSD.
You can still feel the effects of painful experiences—such as anxiety, feeling on edge, shutting down, or struggling to feel safe in relationships—without having PTSD. You don’t need a diagnosis for your experiences to matter or to benefit from therapy.
What type of trauma do you most often see?
Relational or attachment trauma is the kind I see most often. Many people have been needed too much or have felt invisible in important relationships—sometimes both. They may have learned to care for others while setting their own needs aside, making it difficult to recognize what they need, ask for it, or trust that their needs will matter.
My work also includes supporting people who have experienced sexual violence, violence or control in intimate relationships, and childhood abuse or neglect.
Can discrimination, oppression, or body shame affect how safe I feel in my body?
Yes. I also support people whose sense of safety in their bodies has been affected by painful medical experiences, body shame, or oppression—including racism, sexism, anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, ableism, and weight stigma. Living in a dominant culture that devalues or excludes people because of their bodies or identities can make it difficult to feel safe, belong, or trust that their needs matter.
Let's talk!
Schedule Your FREE 30-Minute Discovery Call with Jenny
Get your questions answered and find out if Wise Body Therapy is right for you.