Trauma-Informed Care: Why It Matters in Therapy
By Ben Rea, LCSW
When you’ve lived through something overwhelming—whether it was a moment or a pattern—your nervous system remembers.
That’s what trauma is. It’s not just what happened. It’s how your body and brain had to adapt in response.
Whether you experienced childhood neglect, emotional abuse, chronic stress, or something you can’t quite name, trauma-informed care ensures that therapy doesn’t just address symptoms—it honors your survival and supports your healing.
What Is Trauma-Informed Therapy?
Trauma-informed care is an approach rooted in the understanding that:
Trauma is widespread, even if it’s invisible
Healing requires safety, trust, and collaboration
People are not “broken” or “too sensitive”—they’re doing their best with a nervous system shaped by hard things
Instead of asking “What’s wrong with you?” trauma-informed therapy asks:
-“What happened to you?”
-“How did you adapt?”
-“What do you need to feel safe now?”
It’s therapy without judgment.
It’s therapy that goes at your pace.
It’s therapy where your story belongs to you.
How Trauma Affects Mental Health
Trauma isn’t just emotional—it’s biological.
It can lead to:
Hypervigilance or numbness
Difficulty trusting others
Overreactions to stress
Shame, guilt, or self-blame
Trouble sleeping or focusing
Chronic anxiety, panic, or depression
Feeling “stuck” even when life looks fine
As described in The Body Keeps the Score, trauma reshapes how you feel and react—and it often operates below conscious awareness.
Trauma-informed therapy works gently to reconnect you with your body, your emotions, and your sense of agency.
What Trauma-Informed Care Looks Like in Session
In my work, being trauma-informed means:
Asking permission before exploring sensitive topics
Allowing you to guide the pace of the work
Helping you notice and regulate your nervous system
Being aware of power dynamics and emotional safety
Normalizing responses like dissociation, freeze, or fawn
Using somatic (body-based) and mindfulness techniques when appropriate
Always treating you as the expert on your experience
Therapy becomes less about “fixing” and more about witnessing and supporting your healing process.
Who Benefits from Trauma-Informed Therapy?
Everyone.
Even if you don’t identify as “traumatized,” you may carry the effects of:
Emotional invalidation in childhood
Chronic stress or caretaking roles
Bullying, loss, or betrayal
Medical trauma or accidents
Trauma-informed care creates space for all of this—and makes therapy more accessible, empowering, and sustainable.
You Deserve to Feel Safe While You Heal
The truth is, therapy can feel vulnerable. Trauma-informed care meets that vulnerability with respect, boundaries, and care.
You’re not too much. You’re not making it up.
And you don’t have to carry it alone anymore.
Call 805-903-2604
Let’s create a space where healing can happen—without pressure, without shame, and with all of you welcome in the room.
