Have you or a loved one experienced a traumatic life event? Are you struggling with nightmares, flashbacks, and other painful reminders of the past? Do you feel lost, overwhelmed, or hopeless?
Trauma happens all the time. Every day, millions of us experience difficult, horrific, painful experiences, such as:
- Violence or combat experience
- Near-death experiences
- Toxic relationships
- Car accidents
- Domestic violence and abuse
- Sexual assault and rape
- Death of a loved one or pet
- Bullying or harassment
- Or even witnessing one of these things happen to someone else
Sometimes we recover quickly, regain our sense of safety and security, and move on with life. But often, the pain of trauma cuts deep and creates emotional wounds – ones which call for professional intervention.
You deserve a chance to move forward from the past.
I’m Amy Goldman, and I provide evidence-based treatment for child and adult survivors of trauma.
As a trauma expert with more than thirty years of experience in the field of mental health, I have helped thousands of people overcome the aftereffects of trauma. And I believe I can help you, too.
If you are interested and ready to get started, contact me today. To learn more about trauma and how therapy can help, read on!
Do I need therapy for trauma?
Traumatic experiences are incredibly stressful and difficult for the mind to process.
The shock of what happened creates a flood of intense emotions which forge powerful, overwhelming, confusing memories. The mind reacts this way in order to survive at the moment and keep you safe in the future through a fight-or-flight response.
However, once the trauma has ended, the mind gets stuck. We try to go back to “normal,” to rest and relax, but the world just doesn’t feel safe anymore.
Much like an improperly healed wound, psychological trauma can cause pain and stress long after the initial injury. When trauma makes us stuck and keeps us from healing, it creates a constellation of symptoms known as posttraumatic stress:
When symptoms of posttraumatic stress cause dysfunction, distress, or disruption to your life, we call it Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. However, posttraumatic stress can also lead to other issues, such as anxiety, depression, and anger issues.
People can suffer the symptoms of posttraumatic stress for months, even years after being traumatized.
Left unaddressed, posttraumatic stress can derail an otherwise happy, healthy, productive life – but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Thankfully, psychotherapy can offer a chance at recovery. Get the help you deserve, and contact me today.
How can therapy help?
As the first line of treatment for trauma, psychotherapy (also called counseling) provides a chance for the mind to recover from improperly healed emotional injuries.
Therapy for trauma is designed to help you process what happened and alleviate your distress. Trauma therapists are specially trained to help you feel safe and supported as you work through difficult, painful memories. You get the chance to express yourself without shame or fear of being judged as you make sense of your experiences.
As you become more comfortable opening up and sharing what happened, you can find freedom from the past. Your therapist can help you address painful reminders of trauma, also called “triggers,” so that they no longer evoke posttraumatic symptoms. Eventually, you get to reach a place of closure and regain your sense of confidence.
You deserve a chance to heal, move on, and focus on what matters most.
Therapy can help make that happen.
What does therapy look like with Amy Goldman?
Let’s work together!
I offer evidence-based, individually tailored therapy services for kids, teens, adults, and families from all over Los Angeles and Santa Monica. My psychotherapy office is conveniently located in Santa Monica, NOMA (North of Montana), although I also work remotely, offering teletherapy services.
Each session is completely confidential and specifically designed to meet your goals. I work collaboratively with you to work through traumatic memories at your own pace; that way, you don’t feel overwhelmed.
My approach to therapy is humanistic at its core. I provide my clients with a chance to mobilize their own innate capacity for health and wellbeing – all you need to heal and thrive is the right support. I believe that people are resilient, and that change is possible. I draw from a range of treatment modalities, such as Psychodynamic psychotherapy, Person-Centered, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Motivational Interviewing.
As you make progress in therapy, you can begin to:
- Learn to open up and feel safe again
- Understand your thoughts and feelings
- Regain a sense of control
- Discover coping strategies that work for you
- Decrease reactivity to trauma triggers
- Improve your sense of wellbeing
No matter how bad things might seem, no matter how long you have struggled, there is hope. You deserve a chance to move forward from the past, and I want to help you get there.
Contact me today to get started.
Want to Learn More? Let’s Connect.
Thank you for your interest in my practice! If you have questions or would like to get started, please click on Contact Me to access my contact form.
I am a Stanford University alum and Licensed Psychotherapist who specializes in counseling services for kids, teens, adults, and families with a wide range of issues. My practice is dedicated to providing outstanding, evidence-based services. To learn more about me and my credentials, click on About Me.
In addition to my individual therapy services for kids and teens, I also offer reunification psychotherapy, child custody mediation, parent coaching, co-parenting counseling, and psychological consulting. Other areas of specialization include working with families of high conflict divorce, depression, trauma, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and mindfulness meditation. To learn about my other services and how I can help, click Services.