Trauma Therapy
Online throughout Michigan and Ohio
Is it really trauma?
An extraordinarily stressful event that shatters your sense of security and makes you feel helpless in a dangerous world — that’s the definition of trauma.
Trauma can leave you struggling with upsetting emotions, memories, and anxiety that won’t go away — or leave you feeling numb, disconnected, and unable to trust other people.
Any experience that is life-threatening or inflicts deep emotional pain can create trauma — whether a single catastrophic event or a continuing situation that cannot be escaped.
Traditional models of post-traumatic stress and its treatment were based on single-event traumas. We have now come to understand that adverse childhood experiences like emotional neglect, a parent’s mental health or substance abuse problems, having to provide emotional or practical support to your parents rather than receiving it from them — known as parentification — or verbal, psychological, physical, or sexual abuse can lead to a more insidious form of harm called complex trauma.
Trauma causes real, measurable changes to our brains and nervous systems, our experience of emotions, and the deep subconscious beliefs we hold about ourselves, other people, and the world. Trauma negatively impacts our relationships, sense of self-worth, ability to manage our feelings, sense of security, and our very experience of being alive. Healing requires attention to each aspect of the self—physical, emotional, cognitive, and relational.
Powerful ways trauma shows up in your life
“True self-care is making the choice to build a life you don’t need to regularly escape from.”
You may suffer from unhealed trauma if you…
have a deep fear of trusting others
feel alone and different from other people
have a hard time regulating your emotions
repeat the same negative or destructive behaviors over and over again
are hypervigilant about situations and people
view the world as dangerous and all people as potentially abusive
have a profoundly hurt “inner child”
experience feelings of helplessness and toxic shame
have difficulty effectively engaging in or maintaining relationships
are preoccupied with stressors
have emotional flashbacks or nightmares
exhibit anxious behaviors
worry about pleasing others
have difficulty concentrating and focusing
find it hard to make decisions
struggle to follow through on decisions to accomplish goals
repeatedly search for a rescuer
MEET YOUR THERAPIST
HI, I’M BARB.
Honestly, I’m not your “smile and nod” kind of therapist. I’m real, direct, and I tell it like it is. I’ll hold space for your pain and vulnerability — and challenge you when you need it. Not because I’m tough, but because I believe in your ability to heal.
And I know what it’s like to feel stuck.
Because of early trauma, I learned to survive by staying small — anxious, unsure of myself, and always focused on keeping the peace. I married young for security, built a life that looked fine from the outside — but inside, I felt lost. After 25 years, I left that life behind, and everything fell apart. I didn’t know who I was anymore.
That crisis led me to intensive trauma therapy — and it changed everything. For the first time, I felt like myself. Not broken. Not too much. Just…me.
That was the moment I chose something different. Something audacious — myself. And it led me here.
Now, I work with adults who are tired of shrinking, second-guessing, and holding it all together. People who feel reactive, perfectionistic, disconnected, or stuck in survival mode.
My approach is honest, no-nonsense, and full of compassion. I won’t pretend healing is easy — but I’ll walk with you through it.
If I can do this work, so can you. I’m not special. I’m proof that it’s possible.
Let’s get started — and let’s find your audaciously true self.
Reach out today!
Don’t wait! You deserve the wholeness, confidence, and peace that deep healing offers.