4030 Palos Verdes Drive North, Suite 106 Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274
Trauma & PTSD Therapy in the South Bay
Evidence-based trauma treatment in Torrance to help your body finally exhale.When something overwhelming happens, it doesn’t just “stay in the past.” Your body remembers. You might be fine one minute, then suddenly slammed with images, a racing heart, or a sense that you’re not safe—even when nothing is “wrong.” As a trauma and PTSD therapist in Torrance, I use research-based approaches like Brainspotting, trauma-focused CBT, and nervous-system regulation to help your mind and body finally get on the same page, so you can feel more grounded in the present instead of stuck in what happened.
I respond to every message personally, and we’ll figure out together if I’m the right fit for you.
Step Out of Survival Mode After Trauma
When you’ve been through trauma, your system does everything it can to keep you safe. The problem is, it can’t always tell the difference between then and now. You might jump at small noises, replay conversations, avoid places or people that remind you of what happened, or feel numb and disconnected from your own life. Trauma & PTSD therapy helps your brain file those memories where they belong, so they don’t keep crashing into your day. We work gently but effectively—helping you feel safer in your own body, your relationships, and the world around you.
Does this sound like you?
- You get sudden waves of fear, dread, or panic that seem to come out of nowhere
You feel on edge a lot of the time—scanning for danger, waiting for the next bad thing
Certain sounds, smells, dates, or places trigger intense memories or body reactions
You avoid situations (driving, crowds, intimacy, medical settings, conflict) because they feel unsafe
You have nightmares, flashbacks, or moments where it feels like you’re “back there” instead of here
You feel emotionally numb or checked out, like you’re watching your life instead of living it
You’re hard on yourself for “not getting over it” even though part of you knows you went through a lot
You’re functioning on the outside, but inside you feel exhausted, guarded, and alone with your story
If you saw yourself in several of these, trauma & PTSD therapy at Inner Peace Life can help you feel safer, more present, and more in control of your life again.
Anxiety Therapy with Me
What It Is.
A focused space to work on the impact of what you went through—without pressure to rush your healing
Gentle, structured approaches that understand how trauma shows up in your body, thoughts, and relationships
Brainspotting and other evidence-based tools to help your nervous system process stuck memories
Step-by-step support to face what you’ve been avoiding in a way that feels manageable, not overwhelming
Collaborative work where you stay in control of the pace, and we adjust whenever something feels “too much”
A place where your experience is believed, taken seriously, and never minimized
Care that honors the full picture—trauma, anxiety, OCD, grief, and relationship patterns—not just one symptom
What Anxiety Therapy Is Not
What It Is'nt.
Not me forcing you to retell every detail of what happened before you’re ready
Not being pushed into exposure exercises that feel unsafe or retraumatizing
Not “just talk about it and you’ll feel better” without real tools for your body and nervous system
Not being blamed for how you coped or shamed for what you did to survive
Not a one-size-fits-all workbook or checklist that ignores your history and culture
Not about “erasing” the past, but helping it stop running your present
What is Trauma & PTSD Therapy?
Trauma & PTSD therapy is focused time set aside to stop living in constant survival mode. Instead of pushing yourself to “just move on,” we slow down enough to understand how trauma is living in your body and mind—and then use targeted tools to help it shift.
In our work together, we’ll often:
Map your trauma responses – triggers, body cues, thoughts, and behaviors that keep you stuck in fight, flight, freeze, or fawn
Use evidence-based tools from Brainspotting, trauma-focused CBT, and mind–body strategies to calm your nervous system and gently process what happened
Build a step-by-step plan for facing situations that feel unsafe (driving, medical settings, conflict, intimacy, certain places) in a way that feels supported
Practice grounding skills in session so you’re not left guessing what to do when panic, shutdown, or flashbacks show up
Create simple at-home experiments between sessions so you see real-life shifts—not just insight in the therapy room
My goal isn’t to erase your history or pretend it didn’t happen. It’s to help you get to a place where trauma is no longer the main driver of your decisions, so you can show up for the relationships, work, and future you actually want.
For a brief medical overview of PTSD, you can read more from the National Center for PTSD, but therapy is where we make it specific to your life.
Where Does Brainspotting Fit In?
One of the main tools I use for trauma and PTSD is Brainspotting, a focused, brain-based therapy that helps your system process stuck experiences at a deep level.
In our work, Brainspotting can help you:
Access and release trauma that feels “stuck in your body” more than in words
Soften the intensity of triggers, images, and body reactions over time
Stay more regulated while we process, instead of feeling like you’re reliving everything all at once
Build a sense of safety inside yourself, not just in your environment
We move slowly and check in often so we’re working at a pace that feels challenging but not overwhelming.
Trauma healing isn’t always about “going straight to the worst memory.” Sometimes the safest and most effective place to start is stabilization.
We may begin by:
Building basic grounding and nervous-system regulation skills so your body has more safety on board
Easing current stressors (health issues, caregiving, work, relationships) that are stretching you thin
Working on boundaries, self-compassion, and day-to-day coping so you have more bandwidth for trauma work
Addressing anxiety, OCD, or people-pleasing patterns that formed around the trauma
Then, when your system is ready, we can fold in deeper Brainspotting or trauma processing in a way that feels more doable.
Frequently Asked Questions About Trauma & PTSD Therapy
No. Many people come in saying, “Something happened and I’m not okay,” long before they have a formal diagnosis. Part of our early work is understanding what you’ve been through, how it’s affecting you now, and whether PTSD is the right name for it. You don’t need perfect language to deserve help.
No. Good trauma therapy is not about forcing you to relive everything. Some approaches, like Brainspotting, don’t require you to describe every detail out loud for them to work. We go at your pace, focus on what feels most important to you, and always prioritize your sense of safety in session.
It depends on your history, current stress level, and goals. Some people feel noticeable relief after a few months of consistent work; others stay longer to untangle complex or repeated trauma. We’ll check in regularly about how therapy is feeling, what’s changing, and what you’d like to focus on next.
Yes. Trauma is about how your system had to cope, not just when the event happened. Even if the trauma was decades ago, your body may still be carrying the impact: tension, hypervigilance, numbness, people-pleasing, or difficulty trusting. It’s never “too late” to work on healing and reclaim more of your life.
Who I help. Where I work.
I work with adults dealing with OCD in the South Bay and across California, especially in:
Torrance
Redondo Beach
Palos Verdes / Rolling Hills Estates
Hermosa Beach
Manhattan Beach
Hours Available by Appointment.
- Tues – Thursday: 12 PM – 6 PM
- Friday: 12 PM – 5 PM
- Saturday: 10 AM – 1 PM
Where we meet.
In-person sessions for the South Bay from my Rolling Hills Estates office.
- Free parking
- Telehealth across CA
4030 Palos Verdes Drive North, Suite 106
Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274