Frequently Asked Questions
I offer online EMDR therapy in Montana for adults navigating PTSD, sexual trauma, childhood trauma, and relational trauma. Here you will find answers to common questions. Please do reach out if you are interested in PTSD treatment in Montana or have a question for me to add to the list.
Sexual Trauma and Abuse FAQ
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If you’re asking this, something in you already knows it mattered.
Sexual trauma isn’t defined by how “bad” it was compared to someone else—it’s defined by how your body and mind experienced it. If it left you feeling unsafe, disconnected, ashamed, or changed in ways you don’t understand… it counts.
You don’t have to prove it was “serious enough” to deserve support.
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Numbness is not a failure—it’s protection.
Your nervous system learned how to shut things down so you didn’t have to feel everything all at once. That response can stay long after the experience is over, especially in your body or in relationships.
In therapy, we don’t force feelings back—we rebuild safety so feeling can return naturally.
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Because your body remembers what your mind is trying to move past.
Intimacy can activate the same parts of your nervous system that were overwhelmed during trauma. Even when you want closeness, your body may respond with tension, shutdown, or avoidance.
This isn’t something you have to push through—it’s something we gently work with so your body can learn that closeness is safe again.
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No.
You don’t have to share anything before you’re ready. Therapy for trauma isn’t about forcing you to relive the past—it’s about helping you feel safer in the present.
We go at your pace, and we focus just as much on how things are affecting you now as we do on what happened.
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That belief is incredibly common—and incredibly painful.
Self-blame often forms because it creates a sense of control: if it was my fault, maybe I could have prevented it. But that doesn’t make it true.
Part of our work is untangling what actually belongs to you—and what never did.
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You won’t go back to who you were before—but you can feel like yourself again.
Healing isn’t about erasing what happened. It’s about no longer feeling defined or controlled by it.
Most people find they don’t just return to “normal”—they feel more grounded, more connected, and more at home in themselves than before.
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That might look like:
difficulty with trust or intimacy
feeling disconnected from your body
anxiety, numbness, or emotional swings
a sense that something just isn’t “right”
You don’t need a diagnosis to justify getting help.
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That doesn’t mean you can’t heal.
Not all therapy is trauma-informed, and not all therapists work in a way that feels safe for your nervous system. Sometimes it’s not about trying harder—it’s about a different approach.
You deserve support that actually fits you.
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It’s slower, gentler, and more collaborative than people expect.
We focus on:
helping your body feel safer
understanding your responses without judgment
building trust (with yourself and others)
processing what’s ready to be processed
There’s no pressure to move faster than your system can handle.
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Trauma isn’t constant—it’s cyclical.
You might feel completely okay for a while, and then something small triggers a wave of anxiety, shutdown, or overwhelm. That doesn’t mean you’re going backwards.
It means your system hasn’t fully processed what happened yet—and it’s trying to.
Attachment & Relational Trauma FAQ
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Sexual trauma can shape the way you connect with others, often creating patterns of fear, mistrust, or avoidance in relationships. It can influence attachment styles—making it harder to feel safe, rely on others, or perhaps show up in other ways such as struggling with maintaining healthy boundaries.
Therapy can help you understand these patterns, rebuild trust, and cultivate more secure and fulfilling connections.
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Relational trauma occurs when someone experiences harm, neglect, or repeated distress within important relationships—often with caregivers, family members, or close partners. It can deeply affect how you connect with yourself and others, impacting trust, boundaries, and emotional regulation.
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Yes. In addition to specializing in sexual trauma and PTSD, I also support individuals who have left a relationship due to experiencing domestic violence, emotional abuse, or controlling behavior.
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Unlike accidents, natural disasters, or single-event trauma, relational trauma happens over time within close relationships. The harm comes from people you depend on or love, which can make it more complex to process because it affects your sense of safety and self.
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Trauma is not just mental—it’s physical. Relational trauma can create chronic stress in the nervous system, leading to symptoms like anxiety, muscle tension, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, digestive issues, or people pleasing, and hypervigilance.
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Signs can include:
Difficulty trusting others
Feeling anxious or hyper-vigilant in relationships
Trouble setting or maintaining boundaries
Low self-esteem or self-worth
Emotional numbness or intense emotional reactions
Repeating unhealthy relationship patterns
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If past or ongoing relationships leave you feeling unsafe, anxious, disconnected, or overwhelmed, therapy can provide support and tools to process these experiences and reclaim a sense of safety in relationships.
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Approaches that focus on connection, nervous system regulation, and trauma processing tend to be effective, such as:
Somatic Experiencing
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing)
Trauma-informed relational therapy
Mindfulness and body-centered therapies
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Yes. Healing is possible with supportive, attuned care. Therapy can help you process past experiences, regulate emotions, rebuild trust, and form healthier relationships. Recovery is often gradual and unique to each person.
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Relational trauma can happen at any age. While early experiences often leave lasting impressions, trauma from intimate relationships, friendships, or workplace dynamics in adulthood can also be deeply impactful.
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Yes. Past relational trauma can influence attachment patterns, communication, and trust in current relationships. Therapy can help you recognize these patterns and develop healthier ways of connecting.
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Yes. Experiences like emotional neglect, inconsistency, or harm in relationships can lead to anxious, avoidant, or disorganized attachment patterns. These patterns often reflect how you learned to stay safe and get your needs met.
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There are four main attachment styles:
Secure – feeling safe with closeness and independence
Anxious – fearing abandonment and seeking reassurance
Avoidant – feeling uncomfortable with closeness and relying on yourself
Disorganized – experiencing both a desire for connection and fear of it
These patterns are not fixed—they are adaptive responses shaped by your experiences.
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Attachment styles develop based on our relationships and experiences of safety, consistency, and care. When those relationships include neglect, inconsistency, or harm, it can shape how you connect with others —often as a way of adapting and protecting yourself.
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You might notice patterns like:
Feeling anxious when someone pulls away
Avoiding vulnerability or emotional closeness
Struggling to trust or depend on others
Feeling stuck in repeated relationship dynamics
These patterns are often rooted in earlier relational experiences—not personal failure.
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es. Attachment styles can evolve over time, especially through supportive relationships and therapy. With consistent, safe connection, it’s possible to move toward a more secure way of relating to yourself and others.
General FAQ
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I actually chose online therapy in the hopes of being able to provide support statewide.
It can be a 1 to 2 hour drive for folks living in rural areas to get to specialized care. Virtual sessions remove the geographic barrier and open the door to doing the healing work from the comfort of your own home whether you are in one of the bigger cities or a small town.
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Yes—research shows that online therapy can be just as effective as in-person therapy for many concerns, including trauma, anxiety, and depression. Virtual sessions allow you to engage in meaningful, consistent work from the comfort of your own space, which can actually help you feel more at ease and open during the process.