— FELDER PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES —
Therapy for Trauma in New Jersey
Therapy for teens and adults living with the effects of trauma and stress, available in person in Highland Park or virtually across New Jersey.
Understanding Trauma
You might find yourself reacting intensely to things that seem small, feeling on edge in situations that should feel safe, or struggling to trust people even when you want to. Old experiences have a way of showing up in the present, even ones you have not thought about in years.
Trauma can come from a single event or from repeated experiences over time. It can affect sleep, focus, mood, relationships, and how you feel in your own body, and it does not always announce itself clearly. Sometimes it simply makes daily life harder than it should be.
Therapy offers a space to understand what you are carrying and begin to work with it gently, at a pace that works for you.
What is Trauma Therapy?
Trauma therapy supports people who have experienced distressing or overwhelming events and are still feeling the impact in their daily lives. Trauma can come from a single event or from repeated experiences over time, including relational trauma, medical experiences, accidents, or chronic stress.
In therapy, we focus on understanding how your nervous system learned to protect you during difficult experiences, and how those protective responses may be showing up now as anxiety, emotional shutdown, or disconnection. Bringing awareness to these patterns creates the opportunity to gently shift them over time.
What Sets Us Apart
I work with teens and adults, grounded in creating emotional safety, consistency, and trust. I take an individualized approach to trauma therapy, with attention to each person's history, current concerns, goals, and readiness for different aspects of the work.
You'll be met with compassion, curiosity, and care, with attention to both what you have been through and what you need as you move forward.
Benefits of Trauma Therapy
Feeling More at Ease
Learning to feel less reactive and more at ease in your body.
Staying Connected
Processing powerful feelings while staying connected to the people who matter.
Making Sense of What Happened
Understanding what happened without being defined by it.
How to Get Started
01
Initial Consultation
We'll start with a free 15-minute phone consultation to briefly discuss what you're looking for, answer any questions, and determine whether my services may be a good fit.
02
Intake Session
The initial 60-minute session gives us time to discuss your concerns, relevant history, and goals for therapy.
03
Ongoing Sessions
Therapy sessions are typically 45 minutes and scheduled weekly at first. The focus and frequency of sessions can be adjusted over time based on your needs and goals.
How Trauma Therapy Helps
Trauma therapy can help you understand how past experiences may be affecting you in the present and develop more effective ways of responding to difficult emotions, memories, and situations.
What Often Changes:
- Managing physical and emotional reactions to stress.
- Responding to triggers more effectively.
- Feeling more comfortable and connected in relationships.
- Feeling more connected to yourself and the present.
Looking for Support with Trauma?
Therapy can provide a supportive space to understand and work through the ways trauma may be affecting you.
Working With What You're Carrying
Therapy can help you make sense of what you have been through and develop ways of managing the reactions and emotions that may continue to affect you, while respecting your pace and boundaries.
What Therapy Can Support:
- Understanding your reactions as meaningful responses to what you experienced.
- Tools for calming and regulating your nervous system.
- A safe, paced approach to processing difficult memories.
- Greater ease in relationships and daily life.
FAQs About Trauma Therapy
Do I have to tell you everything that happened?
No. You do not need to share every detail of a traumatic experience in order to work on the ways it is affecting you now. We can focus on your current symptoms, emotions, relationships, and patterns, and you can decide what you feel comfortable discussing and when.
What if I can't remember clearly?
Memories of difficult experiences may be incomplete, unclear, or difficult to put into words. Therapy does not require you to remember every detail, and we will not try to force or reconstruct memories. We can work with what you do remember and how your experiences may be affecting you now.
Is trauma therapy different from regular therapy?
Trauma therapy shares a lot with other forms of therapy, but pays particular attention to emotional safety and the ways traumatic experiences may affect the nervous system, emotions, relationships, and daily functioning. The approach is individualized based on your experiences, concerns, and readiness.
Can therapy help with childhood trauma?
Yes. Experiences from childhood can continue to affect emotions, relationships, self-perception, and responses to stress later in life. Therapy can help you understand how earlier experiences may be influencing you now and work on patterns that are causing difficulty in the present.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
If you are wondering whether trauma therapy is the right step for you or your teen, reaching out is a good place to start. I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation to discuss your concerns, answer any questions, and determine whether my services are the right fit.