Trauma Therapy in Newport Beach, California
The Impact of Trauma
Sometimes trauma is unmistakable—abuse, loss, violence, or a life-altering experience. Other times it is quieter but just as impactful, growing up in environments where love felt conditional, emotions were dismissed, or your needs went unseen.
Trauma can also develop through ongoing experiences that erode a sense of safety, belonging, or worth. This might include living in a larger body in a society steeped in weight stigma, experiencing racism or discrimination, navigating homophobia or transphobia, or receiving repeated messages that who you are is somehow wrong or not enough.
The effects of trauma are not always easy to recognize. You may find yourself reacting more strongly than you'd like, constantly feeling on edge, struggling in relationships, or feeling stuck in patterns that no longer serve you.
How Trauma Shapes the Way You Relate
Your nervous system adapts to overwhelming experiences in order to help you survive. Over time, your body may learn to stay alert, scan for danger, disconnect from difficult feelings, or prioritize other people's needs over your own. Even after circumstances change, these protective responses can continue as if the danger were still present.
You might notice:
- Anxiety, hypervigilance, or feeling constantly on edge
- Difficulty trusting others or opening up in relationships
- The pull to over-give, people-please, or take responsibility for everyone else's needs
- Feeling disconnected from yourself or your body
- Fear of being "too much" or taking up space
- Putting up walls before you can be hurt
- Difficulty resting, relaxing, or receiving care
- Shame, guilt, or persistent self-blame
- Repeating painful relationship patterns
- Emotional overwhelm, numbness, or feeling stuck
These responses developed for a reason. They helped you survive circumstances that were painful, confusing, or simply too much.
In therapy, we honor the wisdom of those protective strategies while gently helping you build new ways of relating to yourself, others, and the world around you. Over time, what once felt necessary for survival can begin to loosen, creating more space for connection, choice, and a greater sense of ease in your life.
Areas frequently addressed in trauma therapy include:
- Post-traumatic stress (PTSD) or complex trauma
- Childhood emotional neglect and developmental trauma
- Attachment wounds, relational trauma, betrayal, or ruptures in trust
- Difficulty with intimacy, vulnerability, or feeling safe in close relationships
- Setting boundaries and navigating continued relationship with family members or loved ones when there has been past harm
- Complicated grief and traumatic loss
- Trauma related to weight stigma, diet culture, or identity-based harm
- Shame, self-blame, and patterns that have shaped your sense of self
- Feeling responsible for holding everything together while your own needs go unmet
- Dissociation, emotional numbness, or feeling disconnected from your body
- Trauma intertwined with anxiety, depression, or eating disorders
- Periods when life feels overwhelming, including thoughts of suicide or hopelessness
Healing Through Trauma Therapy
Healing often begins with creating a greater sense of safety—in your body, your emotions, and your relationships. Together, we'll make sense of the patterns that have shaped your experience while building practical tools to help you feel more grounded and supported in everyday life.
We'll move at a pace that feels manageable, gently approaching difficult emotions without becoming overwhelmed. Over time, many people find they are better able to navigate triggers, trust themselves, and respond with greater choice rather than old survival patterns.
As this work unfolds, reactions can feel less automatic and more reflective of who you are now. Life can begin to feel more integrated, steady, and connected to what matters most.
Common Questions About Trauma Therapy
No. We’ll move at a pace that feels steady and manageable. We begin by building safety and strengthening your ability to regulate, so you’re not overwhelmed as we gently explore deeper layers.
We’ll also tend to the present-day concerns you’re carrying. Trauma therapy isn’t solely about what you’ve been through — it’s about supporting your whole self and how your past continues to shape your life now.
No. While your story matters, trauma therapy isn’t about repeatedly reliving painful events.
Trauma often lives less in the narrative of what happened and more in the survival responses that remain active in the present — the parts of you that learned to protect, shut down, stay hyper-alert, or carry shame in order to cope. Rather than focusing only on the details of the past, we pay attention to how those protective patterns show up now.
We also pay gentle attention to the body and nervous system. After trauma, the body can remain on high alert or stuck in protective states long after the danger has passed. Talking about what happened can be helpful, but healing also involves helping your nervous system recognize that the threat is over — not just intellectually, but in your body.
Together, we slow things down and notice what is happening in the moment, supporting your system in finding steadiness and safety. As your body begins to register that the danger is over, those survival responses no longer have to take over automatically.
Healing comes not only from retelling, but from increasing safety, integration, and choice in the present moment.
At times, talking about painful experiences can bring up strong emotions. This can feel unsettling, but it often means we’re gently touching something that hasn’t yet had space to be processed.
A thoughtful trauma therapy approach prioritizes safety and pacing. We begin by strengthening your capacity for regulation and building internal resources, so your nervous system has support as we explore deeper layers. You won’t be pushed to go further or faster than feels manageable.
When therapy moves at the right pace, difficult moments are held within a steady, supportive framework. We work carefully within what feels manageable, helping your nervous system gradually feel safer and less reactive so old survival responses don’t have to take over in the same way.
Location:
1151 Dove St, Ste 225
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Copyright © 2026 Sara Burchfiel, Individual and Family Therapy - All Rights Reserved.
Counseling in Newport Beach & across California
This website uses cookies.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.