Dissociation exists on a spectrum, from common experiences like zoning out or going on autopilot, to more significant symptoms that can impact daily functioning. While mild dissociation is a natural response to stress or overwhelm, it can become more intense - leading to feelings of unreality, disconnection from yourself or your surroundings, difficulty with memory, or persistent emotional numbness. In its most severe forms, dissociation can look like significant shifts in identity, chronic feelings of unreality, and substantial gaps in memory or time.

For those experiencing mild to moderate dissociation, therapy can help by building awareness of dissociative patterns, learning nervous system regulating tools to create safety in the body and present moment, and ultimately treating the underlying traumas causing dissociation.

Severe dissociative disorders, including Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and Other Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD), require specialized support to treat and manage. My approach to working with these conditions focuses on helping you gain a greater sense of control and internal harmony. Together, we'll help parts coexist and collaborate, develop effective coping skills for managing trauma symptoms, and create a protected space for processing your history of trauma.

When trauma is prolonged, it can lead to more complex and deeply rooted symptoms like those seen in CPTSD. There is considerable overlap between disorganized attachment and CPTSD, so although they do not always occur together, you may recognize yourself in both. If your trauma has left you stuck in survival mode, struggling to trust others and have meaningful or healthy relationships, and caught in a cycle of intense emotions or numbness (dissociation), you might be dealing with CPTSD. This often develops from prolonged or repeated trauma at any time in life, especially in relationships where you felt trapped or powerless. You might find yourself stuck in patterns of self-blame, feeling overwhelmed by shame, or fearful within relationships. The past may seem to keep intruding into your present, leaving you feeling exhausted, fragmented, or like you’re just trying to survive sometimes. In therapy, we’ll focus on helping you regain control, reconnect with yourself, and build a sense of safety in your life.

Attachment trauma occurs when early relationships fail to provide the safety and security needed for healthy emotional development. Attachment can also be impacted by difficult or unhealthy adult relationships. These experiences can deeply affect how you relate to others and yourself, often leading to patterns of people-pleasing, anxiety, self-doubt, and emotional distancing.

If you are someone who finds yourself constantly seeking reassurance or worried that those you care about might abandon or reject you, you may be experiencing an anxious attachment style. This often stems from relationships where your emotional needs were inconsistently met, leaving you unsure about the reliability of others. As a result, you might fall into patterns of people-pleasing and heightened anxiety in relationships, driven by a fear that you are not enough. Together, we can work on building your sense of worth, creating boundaries, and developing more secure, trusting relationships.

Avoidantly attached folks are often described as people who value independence over emotional reliance, avoid vulnerability and minimize closeness, and that is true for many. More often than we realize, however, people with this style actually want emotional connection deep down, but push it away to protect themselves from pain. This usually develops when caregivers or partners are emotionally unavailable/dismissive or suffocatingly enmeshed, leading you to prioritize self-reliance and protection over connection. This can make it difficult for you to trust or rely on others, creating a pattern of emotional distancing and a tendency to maintain a facade of independence. In therapy, we focus on understanding these protective strategies while gently working towards healthier ways to allow connection without sacrificing your sense of safety.

You might feel torn between craving connection and fearing it, leading to unpredictable or tumultuous relationships with others and yourself. Disorganized attachment is often rooted in chaotic or traumatic early relationships where caregivers were a source of both comfort and fear. This creates a confusing mix of anxious and avoidant behaviors, often linked to complex PTSD, where the effects of past trauma continue to disrupt your present life. When clients come to therapy for this, we work on untangling these conflicting patterns to help you find a more stable, consistent sense of connection.

Borderline Personality Disorder is one specific attachment disorder that has many shared features with CPTSD including dissociation, emotional instability, and a history of attachment trauma. Unresolved attachment wounds typically manifest in the intense emotional dysregulation and relational challenges that characterize BPD. If you feel your emotions are intense and hard to control, have fears of abandonment and unstable relationships, you might relate to Borderline Personality Disorder. You may struggle with impulsive reactions, self-doubt, and a shifting sense of identity, often feeling disconnected from yourself or others. We can work together to help you emotionally regulate, foster true self-acceptance, and build a confident sense of identity.