10 Strategies for Healing Childhood Trauma in 2025

Healing from childhood trauma is deeply personal, and there's no single right way forward. In my work with high-achieving adults across California (from Los Angeles to San Francisco to Sacramento) I've seen how healing unfolds differently for each person. If you've noticed you're feeling a bit more grounded in stressful moments, or you're finally able to set a boundary without overwhelming guilt, that's real progress. Healing happens in small, meaningful shifts that accumulate over time.

Whether you're just beginning to explore therapy or looking for a more integrated approach, these ten strategies reflect how I support clients in processing trauma, rebuilding self-trust, and creating lives that feel aligned rather than just survivable.

Key Takeaways

• Healing from childhood trauma is a personal journey, your path will look different from anyone else's

• Evidence-based approaches like EMDR and Parts Work help you process painful memories and understand your internal landscape

• Building practical skills for emotion regulation and boundary setting creates lasting change in daily life

• Online therapy provides accessible, flexible support from the safety of your own space

• An integrative approach that adapts to your evolving needs often creates the most meaningful transformation

01. EMDR Therapy

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is one of the most powerful tools I use to help clients heal from childhood trauma without getting overwhelmed by revisiting every painful detail. The beauty of EMDR is that you can process difficult memories without needing to tell your story repeatedly or relive traumatic experiences in their entirety.

Instead, EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (guided eye movements or gentle tapping) to help your brain reprocess stuck memories. These memories lose their emotional charge and intensity, moving from feeling raw and present to feeling like something that happened in the past where it belongs.

Here's how I typically guide clients through EMDR:

Building Safety First: Before we process any trauma, I make sure you feel grounded and secure. We develop resources and coping strategies so you have a solid foundation to work from.

Identifying Target Memories: Together, we identify specific memories and the negative beliefs attached to them, feelings like "I'm not safe," "I'm not enough," or "I can't trust anyone." These beliefs often drive current struggles even when the original events are long past.

Reprocessing: During EMDR sessions, you'll focus on these memories while following bilateral stimulation. Most clients describe a sense of the emotion gradually shifting and softening, as if the intensity just dissolves. It can feel surprising, even strange at first, but it's your brain's natural healing process finally getting the chance to complete.

Installing New Beliefs: As old memories lose their grip, we work on strengthening new, adaptive beliefs, like "I'm safe now" or "I deserve care and respect."

I offer EMDR through secure online sessions, which many clients find especially beneficial. You're in your own comfortable space, which can actually make the deep work feel safer. For busy professionals across California who are juggling demanding schedules, online EMDR means no commute time and more flexibility.

If you're carrying childhood trauma and want an approach that's direct without being retraumatizing, EMDR might be exactly what you need. It's structured, evidence-based, and helps your nervous system finally file those old experiences away so they stop interfering with your present.

02. Parts Work (IFS-Informed)

Parts Work, informed by the Internal Family Systems model, helps you understand and relate to your internal world in a compassionate new way. Inside each of us are different "parts," you might recognize a harsh inner critic, a perfectionist who never lets up, a protector who tries to keep you emotionally safe, or an anxious part that always scans for danger.

These parts aren't flaws or problems to eliminate. They developed to help you survive difficult circumstances. When someone has a trauma history, these parts can get stuck in extreme roles, creating internal conflict or exhaustion. The perfectionist pushes relentlessly. The critic attacks. The protector shuts down vulnerability before you can get hurt again.

In my work with clients, Parts Work offers a gentle way to understand why you sometimes feel pulled in different directions or react in ways that surprise you. Instead of fighting against yourself, you learn to work with your internal system.

Here's how I guide this process:

Noticing Parts: We start by identifying which parts show up in your life, the anxious part before presentations, the angry part when boundaries are crossed, the part that goes numb when things get too intense.

Getting Curious: Rather than judging or trying to silence these parts, we get genuinely curious about them. What are they trying to protect you from? When did they take on this role? What do they fear would happen if they stepped back?

Building Internal Leadership: As you develop a relationship with your parts, your core Self (the grounded, calm, compassionate center of who you are) can begin to lead. Instead of being hijacked by any single part during stress, you can respond from a more integrated place.

For high-achieving adults healing from complex PTSD, Parts Work often brings profound relief. It finally makes sense why you feel conflicted or why you react intensely to certain situations. You're not broken, you've developed an intricate internal system to cope with what you faced. Now we're helping that system work together instead of against itself, which naturally reduces burnout and increases self-acceptance.

03. Narrative and Relational Therapy

Narrative therapy examines the stories we carry about ourselves, especially those shaped by childhood trauma. Often, the beliefs and scripts running in the background weren't written by us, they grew from painful experiences when we were young and doing our best to make sense of confusing or frightening situations.

This approach helps you see problems as separate from your identity. You're not "broken" or "damaged." You learned certain survival strategies from tough circumstances, and sometimes those strategies need updating for the life you want now.

Here's how narrative work typically unfolds in my practice:

Externalization: We start by viewing the problem outside of yourself. Instead of "I am anxious," we explore how "anxiety shows up" in your life. This shift creates breathing room and helps you see you're more than your struggles.

Identifying Dominant Stories: We examine the main narratives you've been carrying. Maybe it's "I'm always the problem," "I can't trust anyone," or "I have to be perfect to be acceptable." Recognizing these patterns is the first step toward questioning them.

Finding Unique Outcomes: Even in the most painful histories, there are moments when you responded differently, felt strong, or made a choice aligned with your values. I help you identify these exceptions and build them into new, more complete stories.

Re-authoring: Together, we craft narratives that fit where you're going, not just where you've been. This isn't about pretending difficult things didn't happen, it's about allowing new meaning and possibility to emerge from old wounds.

The relational aspect is equally important. How we relate in therapy itself becomes a space for practicing vulnerability, trust, and authentic connection. For clients who learned that showing up authentically meant getting hurt, our therapeutic relationship offers a different experience. One where you can be seen fully without having to perform or protect.

04. Skills Building

Building practical skills is one of the most concrete ways to shift how you handle stress, emotions, boundaries, and difficult conversations. When you're healing from childhood trauma, having specific tools makes the difference between just surviving and actually living with more ease and confidence.

These aren't just theoretical concepts. They're skills you practice and refine until they become second nature. At first, changes might be small: pausing before reacting, noticing a trigger without getting swept away, or saying "no" to something that doesn't serve you. Over time, these small shifts accumulate into real transformation.

Here are key skill areas I work on with clients:

Grounding Techniques: When emotions feel overwhelming, you'll learn to ground yourself in the present moment. Feeling your feet on the floor, noticing your surroundings, using your senses to remind your nervous system you're safe right now.

Boundary Setting: Understanding where your limits are and using clear, compassionate language to hold them. Simple phrases like "I'm not available for that" or "I need some time to think about it" become powerful tools.

Emotional Regulation: Practical strategies for managing intense feelings before they derail your day. This might include box breathing, journaling, or physical movement that helps emotions move through rather than get stuck.

Stress Interruption: Learning to catch stress spirals early and interrupt them before they take over. This includes identifying your personal warning signs and having go-to strategies ready.

Effective Communication: Using "I" statements, making requests clearly, and speaking up about your needs even when it feels uncomfortable or new.

Learning these skills takes patience, and you don't need to master everything at once. My goal is to help you build a personalized toolkit that actually fits your life and your nervous system, not just strategies that sound good on paper but don't work in real moments. Progress, not perfection, is what creates lasting change.

05. Emotion Processing

Learning to process emotions is a fundamental part of healing from childhood trauma. Many people who grew up in chaotic, unpredictable, or emotionally invalidating environments learned to suppress or disconnect from their feelings just to survive. As adults, this can mean emotions either flood in overwhelmingly or feel completely inaccessible.

Emotion processing creates space for feelings you may have been holding back for years. It's about giving yourself permission to notice, feel, and release what's been buried, in a way that feels safe and manageable.

Here's how I guide this process:

Creating Safety: We establish a sense of safety first; both in our therapeutic relationship and through grounding techniques. Your nervous system needs to know it's safe enough to feel before emotions can move through.

Noticing Without Fixing: You learn to observe emotions as they arise without immediately trying to talk yourself out of them, fix them, or make them go away. This might be anger, grief, fear, or even joy that feels uncomfortable. We simply notice and name: "I'm feeling anxious right now."

Staying Grounded: I teach you techniques to stay connected to the present moment if emotions start feeling too big—focusing on your breath, holding a comforting object, noticing physical sensations.

Allowing Expression: Emotions need a way to move through your system. This might mean crying, writing, talking it out, or physical movement. The key is giving feelings a channel rather than keeping them locked inside.

Over time, you start recognizing patterns. Emotions carry information: anger often signals a boundary violation, sadness marks loss of something valuable, fear points to something at risk. Instead of being at war with your feelings, you learn to work with them as messengers.

This work isn't neat or linear. There are easier days and harder days. But by practicing emotion processing in a supportive environment, you gradually feel more like yourself instead of a bystander to your own reactions. You develop the capacity to stay present with your experience, which is where real healing happens.

06. Nervous System Regulation

Your nervous system holds the history of your trauma, often staying on high alert long after the actual threats have passed. If you experience physical symptoms like a tight chest, shallow breathing, or sudden dissociation during stress, that's your nervous system stuck in survival mode.

Nervous system regulation means teaching your body how to exit that state of constant vigilance. This isn't about just taking a deep breath and moving on, it requires patience, practice, and often, a safe relationship where your nervous system can finally learn what safety actually feels like.

Here's what I help clients work on:

Recognizing Your Patterns: Noticing what triggers your stress response—certain tones of voice, social situations, reminders of past experiences. Awareness is the first step toward change.

Grounding in the Present: Simple techniques like placing your hands in cold water, pressing your feet firmly into the floor, or naming objects you can see remind your brain you're safe right now, not back in the past.

Breathwork: Specific breathing patterns can signal safety to your nervous system, but they need to be practiced regularly to work during acute stress. I teach you techniques you can actually use in real moments.

Movement and Release: Sometimes your body needs to complete the physical stress response through shaking, stretching, or walking. We explore what helps your system discharge tension.

This work takes time, and your nervous system needs repeated experiences of safety before it fully believes things have changed. That's why our therapeutic relationship matters so much, it becomes one of those consistent, safe experiences that helps your body learn to trust again.

07. Boundary Setting

Boundary setting is often one of the most challenging, and most transformative, skills for people healing from childhood trauma. Many high-achieving adults I work with spent their formative years taking care of others, ignoring their own needs, or simply never learning that saying "no" was even an option.

You might recognize this: agreeing to things you don't want to do, silencing your needs, feeling drained after interactions, or not even knowing where your boundaries are because you've never been encouraged to have them.

Setting boundaries means learning where you end and someone else begins. It's about protecting your well-being and reclaiming your time, energy, and emotional space. But when you haven't been taught this, suddenly drawing lines can feel selfish or wrong. You might worry about disappointing others or causing conflict.

Here's how I help clients develop this skill:

Start Small: Practice with lower-stakes situations first—declining a lunch invitation you don't want, saying no to a small request. Build your boundary-setting muscles gradually.

Listen to Your Body: Your body often signals when you need a boundary before your mind catches up. Tension, resentment, or exhaustion are all cues worth paying attention to.

Use Clear, Simple Language: You don't need to justify, explain, or apologize excessively. "I can't do that," "That doesn't work for me," or "I need to think about it" are complete sentences.

Expect Discomfort: It's normal to feel guilt, anxiety, or uncertainty when you first start setting boundaries. These feelings don't mean you're doing something wrong—they mean you're doing something new.

Signs your boundaries are working:

• Feeling less exhausted after social or professional interactions

• Having more time and energy for what actually matters to you

• Reduced resentment toward others (and yourself)

• Greater sense of self-respect and clarity

Setting boundaries isn't about building walls, it's about creating the conditions for authentic, respectful relationships. Over time, this practice builds genuine safety and confidence. The awkward, uncomfortable moments add up to something profound: feeling more like yourself instead of someone who's always living on everyone else's terms.

08. The Healing Power of Therapeutic Relationship

The connection between us in therapy isn't just background, it's central to your healing. For many trauma survivors, our therapeutic relationship becomes the first truly safe relational space they've experienced. If you're accustomed to managing others' emotions, performing to earn acceptance, or hiding your authentic self, having a space where you don't have to do any of that can be startling at first.

Here's what a strong therapeutic relationship offers:

Safety as Foundation: Knowing I won't judge, dismiss, or rush you allows your nervous system to finally settle. This safety is especially crucial for clients whose early experiences taught them that being vulnerable meant being hurt.

Being Fully Seen: You get to show up as you are—uncertain, guarded, hopeful, messy, or struggling. All parts of you are welcome, not just the polished, put-together ones. Session after session, I show up with consistency and genuine care, demonstrating that you don't have to earn compassion.

A Space to Practice: In life, vulnerability or boundary-setting might have felt impossible or dangerous. In therapy, you can try these new ways of relating with someone who respects your pace and holds your experience with care.

Progress often looks like small moments:

• Feeling slightly safer sharing a difficult emotion

• Noticing you're gentler with yourself between sessions

• Realizing you can ask for what you need, even if your voice shakes

• Experiencing a healthy repair after a rupture or misunderstanding

I don't use a one-size-fits-all approach because you're not a one-size-fits-all person. I work with you, adapting as needed, going at your pace, and adjusting if something isn't working. For many clients, this relationship becomes the foundation from which all other healing grows. Whether you're processing intense memories or simply learning to trust another person for the first time in a long time.

09. Online Therapy Accessibility

Online therapy has fundamentally changed access to trauma healing, and I've built my practice to offer exclusively online sessions for exactly this reason. For high-achieving professionals across California, whether you're in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, or anywhere in between, online therapy means support that actually fits your real life.

Here's why online access makes such a difference:

Your Choice of Environment: You can meet from your home office, your car during lunch, or anywhere you feel safe and comfortable. Being in your own space often makes the deep work of trauma healing feel more manageable.

No Commute Stress: There's no fighting traffic, finding parking, or rushing between appointments. You can transition more smoothly into and out of sessions, which matters when you're doing emotionally intensive work.

Privacy and Discretion: Some clients appreciate not having to worry about running into someone they know in a waiting room. Online sessions offer an extra layer of privacy.

Access to Specialized Care: You're not limited to whoever happens to practice near you. You can work with someone who specializes in exactly what you're facing (complex PTSD, childhood trauma, relational healing) regardless of geography.

Research continues to show that online trauma therapy is just as effective as in-person work, and sometimes even more so because you're in a familiar environment. Many of my clients find they actually open up more easily when they're in their own comfortable space rather than an unfamiliar office.

Online platforms fully support all the therapeutic approaches I use—EMDR, Parts Work, emotion processing, and skill-building work. Quality hasn't been sacrificed for convenience. All you need is a stable internet connection and a private space for 55 minutes. For many people, those simple requirements are what make starting and sustaining trauma healing actually possible.

10. Personalized Integrative Approach

This final strategy is perhaps the most important: there's no script or rigid protocol for your healing. Every person who sits with me (virtually) brings a unique history, different strengths, and specific needs. That's why I use an integrative approach that blends different evidence-based methods based on what you need most right now.

Instead of insisting you fit into a single therapeutic model, we work together to create a flexible plan that evolves with you:

Responsive and Adaptive: Some weeks we might do EMDR to process a specific traumatic memory. Other weeks might focus on Parts Work when you're noticing internal conflict. When anxiety or burnout runs high, we emphasize nervous system regulation. When you're ready to reshape your story, we engage in narrative work.

Skills Integrated Throughout: Practical tools for emotion regulation, boundary setting, and stress management are woven into our work regardless of which primary approach we're using. You're building a comprehensive toolkit for life outside our sessions.

Your Pace, Your Goals: You're never pushed to move faster than feels right. We check in regularly about what's working and adjust course when needed. Some clients need to focus on stabilization and present-day coping for months before processing deeper trauma. Others are ready to dive into memory work more quickly. Both paths are valid.

The Bigger Picture: My goal isn't just symptom reduction, though that matters. It's helping you build a life that feels aligned, fulfilling, and emotionally secure. I want you to reconnect with your inner wisdom, reclaim your energy, and create relationships that nourish rather than drain you.

You don't have to have everything figured out or move in a straight line. Your healing is personal, and an adaptive approach that responds to your evolving needs gives you the best chance at meaningful, lasting transformation.

Moving Forward: You Don't Have to Do This Alone

If you're reading this, you've already taken an important step—recognizing that you deserve support and that healing is possible. The strategies I've shared aren't quick fixes, but they represent genuine paths toward transformation. Some days you'll notice significant shifts, like feeling unexpectedly calm in a situation that used to trigger you. Other days, progress looks quieter, like simply showing up for yourself when it would be easier to shut down.

There's no perfect way to heal, and your journey will look different from anyone else's. What matters is continuing to show up for yourself, even when progress feels slow or uncertain. You don't have to keep pushing through on your own. Support exists, and you deserve care that meets you where you are and helps you grow into who you want to be.

I offer online therapy sessions throughout California for adults ready to move beyond coping into genuine healing. If you're a high-achieving professional who's tired of just getting through the day, who's ready to address the childhood trauma or complex PTSD that's been quietly shaping your life, I'd be honored to support you.

Reach out when you're ready. We can start with a free 20-minute consultation to see if we're a good fit. Little by little, with the right support and your own commitment, things can get better. You deserve to feel at home in yourself, not just high-functioning.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is EMDR therapy and how does it help with childhood trauma?

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) helps you process traumatic memories without needing to relive every painful detail. I use guided eye movements or bilateral stimulation to help your brain reprocess stuck memories, reducing their emotional intensity so they feel like something that happened in the past rather than something still happening now.

How does Parts Work help someone heal from trauma?

Parts Work, informed by Internal Family Systems, helps you understand the different aspects of yourself—like your inner critic, perfectionist, or protector. Instead of fighting these parts, you learn to work with them compassionately. This builds self-acceptance and helps your internal system work together rather than against itself, which reduces inner conflict and exhaustion.

What is Narrative Therapy and why is it important?

Narrative therapy helps you examine and reshape the stories you carry about yourself and your experiences. It separates you from your problems, recognizing that you're more than your trauma or struggles. By re-authoring limiting narratives, you can create new meaning and find more agency in your life story.

Why are skills like setting boundaries important for trauma healing?

Setting boundaries helps you protect your emotional energy, build self-respect, and create healthier relationships. For people with trauma histories who often learned to prioritize others' needs, boundary skills are essential for feeling safe, reducing burnout, and honoring what you actually need to thrive.

What does emotion processing mean in therapy?

Emotion processing means learning to notice, feel, and release emotions in a healthy way rather than suppressing or avoiding them. I help you create safety around feelings that may have seemed dangerous or overwhelming, so you can experience and work with your emotions rather than being controlled by them.

How can nervous system regulation help with trauma recovery?

Nervous system regulation teaches your body how to exit survival mode and return to a state of calm. Through specific techniques like grounding, breathwork, and movement, you learn to interrupt stress responses and build resilience, which reduces symptoms like hypervigilance, panic, or emotional numbness.

What are the benefits of online therapy for trauma healing?

Online therapy provides flexibility, privacy, and access to specialized care regardless of location. You can meet from wherever you feel safest, eliminate commute stress, and work with a therapist who specializes in your specific needs. Research shows online trauma therapy is just as effective as in-person work.

Why is a personalized, integrative approach important for trauma healing?

Everyone's trauma experience and healing process is different, so a personalized approach ensures your therapy fits your unique needs rather than forcing you into a rigid protocol. By integrating multiple evidence-based methods and adapting as you grow, you get comprehensive support that evolves with you.