Trauma therapy so the past can feel like the past
Trauma doesn’t stay in the past on its own. It lives in your body, your reactions and the stories you tell yourself about what’s safe. Healing it rarely means reliving everything. We see clients in Denver, in Boulder and online across Colorado.
- Sessions50 minutes
- MethodsEMDR, IFS, SSP, somatic
- WhereDenver, Boulder & online
- Fee$175 per session
How trauma can show up years later
You don’t need a PTSD diagnosis, or a story that sounds dramatic from the outside, for trauma therapy to help. Trauma is less about how bad an event looks and more about how your system responded to it. Most people notice it in one or more of these places.
In the body
Being on alert all the time, sleep that never feels deep, tension you’ve stopped noticing, or going foggy and far away when stress hits. Your body may react before your mind has caught up.
In relationships
Trouble trusting, bracing for people to leave, keeping everyone at arm’s length, or saying yes to keep the peace. Closeness itself can start to feel risky.
In what you believe
“It was my fault.” “I’m not safe.” “I can’t trust myself.” Beliefs formed in hard moments tend to stay long after the moment is over.
Trauma doesn’t only live in memory. It shows up as a jaw that won’t unclench, a startle that’s too big, or a strange flatness when you should feel something.Kelli Ruhl, LPC, NCC, LAC · Read her bio →
The kinds of trauma we work with
If past experiences are still shaping how you feel in your body, how you relate to people or how safe the world seems, that is enough of a reason.
PTSD and complex PTSD
A single event, or years of difficult experiences that added up. We work with both.
Childhood and developmental trauma
Wounds formed early, often before you had words for them, that shaped your sense of self and safety.
Relational and attachment trauma
Early bonds that were frightening or unreliable, and still affect how you connect and trust.
Sexual assault and abuse
Survivor-centered care that moves at your pace, with your consent at every step.
Medical trauma and accidents
A hospital stay, a birth, a crash, or anything that left your nervous system stuck on alert.
Religious trauma and traumatic grief
Fear and shame tied to a faith community, and losses that were sudden, violent or unexpected.
Approaches that work with the body as well as the story
Talking about trauma isn’t always the right first step. Sometimes the body needs to feel steadier before the memory can be touched. Our therapists combine these approaches based on what you need.
EMDR
Helps the brain reprocess memories that still feel present, often without describing them in detail.
About EMDR →Internal Family Systems
Gets to know the parts of you that took charge to protect you, so the hurt underneath can be reached.
About IFS →Safe and Sound Protocol
A listening program that helps a nervous system stuck in fight, flight or shutdown settle.
About SSP →Somatic therapy
Works directly with the tension, freeze and overwhelm that trauma leaves in the body.
Read more →You don’t have to retell every detail of what happened for things to change.
Steady ground first, then the harder work
Most trauma specialists recommend working in phases, especially with complex trauma. In practice the phases overlap, and we move back and forth as needed.
Getting steady
We build safety in the room and skills for the rest of the week: grounding, sleep, what to do when you get flooded. For some people this part alone changes a lot.
Working with what happened
When you’re ready, we work with the memories and beliefs that still carry a charge, using EMDR, parts work or somatic approaches. You set the pace and can pause at any time.
Living after it
As the past quiets down, the focus shifts to the present: relationships, rest, trusting yourself, and the parts of life trauma kept you from.
Trauma therapy in Denver, Boulder and online
Kelli Ruhl and Kelsey Bennett focus most on trauma. Kelli sees clients in person in Denver and online, and works with somatic interventions and parts work, often with people who have already done a lot of talking and still feel stuck. Kelsey sees clients in person in Boulder and Denver and online. She is EMDR trained, an SSP Provider and completing IFS Level 1. Becca Moravec and Mark Whitney also offer EMDR.
Online trauma therapy works well for many people, and doing the work from a place that already feels safe can help. Sessions are 50 minutes and $175 with Kelli or Kelsey. We’re out of network with insurance and provide superbills. You can read more about complex PTSD and religious trauma on our blog.
Questions about trauma therapy
Trauma therapy focuses on how difficult experiences are stored in the brain and body. Methods like EMDR and somatic therapy work directly with that, alongside the thinking patterns and beliefs that formed around what happened.
No. EMDR and somatic approaches in particular don’t require you to describe events in detail to work. We move at a pace your nervous system can tolerate, and you decide what you share.
Trauma has more to do with how your system responded than with how bad an event looks from the outside. Intrusive memories, being on high alert, feeling numb, struggling to trust, or feeling stuck in the past can all be signs that trauma therapy would help.
Yes. Many of our clients have complex PTSD from childhood adversity, relational trauma or long stretches of difficult experiences. Our therapists are experienced in the slower, more relational work complex trauma usually needs.
It varies a lot. A single, recent event often needs less time than trauma that built up over years. Complex trauma usually takes longer, partly because the early work of feeling safe and steady matters so much. We’ll check in regularly about how it’s going.
For many people, yes. EMDR, parts work and somatic work can all be done by secure video, and we see clients this way anywhere in Colorado. If you’d rather be in the room, Kelli sees clients in Denver and Kelsey in Boulder and Denver.
Who to see for this
It can get quieter than this
People often come to us after carrying something for years without knowing relief was possible. It is. A free 15-minute consultation is a low-pressure first step.
Schedule a Free Consultation