Trauma Therapy for Young Children
Something happened. And your child seems different now.
Maybe you know exactly what changed. Maybe you can't quite put your finger on it. You just know your child, and something hasn't felt the same.
You might be seeing changes in sleep, separation, play, behavior, eating, toileting, closeness, or how they respond to a person, place, or situation that used to feel okay.
You don't have to know whether to call it trauma before you contact me. And your child doesn't need to be able to explain the whole story for us to start figuring out what they need.
Young children don't always have the words for what happened.
A frightening or overwhelming experience can affect a young child long before they have the words to explain what happened.
Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers often communicate distress differently than adults.
Instead of saying, “I'm still scared,” a child may show us what they're going through in other ways.
A child who used to separate easily may suddenly cling to you at drop-off.
A toddler who was comfortable with a babysitter may suddenly become very upset when that person arrives.
A preschooler may start resisting school or a place they previously enjoyed.
Another child may not avoid anything at all. You may simply notice changes in sleep, behavior, play, closeness, or mood.
Sometimes a caregiver simply notices:
Something has been different since then.
That matters.
We begin by understanding what happened, what has changed, what your child is communicating now, and what they may need before deciding what kind of help makes sense.
WHAT CAN BRING A FAMILY HERE
Maybe you know exactly what happened. Maybe you just know something changed.
Something frightening happened while they were with someone else
Maybe it happened at daycare, preschool, school, camp, during sports or another activity, with a babysitter or caregiver, or somewhere else you trusted your child to be. Afterward, you may notice that your child doesn't want to go back, becomes much more upset when you leave, reacts differently to a particular person or place, or simply doesn't seem like themselves. Sometimes the connection is obvious. Sometimes you're left wondering whether what you're seeing now has anything to do with what happened.
Medical experiences
Hospitalizations, emergency care, painful procedures, surgeries, NICU experiences, injuries, or other medical events can be overwhelming even when the immediate medical danger has passed.
Accidents or injuries
Car accidents, falls, animal-related injuries, sports or recreational injuries, and other frightening experiences can leave a child responding differently afterward.
Separation, loss, or sudden change
Unexpected separation, death, disruption in caregiving, frightening transitions, or other significant changes may affect a young child's sense of safety.
Witnessing something frightening
Children do not have to be the direct target of an event to be affected by something frightening they saw, heard, or experienced around them.
Early or preverbal experiences
Some experiences occur before a child has the language or autobiographical memory necessary to describe them later.
Not every behavioral change means trauma. We slow down, look at the bigger picture, and figure out what your child may need, if anything, from there.
Little kids often show us before they can tell us.
Possible changes may include:
- new or intensified separation distress
- avoidance of a person, place, activity, or reminder
- sleep changes or nightmares
- regression in previously mastered skills
- increased clinginess or need for proximity
- new fears
- changes in play
- irritability
- aggression
- freezing or shutting down
- increased startle or vigilance
- changes in eating
- changes in toileting
- repetitive play connected to themes of what happened
- physical complaints or distress without an obvious new medical cause
- a noticeable change in behavior following an event
These responses can be a way your child is trying to communicate something. Part of our work is getting curious about what they may be telling us.
No single sign on this list proves trauma. These are signals worth paying attention to, not evidence on their own.
The adults around your child matter, too.
Children regulate in relationship.
With kids, I'm not only paying attention to what happens inside the therapy room. The people your child trusts and the relationships they return to every day can be an important part of helping things feel safer and more manageable again.
The responses, presence, and steadiness of the adults around a child can meaningfully influence what happens for them around fear, separation, transitions, escalation, shutdown, safety, and connection.
You know your child in ways I don't.
You know what they were like before, what has changed, what makes things harder, what helps them settle, and the tiny things someone meeting them for the first time might miss. I bring another set of eyes and tools. We put those things together.
Sometimes I work directly with your child.
Sometimes I work with you and your child together.
Sometimes an important place to begin is with the adults around them.
And sometimes what helps is simply helping you understand what happens during difficult moments and what might help your child feel safer or more settled.
Sometimes what happened frightened or affected you, too. That matters, and we can pay attention to the whole picture without blaming you or making you responsible for fixing everything.
This isn't about figuring out what you did wrong. You don't have to respond perfectly, stay perfectly calm, or already know exactly what your child needs.
When a child is too young to tell the whole story
One of the approaches I'm trained in is the EMDR Storytelling Method. It gives us a way to adapt trauma work for very young children, including children who are too young to sit down and tell us what happened in words.
The youngest child I've personally used the Storytelling Method with has been 2 years old. I'm also comfortable considering this approach with younger children, including infants, when it makes sense for the child and family.
With little ones, you aren't sitting in the waiting room while I ask your child to tell me a scary story. You're often part of the work. You may help me understand what happened, what your child was like before, what you've noticed since, what seems harder now, and what helps them feel safe. Depending on their age and what we're doing, you may also be right there with us while we work.
Sometimes we use a story. Sometimes there are very few words at all. We start by getting curious about what changed and what your child may need now.
Words aren't the only way children communicate.
Therapy with a three-year-old shouldn't look like therapy with a thirty-year-old.
I meet children where they are and figure out how we can make the work make sense for them. Depending on the child, I may use play, drawing, movement, sensory or creative materials, imagery, storytelling, a caregiver sitting beside them, or other ways of helping them communicate and engage.
That might mean more movement, more time to warm up to me, taking breaks, or spending part of our time talking with you first so your child doesn't have to sit through an adult conversation about something frightening.
There isn't one formula I use with every child. The goal isn't to make your child act like a tiny adult in therapy. The therapy needs to make sense for your child.
A space where little kids can be little kids.
My New Braunfels location includes a therapy space where I see young children and caregivers for this work.
Depending on your child and what we're working on, we may use the room differently: moving, playing, drawing, using sensory or creative materials, sitting with a caregiver, or simply giving your child enough time to become comfortable with me and the space.
The room doesn't determine the therapy. Your child's developmental needs help determine how we use it.
In-person care is also available in San Antonio, Texas. The therapy space shown here is at the New Braunfels, Texas location.
Sometimes we know exactly what happened. Sometimes it was much earlier.
Some families reach out because something frightening happened recently and their child changed afterward.
Other families are wondering about experiences from much earlier in life, such as a NICU stay, medical procedures, an early loss, a disruption in caregiving, or something that happened before their child had words.
We don't automatically assume an early experience caused trauma. And therapy isn't about trying to uncover, recover, or prove memories a child can't access.
We work with what we know, what you're noticing now, and what your child is showing us today.
You don't have to know what kind of therapy to ask for.
That's my job.
Start with the 45-minute New Client Consultation and tell me what happened, or what you think may have happened, and what you've been noticing. This is a standalone first conversation, not the full clinical assessment, and the fee is not credited toward later care.
I'll ask questions, help you sort through what you're seeing, and tell you what I think makes sense next.
Sometimes I want to talk with you first so I can understand the history without asking your child to sit through an adult conversation about something frightening.
Sometimes that may be focused trauma work with your child.
Sometimes we may start with you.
Sometimes I'll want more assessment first.
Sometimes focused work with me may happen while your child continues with an existing therapist or other provider.
And sometimes I'll tell you that I think another therapist or another kind of support would be a better fit.
I'm not interested in squeezing your child into a treatment model just because it's something I know how to do.
I want to understand your child first.
Care that fits the child, not the other way around.
A toddler who needs time to get comfortable, a caregiver trying to understand a sudden change in their child, and a family recovering from a frightening experience may all need something different. And this doesn't automatically mean signing your child up for weekly therapy indefinitely.
After I understand what's going on and what your child and family need, I'll recommend a structure that makes sense. We build the care around the child and family in front of us.
General fee information is available on the Fees & Investment page.
I can also be one part of your child's care.
You don't necessarily have to leave a therapist, doctor, or other provider your child already knows and trusts in order for us to work together.
Sometimes families come to me for one specific piece of the work. Your child may already have a therapist they have a great relationship with, while I step in for focused trauma work. Or there may be a pediatrician, psychiatrist, occupational therapist, speech therapist, school professional, or another provider who is already an important part of your child's support.
I'm comfortable being part of that team.
With your permission, I'm happy to communicate with the people already caring for your child when it would actually be helpful, so the adults supporting them aren't working in completely different directions.
I don't need to become your child's only therapist or provider for this work to be useful.
Sometimes my role is simply to help with the part I'm especially trained to help with, then support your child in continuing with the people who already know them well.
For Therapists + Referring Professionals
I welcome referrals for focused early-childhood trauma work, including acute or recent traumatic events, preverbal or developmentally held material, caregiver-child work, and situations where traditional verbal processing may not be the best fit.
This work can be adjunctive. A child or family can remain with their established therapist while I provide assessment, caregiver support, developmentally adapted EMDR, or another clearly defined piece of trauma-focused work. With appropriate authorization, I'm happy to coordinate with existing providers so roles stay clear and care stays connected.
My training includes developmentally adapted EMDR, the EMDR Storytelling Method, and early-intervention approaches including C-GTEP, G-TEP, and ASSYST, alongside developmentally responsive play, movement, imagery, sensory, creative, and caregiver-supported methods when appropriate.
Questions
Questions You May Have
Something has been different since then.
Start with what you’ve noticed. Tell me what changed, what you’re worried about, and what you’ve already tried. I’ll look at the bigger picture and tell you what I think your child needs from there.