Trauma and PTSD Therapy When the Past Keeps Interrupting the Present

Trauma does not only live in memory. It lives in the body, the nervous system, and the way a person moves through relationships and the world. For many people, trauma and post-traumatic stress do not appear as dramatic flashbacks, but as hypervigilance, emotional shutdown, irritability, difficulty trusting, or a constant sense of being on edge.

People often describe feeling as though their body reacts before they can think. Situations that seem minor to others can trigger intense emotional or physical responses. Sleep may be disrupted, concentration becomes difficult, and a sense of safety feels fragile or conditional.

Trauma and PTSD therapy becomes important when these patterns persist long after the original events have passed, shaping daily life in ways that feel confusing, exhausting, or isolating.

Understanding trauma and PTSD

Trauma occurs when an experience overwhelms a person’s capacity to cope at the time. This may involve single incidents or prolonged exposure to stress, threat, neglect, or responsibility. Trauma responses are not signs of weakness; they are the nervous system’s attempt to survive.

Post-traumatic stress develops when the body continues to respond as though danger is present, even when it is not. From this perspective, trauma symptoms are adaptive responses that have not yet been given the conditions needed to settle.

Trauma is also deeply contextual. Culture, relationships, identity, and power all shape how trauma is experienced and how recovery unfolds. This is why a one-size-fits-all approach rarely works.

How trauma and PTSD therapy helps

Trauma and PTSD therapy is not about reliving the past or forcing disclosure before safety is established. Effective trauma work prioritises stabilisation, regulation, and choice.

In our work together, we move carefully and collaboratively. Therapy focuses on building emotional safety, understanding how trauma shows up in your body and relationships, and gradually expanding your capacity to stay present when difficult sensations or emotions arise.

My approach is relational, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive. I draw on emotionally focused, narrative, mindfulness-based, and acceptance-based frameworks, supported by psychosocial understanding. This allows us to work with both meaning and regulation; helping you make sense of your experience while supporting the nervous system to settle.

The pace of therapy is guided by you. We attend to what feels possible, respectful, and sustainable, rather than pushing for rapid change.

About my work

I work with adults and couples who may have lived with the effects of trauma for years while continuing to function, care for others, or lead in demanding environments. Therapy offers a space where your experience is taken seriously, without judgement or pressure to be “over it”.

A steadier way forward

If trauma continues to shape how you feel, relate, or respond to the world, support can help. You do not need to wait until symptoms escalate or crisis occurs.

Trauma and PTSD therapy offers a way to rebuild safety, reconnect with yourself and others, and move forward with greater steadiness and choice; at a pace that honours your experience.

Based in Perth, WA, LEXs provides telehealth counselling across Australia for individuals, couples, and NDIS participants. Services extend to Social Work supervision, Peer Work supervision, training, and keynote speaking on men’s mental health, CaLD community wellbeing, and culturally responsive suicide prevention; helping people and organisations make mental-health care more compassionate, inclusive, and effective. LEXs provides services across Australia, supporting clients in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and beyond. To learn more about our work across Australia, visit LEXs' services page.