Trauma Therapy in San Francisco, CA
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for Treating Trauma
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a structured and evidence-based approach designed to help individuals recover from trauma by addressing the cognitive distortions and beliefs that contribute to distressing symptoms. Developed initially for treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), CPT has been widely used to support individuals in processing and making sense of traumatic experiences.
Cognitive Restructuring: CPT focuses on identifying and challenging unhelpful or distorted thoughts related to the traumatic event(s). These thoughts, often termed "stuck points," can perpetuate negative emotions such as guilt, shame, and fear, or behaviors such as avoidance. Through structured exercises, you can learn to examine the evidence for and against these thoughts, gradually replacing them with more balanced and realistic perspectives.
Understanding the Impact of Trauma: CPT encourages us to explore and articulate emotions, beliefs, and reactions to trauma. This process helps to validate our experience and gain a deeper understanding of how the trauma has affected our sense of safety, trust, and self-worth. By fostering a compassionate and non-judgmental approach, I create a safe space for my clients to process difficult emotions and memories.
Skill-Building: CPT incorporates practical skills and techniques to help my clients manage distress and improve coping strategies. These may include relaxation exercises, grounding techniques, mindfulness practices, and assertiveness training. By developing these skills, you can learn to regulate your emotions more effectively and reduce the impact of trauma-related triggers on your daily life and your relationships.
Writing and Exposure: A key component of CPT involves structured writing assignments, such as the impact statement and weekly tracking tools. These exercises encourage us to confront and process traumatic memories in a safe and controlled manner. Through repeated exposure to these memories, we can gradually reduce avoidance behaviors and diminish the emotional intensity associated with the trauma.
Integration and Moving Forward: As you progress through CPT, you’ll begin to integrate new insights and perspectives into your daily life. You’ll develop a more adaptive understanding of the trauma and the impact it’s had on you, fostering resilience and a sense of empowerment. This phase of therapy focuses on consolidating gains, strengthening coping skills, and enhancing overall well-being.
Evidence-Based Approach: CPT is supported by extensive research demonstrating its effectiveness in reducing PTSD symptoms, improving quality of life, and promoting long-term recovery. As a therapist who has specialized in treating trauma and PTSD for over 12 years, I’ve received extensive education and training that allows me to tailor CPT and other forms of trauma therapy to each client's unique experiences and needs, ensuring a personalized and effective therapeutic proces
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) offers a structured and empowering approach to help my clients heal from trauma by addressing the cognitive, emotional, physical, relational, and behavioral aspects of their experiences. By challenging negative beliefs, processing traumatic memories, and building coping skills, my clients have reclaimed their sense of safety, resilience, and hope for the future.
If you're considering therapy for trauma and are interested in learning more about how Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) can support your healing journey, I'm here to provide guidance and support.
Trauma can deeply affect how we experience and navigate daily life. Whether it was a single highly distressing incident or prolonged exposure to chronic stress, we can experience changes that impact our nervous system, emotions, thoughts, behaviors, and our relationships in profound ways. Trauma can shape or alter our sense of safety and trust, our sense of self, and our ability to connect authentically in our most intimate relationships.
Emotional impact: Trauma often leaves us feeling overwhelmed by intense emotions such as fear, shame, sadness, anger, or numbness. These emotions can fluctuate unpredictably, making it challenging to regulate our mood and respond to everyday stressors in a balanced way. For some, intrusive thoughts or memories can hit us out of nowhere and can reactivate the emotional intensity associated with what we experienced in the past. These emotions can be confusing and can impact us for minutes, hours, or days at a time.
Cognitive impact: Trauma can impact our cognitive processes, leading to challenges with concentration, focus, memory, and decision-making. We all experience cognitive distortions, but with repetition, these thoughts can turn into negative beliefs about ourselves, others, and the world. Many of us feel chronic guilt and shame that can show up in every context. Navigating this cognitive maze can undermine our confidence and can force us to compensate or overcorrect, creating even more confusion.
Behavioral impact: We often attempt to cope with trauma in any way we can, which can lead to changes in our behaviors, routines, and habits. In an attempt to manage overwhelming emotions, we can get stuck in hypervigilance, avoidance of people, places and activities, addictive patterns, self-isolation, or difficulties in maintaining our discipline, drive, and responsibilities. These changes can disrupt our relationships, careers, and the way we engage in the things we find meaningful.
Relational impact: Trauma can strain our relationships with family, friends, romantic partners, mentors, and colleagues. Many of us struggle with trust, intimacy, and emotional closeness, making it difficult to communicate our experiences, needs, and boundaries. Withdrawing, shutting down, or engaging in higher levels of reactivity and conflict can arise from heightened sensitivity, or from not feeling understood.
Physical impact: As Bessel van der Kolk describes it, the body keeps the score. Trauma can impact our sleep, fatigue, muscle tension, headaches, gastrointestinal issues, changes in appetite, and the way our bodies experience the world around us. Many of us learn to ignore signs and signals from our bodies in an attempt to get on with life. These physical changes are part of the body's response to stress and can heighten feelings of overwhelm and panic in our day-to-day. The best place to start is to learn to listen to our bodies so we can better regulate our nervous system responses.
Overall well-being: Trauma can lead to a pervasive sense of vulnerability and uncertainty about the future. It can change our sense of identity, purpose, and can shatter our deepest beliefs. Trauma can impact every area of our lives. I offer treatment that can help you heal so you can reconnect with what’s most meaningful to you.
I provide a supportive space to address and heal from the impact of trauma. Through evidence-based approaches such as cognitive processing therapy, cognitive-behavioral techniques, mindfulness practices, and art therapy, I support my clients in exploring and releasing overwhelming emotions, negative beliefs, problematic patterns of behavior, and uncomfortable physical symptoms so they can strengthen their relationships and reclaim a sense of safety, resilience, and empowerment.
If you're navigating the effects of trauma in your daily life and seeking support, I'm here to help. Together, we can explore strategies to promote healing, build coping skills, and foster a renewed sense of hope and well-being.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are defined as preventable, potentially traumatic events that occur before the age of 18 years and are associated with numerous negative outcomes. Among U.S. adults from all 50 states and the District of Columbia surveyed during 2011–2020, approximately two thirds reported at least one ACE; one in six reported four or more ACEs. ACEs were highest among women and those aged 25–34 years. (Swedo, Aslam, Dahlberg, Niolon, Guinn, Simon, Mercy, 2023. Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences Among U.S. Adults — Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2011–2020. Retrieved here.
Begin Healing From Your Unresolved Trauma With The Help of Trauma Therapy in San Francisco, CA
Take the first step toward healing and reclaim your life by reaching out to Dr. Amy Waldron for trauma therapy in San Francisco, CA. My compassionate approach provides a safe space for you to explore and resolve your past, so you can move forward with confidence. Don't let unresolved trauma hold you back any longer—start your journey to recovery. I am currently offering individual psychotherapy sessions in-person in San Francisco, and through a secure online platform. Follow these three simple steps to get started:
First, book a free 15-minute consult with me. You can ask any questions you have, and I can learn more about what’s bringing you to therapy.
If we’re a good fit, we can schedule a 50-minute session. Before your session, I’ll send you an intake packet that you can fill out electronically in your own time. During our first session, you can tell me more about what brings you to therapy and what you’d like to get out of therapy.
We can set up ongoing weekly sessions from there. Each person is different, so the amount of time you spend in therapy will depend on your unique needs and goals.
Other Services Offered at My San Francisco, CA Practice
I know life is complicated and you may be struggling with more than one issue. Or perhaps more than one member of your family needs some support right now. This is why I offer a wide range of mental health services at my office in San Francisco, CA, or online anywhere in California. In addition to helping you cope with unresolved trauma in trauma therapy, my specialties include Social Anxiety Therapy, HSP Therapy, Therapy for Overthinkers, Art Therapy, Therapy for Athletes, and Imposter Syndrome Therapy. Feel free to reach out for support!
Over the past decade, I have worked with individuals, families, and groups within residential treatment settings, hospitals, schools, and outpatient settings. I also trained with Impact Bay Area, which teaches full-force self-defense, personal safety, violence prevention, and personal empowerment courses for women. My community work has also included partnering with NGOs to offer art therapy experiences internationally, and I have worked within hospital settings and family camps focusing on childhood illness and the loss of a family member. Many of my clients have struggled with adverse childhood experiences, sexual trauma, multigenerational wounding, addiction, and toxic stress.