Trauma & PTSD Therapy in Encino, CA
Healing Is Possible — Even From the Hardest Things
Compassionate, evidence-based trauma therapy for adults ready to move beyond what happened to them — with a therapist trained in the most effective approaches available.
Trauma Doesn't Have to Define the Rest of Your Life
Trauma changes the way the brain and body respond to the world. Long after the event has passed, you may find yourself stuck in patterns of hypervigilance, avoidance, numbness, or intrusive memories that make it hard to feel safe — even when you are.
This isn't weakness. It's the nervous system doing exactly what it was designed to do: protect you. But those same protective responses can become barriers to living fully, loving deeply, and feeling at peace in your own skin.
Dr. Carrie Jacobs provides trauma-informed therapy that goes beyond managing symptoms — working toward genuine healing at the level where trauma lives, in both the mind and the body.
Trauma Takes Many Forms
You don't need a single dramatic event to have trauma. Chronic stress, relational wounds, and ongoing adversity are just as real — and just as treatable.
Signs You May Be Carrying Trauma
PTSD and trauma responses show up differently for everyone. Some are obvious — others are easy to miss or misattribute.
Intrusion
Flashbacks, nightmares, or intrusive memories that pull you back into the experience as if it's happening now.
Avoidance
Steering clear of people, places, thoughts, or feelings that remind you of what happened — even when it limits your life.
Hyperarousal
Feeling constantly on edge, easily startled, irritable, or unable to sleep — as if danger is always just around the corner.
Emotional Numbing
Feeling disconnected from yourself or others, emotionally flat, or unable to experience joy, love, or connection.
Evidence-Based Trauma Treatment
Dr. Jacobs draws on the most well-researched trauma therapies available, tailoring the approach to your specific history, nervous system, and goals.
Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT)
A structured, evidence-based approach that addresses the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors connected to traumatic experiences.
Somatic Therapy
Trauma is stored in the body. Somatic approaches work with physical sensations and nervous system regulation to release what talk therapy alone can't reach.
Psychodynamic Trauma Therapy
Explore how past traumatic experiences shape current relationships, self-perception, and emotional patterns — and begin to shift them.
Mindfulness-Based Approaches
Build the capacity to stay present with difficult feelings without being overwhelmed — a foundational skill for trauma recovery.
Parts Work (IFS-Informed)
Understand the different 'parts' of yourself that developed in response to trauma — and help them feel safe enough to heal.
Relational Trauma Repair
For trauma rooted in relationships, the therapeutic relationship itself becomes a vehicle for healing — a corrective experience of safety and trust.
What Trauma Therapy Looks Like
Safety First
Before processing trauma, we build a foundation of safety, stabilization, and coping skills — so you're never pushed faster than your nervous system can handle.
Understanding Your Story
We work to understand how your experiences have shaped your patterns, beliefs, and responses — without judgment, and at your pace.
Processing & Integration
Using evidence-based techniques, we work through the traumatic material — reducing its emotional charge and integrating it into your life story rather than letting it run it.
Reconnection & Growth
The final phase focuses on rebuilding a sense of self, reconnecting with relationships and meaning, and moving forward with a new relationship to your past.
You've Survived. Now Let's Help You Thrive.
Reaching out takes courage — especially when trust has been broken. Dr. Jacobs offers a free 20-minute consultation so you can get a feel for the space before committing to anything.