Curtis A. Thompson, LMFT
Trauma-focused: Online somatic and EMDR therapy for California residents
Trauma & EMDR Therapy in Los Angeles
I am Curtis, a Los Angeles native and trauma therapist. I have specialized with complex and childhood trauma for over a decade with both adults and teens, struggling with C-PTSD. Currently, I am only working with adults. I integrate various trauma-focused treatments such as EMDR therapy and somatic therapy. Talk therapy is part of the process, but is not the focus.
Talk therapy, alone, is typically insufficient with helping clients who struggle with complex trauma to significantly heal from their chronic traumatic injuries. If you only had talk therapy before, you might have learned the reasons or the "why" you struggle, but you continue to struggle emotionally, physically, and behaviorally. In other words, you increased your intellectual awareness, but you continue to feel like shit more often than not. And, you might continue to engage in unhealthy patterns or relationships, despite "knowing" your mental health challenges. This likely results in you shaming, blaming, or criticizing yourself, which makes it even more difficult to break the cycle.
Frankly, I believe most clients can learn or may have already gained many cognitive insights about themselves from books or the internet. My goal is to help you feel better at a whole, or at an embodied level: emotionally, physically, and mentally. When your thoughts, feelings, and somatic sensations are integrated, your actions will likely align with how you want to live your life.
Complex Trauma (C-PTSD)
What is complex trauma (C-PTSD)?
It is often more severe than Post-Traumatic Disorder (PTSD) due to experiencing frequent and reocurring traumatic experiences typically in childhood from significant persons such as family, whereas PTSD might develop from only one traumatic experience in adulthood.
As a child you literally had no power or were trapped in your parents' household, which may have developed into you feeling constantly helpless or powerless in various situations and relationships as an adult. Perhaps everything was financially provided for you during your childhood, but your family was emotionally absent. Something has always felt off. Maybe you frequently worry about being abandoned, betrayed, or are generally feel uneasy or unsafe. Perhaps, you struggle with trusting or being intimate with others. You might be struggling with complex trauma.
C-PTSD has similar, but more intense symptoms as PTSD with a few differences. Some of the primary differences are:
- Immense emotional dysregulation, which are challenges controlling emotions or feeling disconnected or numb.
- Excessive guilt or shame surrounding traumas or overly blaming yourself for everyday life mistakes, which typically occur in relationships.
- General trust issues with yourself and others or self-sabotaging relationships when they become too intimate.
- A sense of not knowing yourself or your identity. That might look like frequently people pleasing or pretending to be different personalities to feel accepted and not excluded from others.
Schedule a FREE 15-minute Phone Consultation
No pressure or commitments involved. If you feel more comfortable or safer asking questions via email, go for it.
Subscribe to The Trauma Column
A weekly newsletter, where I write about the scientific research of trauma, C-PTSD and trauma-focused treatments such as EMDR therapy.