make peace with your past. live fully in the present. discover your future.
Trauma Therapy in Philadelphia & Online Across PA
Do you wake up everyday with a sinking feeling of dread?
Even when things are going well, you’re bracing yourself for something to go wrong.
You lie in bed at night, tossing and turning until it’s 3 in the morning. You’re exhausted. You have to go to work in 4 hours, and you can’t go on another day with little to no sleep.
Maybe you’ve been ghosted again after a promising couple of dates and are noticing a pattern of relationships that leave you feeling like you’re not good enough. You put everyone first, because taking care of yourself feels selfish.
You stay in relationships way beyond their expiration date because you don’t want to hurt their feelings, even though you’re miserable.
Past events keep replaying in your head, no matter how hard you try to push them out.
Sometimes you’re hit with intense anxiety that seems to come out of nowhere, and the tiniest inconvenience will fill you with so much rage that you lash out at your partner, even though you don’t want to.
You feel insecure and worry you’ll never find someone who truly loves you. You make yourself small because you’ve been taught that your feelings are an inconvenience and that they don’t matter.
Perhaps you walk on eggshells around people because you don’t know how they’ll react.
You struggle to feel confident in your own choices because you’re not even sure who you are deep down. All you know is that you’re afraid to show people “the real you”. So you keep people at arm’s length, even though you’re lonely and long for a meaningful connection with someone.
Maybe you’re struggling with…
Feeling like you’re always on high-alert and having to check every situation on whether it’s safe
Doom-scrolling on your phone or drinking at night to take the edge off
Intense fear and panic triggered by certain smells, sounds, places, and memories
Thoughts of not wanting to be here and that you’re a burden to others
Zoning out when feeling stressed, spacing out in conversations, and feeling like you’ve lost time
Recurring nightmares and bad dreams
Types of Trauma I Treat
Complex PTSD Therapy for LGBTQ Individuals
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Complex PTSD can be a result of ongoing childhood abuse, sexual trauma, and domestic violence. Some queer and trans people are at risk of experiencing trauma from growing up in high-control environments, religious trauma, and shame.
Trauma Therapy for Eating Disorders
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Maybe the gender expectations from society have put pressure on you to have a certain body type in order to feel more feminine or masculine. Perhaps you’re non-binary and there is an unspoken pressure to achieve a certain aesthetic even from the queer community.
If you’re trans, maybe you want to pass as cisgender in order to feel safer going out in public. Or maybe the desire to pass is because you’re constantly told women need to be thin in order to worthy. Whatever your experience is, the idea of eating disorder recovery feels scary because it’s taking away something that has been a survival skill.
Relationship Trauma and Attachment Wounds
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People-pleasing and difficulty trusting people can actually be trauma responses. Trauma therapy can help you understand those patterns and build relationships rooted in genuine safety, rather than survival.
Identify-Affirming Therapy for Minority Stress
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Some families might disown their children or refuse to use the correct pronouns. Queer and trangender people might experience job loss and feel more scrutinized in the workplace compared to their cisgender peers.
how trauma therapy works
Together, we'll explore your inner world and connect with your true self—the version of you who knows how to heal.
You might already know what’s wrong, you just don’t understand why it keeps happening. Why one part of you is exhausted and just wants rest, while another part responds to work emails at 10 pm. You long for connection but find yourself ignoring your friend’s text.
While these parts of you may seem in conflict, they’re trying to protect you from pain. But when they stay stuck in overdrive, you lose touch with your own inner wisdom. Trauma therapy can help you understand these patterns without judgment. You’ll learn to gently connect with your inner parts and get curious about what they need.
Underneath all of this is your true self—the confident, calm part of you that’s always there, even if you can’t feel it. Parts work helps you find balance in your inner world so you can access your true self again.
In our sessions, you set the pace. You’re always in control of what and how much you share. We’ll take time to explore your history and talk about what you want life to feel like going forward.
I’ll stay attuned not just to your words, but to the subtle shifts in your body and energy. If therapy ever feels too intense, I’ll help you slow down and take a breath.
Together, we’ll develop tools to calm your body when strong emotions surface—so you can stay grounded both in session and in your daily life.
And over time, as your parts learn to trust the process, you’ll begin to heal the pain they’ve been carrying.
Therapy won’t erase what happened to you. But it can help you feel more whole, more steady—and more in charge of your life.
My Approach to Trauma Therapy
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As a board certified art therapist, I help you tap into your own creative expression to heal trauma. Art-making provides a powerful outlet when traumatic events feel too overwhelming to discuss directly.
Art therapy is a mind-body approach that helps you get your thoughts and feelings on paper so you can understand them more clearly. Creativity can help you address the negative beliefs you have about yourself as a result of past trauma. The creative process can help you go deep into your struggles without overwhelming your nervous system.
Art therapy is expansive and flexible, making it a queer-affirming approach to trauma healing.
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IFS is a somatic therapy approach that views your inner world as parts. Your parts may show up as thoughts, feelings, memories, and bodily sensations. IFS helps you learn about your parts and develop compassion towards them, even the parts that are seen as problematic. Instead of pathologizing your parts, we start to understand them as trying to protect you from past emotional pain. This creates a possibility to heal the past pain and alleviate your parts from their extreme roles.
The goal is to have more balance and calm in your inner world and start to trust yourself more. IFS is a great fit if you’re looking for a mind-body approach that doesn’t require you to share every detail of your past experiences.
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Psychodynamic therapy helps you understand the patterns in your relationships that were hidden from your awareness. Your childhood experiences can impact how you approach dating and how you develop trust with other people. These experiences often impact us on an unconscious level, causing us to repeat mistakes and gravitate towards people who aren’t right for us. Psychodynamic therapy helps you understand your past so you can live more freely in the present. That means making decisions that are more intentional, and having more fulfilling relationships.
Group Therapy for Shared Healing
Beyond individual trauma therapy, I offer group therapy specifically for LGBTQ+ trauma survivors. These groups provide powerful opportunities to connect with others who share similar experiences without having to explain or defend your identity.
Groups may focus on themes like:
Navigating eating disorder recovery as a trans person
Processing discrimination and minority stress
Supporting transitioning partners
Healing from family rejection
The witnessing and validation from peers who truly understand can accelerate healing in profound ways.
Supporting Your Loved Ones
If you're supporting a transitioning partner or have a teen exploring gender identity, I offer specialized guidance for these unique situations. We'll explore maintaining your emotional wellbeing while being supportive, navigating changing dynamics, and processing your own emotional responses within a trauma-informed framework.
What we’ll work on
Specialized trauma therapy can help you…
Choose relationships where you feel supported and let go of the ones that drain your energy.
Increase self-confidence, set clear boundaries, and build a future rooted in what really matters to you.
Handle daily stress with more ease and stay grounded when emotions feel intense.
Let go of shame so you can breathe easier, find joy in the simple moments, and live in the here and now.
Release the tension in your body so you can relax and feel more comfortable in your own skin.
Explore new interests, revisit old passions, and reconnect with your values.
You deserve more than just survival.
Let's build the confidence you need to live life to the fullest.
Questions?
FAQs
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Trauma therapy sessions will initially focus on ways to help you cope with strong emotions and sooth your nervous system. This is to ensure you feel safe and grounded enough to navigate the deeper work.
I use an Internal Family Systems approach by helping you see your thoughts, feelings, and memories as parts. The goal is to heal the emotional wounds of your past and help you reconnect with your core self.
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Therapy tends to be longer term but it all depends on your needs. I recommend trying to meet on a weekly basis for it to be the most benefical.
I frequently check in on how therapy is going, which helps us stay focused on what your top priorities are in sessions.
Sometimes goals/needs change in therapy, or you might realize that something is missing in sessions. I always center your needs in treatment and encourage feedback on what’s working for you and what’s not working.
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It can be a big leap to make that first appointment! There are no guarantees, but here are some things to look for.
You’ve been in therapy before and are looking to do deeper work.
You want an approach to therapy that is more relational.
You’re interested in a different approach than talk therapy.
You’re open to longer term therapy.
You feel stuck in old patterns that you’re hoping to change.
You’re not sure if you have trauma but nothing has seemed to work and you can’t feel better.
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You can schedule a consultation by booking online. I’ll reply to your email within 1-2 business days (not on weekends). From there, we’ll pick a day and time that works for both of us.
After the phone call, if it’s a good fit, we can schedule that first appointment. You will receive an email to set up your client portal and complete the intake paperwork online. Once all of the forms are completed, your appointment will be confirmed.
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You might benefit from trauma therapy if you find yourself feeling constantly on edge, struggling with sleep, experiencing intrusive memories, or noticing that past experiences are affecting your relationships, work, or sense of self. Trauma does not always stem from one large event. It can also develop from ongoing experiences of invalidation, rejection, or feeling unsafe over time.
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I work with a wide range of trauma experiences, including childhood trauma, relational trauma, identity-based trauma, and experiences related to coming out or navigating life as an LGBTQ+ or transgender person. I also support clients processing grief, medical trauma, and difficult family dynamics.
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Trauma therapy is more focused on understanding how past experiences are affecting your present life and helping your nervous system find safety again. While general therapy might address current stressors or relationships, trauma therapy goes deeper into the roots of patterns that developed as ways to protect yourself.
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Yes. As a queer identified therapist, I specialize in providing affirming care for LGBTQ+ and transgender individuals. I understand that trauma often intersects with experiences of discrimination, rejection, or the challenges of living authentically in a world that is not always accepting. You will not have to explain or justify your identity in our work together.
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That is completely okay. Trauma therapy does not mean diving into painful memories before you are ready. A significant part of our work together involves building safety, trust, and coping skills first. I follow your lead and we will never push into territory that feels overwhelming without the tools to support you.
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Yes. Anxiety, hypervigilance, and sleep difficulties are common ways that trauma shows up in daily life. Trauma therapy addresses the root causes of these symptoms rather than just managing them on the surface. Many clients notice improvements in sleep, mood, and overall sense of calm as they progress in their healing.
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Traditional eating disorder treatment often assumes a cisgender, heteronormative experience that doesn't fit many LGBTQ+ individuals' realities.
For trans and non-binary individuals, body image work involves additional considerations. Food restriction might simultaneously manage gender dysphoria, attempt to achieve an affirming body shape, and cope with chronic trauma from discrimination. My trauma therapy approach recognizes these nuances rather than applying generic recovery models.
If you're navigating medical transition while addressing disordered eating and PTSD symptoms, we'll work together to distinguish between healthy body changes and harmful behaviors. This requires nuanced understanding that many practitioners lack—expertise I bring to every session.
Why Choose My Trauma-Focused Therapy Practice
As a queer therapist with advanced training in both eating disorders and gender-affirming care, I understand the nuances of trauma recovery for LGBTQ and transgender people. Your struggles do not mean you’re broken, but instead are normal reactions to navigating a world that is oppressive and cis-normative. As an art therapist trained in IFS, I help queer people tap into their own innate capacity to heal through creative and experiential approaches.
I show up with honesty, and maintain awareness of how my identities impact our work together. I aim to create a space where we can talk about that openly because real change happens in safe, trusting relationships.
As a white, cis woman, there are natural limitations in the ways I can truly understand your experiences. I do my best to be open and curious, while remaining educated on common struggles you might face.
In Person Therapy in Philadelphia, PA
Ruberti Counseling Services provides expert clinical support for individuals aged 12 and up struggling with disordered eating, body image issues, and obsessive-compulsive challenges. As a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS), Christine Ruberti-Bruning implements weight-inclusive and "Health at Every Size" (HAES) aligned treatments that move beyond simple behavior modification. For those facing OCD and anxiety cycles, the practice incorporates evidence-based Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) to help clients break free from intrusive thoughts and reclaim control over their daily lives.