Trauma, Abuse & Human Trafficking Support & Recovery
You’ve been through more than anyone understands, and you deserve a safe place to heal
Trauma shows up in many forms. For some, it’s one event that changed everything. For others, it’s years of surviving unsafe homes, abusive relationships, family chaos, domestic violence, dating violence, or manipulative partners. Some survived human trafficking without even having the language for what they went through. Some learned to shut down to get through the day. Some built entire identities around being the strong one. Some are still trying to feel safe in their own body again. Trauma doesn’t move in a straight line.
You might feel numb.
Or angry.
Or ashamed.
Or disconnected from yourself.
Or unsure where to even begin.
You may want to talk about it and also desperately not want to talk about it.
You might be trying to rebuild your life while still trying to make sense of what happened.
You may feel fine one day and overwhelmed the next.
You are not broken. They mean you survived something you should never have had to survive. Now you deserve support that helps you feel safe, grounded, and whole.
What trauma can feel like long after the event(s) has passed
Trauma doesn’t always show up in obvious ways. It affects more than the time you were in the situation. It affects your sense of safety, trust, identity, and connection long after you’re physically free. Many people experience:
• feeling jumpy or alert even in safe places
• trouble trusting anyone, even the people who care
• panic, fear, or shutting down
• feeling responsible for other people’s emotions
• nightmares or disrupted sleep
• shame or guilt that makes no sense
• difficulty setting boundaries
• confusion about what healthy relationships look like
• feeling disconnected from your own body
• a sense of losing who you used to be
• fear of being manipulated again
• complicated feelings about the person who hurt you
• difficulty with intimacy or closeness
• feeling alone even around others
• pressure to “move on” or “get over it” before you feel ready
• shame you shouldn’t have to carry
Your brain and body did everything they could to keep you alive. Therapy is about helping you feel safe again in a world that didn’t protect you like it should have.
Understanding trauma in real-life terms
Trauma often grows out of experiences like witnessing domestic violence, surviving dating violence, emotional or physical abuse, childhood neglect, growing up in addiction or chaos, being raised in an unsafe home, sexual exploitation, trafficking, and survival-based choices like exchanging sex for a place to stay, food, money, or substances. Many survivors don’t realize that these situations often count as trafficking. People often say, “I did what I had to do to survive.” You deserved safety. You deserved care. You should never have had to choose between survival and harm.
How therapy helps you rebuild safety, trust, and connection
If everything feels overwhelming, we start slowly. You never have to share your whole story. Our first goal is helping your body feel more grounded. If you’re carrying shame or self-blame, we gently separate the truth from the stories you were taught to believe. If you have trouble trusting people, that’s completely understandable. Trust isn’t something you owe anyone; it’s something we build at your pace. If you’re still connected to someone who hurt you, we explore safety, boundaries, and emotional ties without judgment. If relationships feel confusing, we talk about what healthy connection looks and feels like. If substances have become part of your coping, I understand that too and offer support that honors the whole picture of what you’ve lived through. If we’ve been working together for awhile and you haven’t disclosed this to me yet, it’s ok. You can tell me on your terms. Your story, your terms.
How can therapy help me when I don't even know where to start? We go at your pace. You never have to tell your full story. We focus on safety, stability, and helping your body and mind feel less overwhelmed.
What if I don’t trust anyone right now? That’s normal. Trust isn’t something you “give” in trauma treatment (or life!) it’s something we build slowly, gently, and only as you feel ready.
Can therapy help me with shame or confusion about what happened? Yes. Shame is one of the heaviest burdens survivors carry, and none of it belongs to you. We work compassionately to help you understand what happened without blaming yourself.
What if I’m still connected to someone who harmed me? It happens more often than people realize. We talk about safety, boundaries, emotional ties, and next steps without judgment.
Can therapy help me rebuild relationships? Absolutely. We talk about family, partners, friendships, and how trauma impacts closeness, communication, and trust.
What if addiction is also part of my story? I work closely with people navigating addiction and recovery, including survivors whose substance use developed before, during, or after abuse and/ or trafficking. We look at the whole picture, trauma, coping, pain, and healing, not just one piece.
What healing can begin to feel like
Healing doesn’t mean pretending it never happened. It means reconnecting with yourself. You may start feeling calmer in your own body. You may trust yourself more. Triggers may soften. You may feel safer in relationships. Boundaries start feeling clearer. Your story begins to make sense. You start imagining a future that isn’t defined by your trauma. Healing is made of tiny moments that slowly build into real change. Healing doesn’t look like “getting over it.” It looks like small shifts that slowly build into something steadier:
your body feels calmer
you sleep better
you trust yourself more
you have fewer triggers
relationships feel safer
you feel less alone
your story makes more sense
you can imagine a future that isn’t defined by what happened
You don’t have to be “all better” to deserve support.
You just have to show up as you are.
Who this support is for
This work is for anyone who has survived trauma, abuse, or exploitation. It’s for people who grew up in homes shaped by violence, addiction, or emotional instability. It’s for survivors of controlling or manipulative relationships. It’s for people with trauma connected to substance use. It’s for adult children of addiction or chaos. It’s for survivors of trafficking or survival sex. It’s for anyone feeling stuck in patterns tied to old wounds. It’s for people ready to break generational cycles and create something healthier.
This work is for you if you:
survived sex trafficking, labor trafficking, grooming, or exploitation
were manipulated by a partner, friend, or family member
were trafficked during a vulnerable time in life
have a history of addiction intertwined with exploitation and/ or abuse
are an adult child of addiction trying to understand how your past shaped your vulnerability
are a family member trying to support a survivor
want to rebuild safety, trust, identity, and connection
You deserve a space that sees all of you, not just what happened to you. You deserve compassion, respect, and a safe place to heal.
Pennsylvania Crime Victims Compensation Program
I accept Pennsylvania Crime Victims funding, which may cover therapy for individuals affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, stalking, abuse, or other violent crime. If you think you may qualify, you can learn more here.
Financial support should not be a barrier to your healing.
Why I care about this work
I care deeply about trauma, abuse, and trafficking recovery because I’ve spent my entire career walking with people through their hardest moments. I’ve worked with so many individuals who grew up witnessing domestic violence, surviving dating violence, living with addiction in their family, or navigating homes that never felt stable or safe. These early wounds shape how people move through the world, how they form relationships, and how they see themselves.
While working in the substance use field, I was introduced to Worthwhile through the Bucks Coalition Against Trafficking. I immediately felt connected to their mission. It was during that time that I learned trafficking can include exchanging sex for drugs, a place to stay, food, or money. That understanding stopped me in my tracks. I started thinking about all the clients I loved and supported over the years who described those exact situations. They didn’t know it was trafficking. I didn’t know it was trafficking. I called it trauma. They called it the price they had to pay to survive. Neither of us understood the severity of what they had lived through.
For years, I referred clients to Worthwhile and their programs. In 2025, I joined their team as a Program Development Specialist and have been part of curriculum development, including new programming for men and adolescents launched in 2025. It is work I am deeply proud of, because all survivors deserve care that truly understands the complexity of their experiences.
I’ve worked with families affected by addiction, adult children trying to heal from generational trauma, partners struggling to rebuild trust, and survivors still trying to make sense of their past. I believe in creating a space where people feel safe, understood, and supported as they reclaim their lives.