Childhood Trauma
With Susan Shafer
Licensed Professional Counselor Advanced Accredited and Certified EFT Practitioner 500 Hour Certified Yoga Instructor
The cornerstone of my career has been intensive therapy work, especially with children.
Through crisis counseling, school-based therapy, and intensive in-home services, I’ve seen firsthand how the experiences we carry from childhood can continue to affect us well into adulthood.
Have you already talked about your childhood and understand what happened, but still feel like something hasn’t changed?
Do you logically get it, but physically still feel it?
Are you tired of talking about the past when what you really want is to feel different in your life today?
It’s common to develop patterns that help you cope with difficult experiences. At one time, those patterns may have helped you feel safe or get through what you were facing. But over time, they can begin to feel limiting or keep you from living the way you want to.
Maybe you find yourself reacting strongly to things that seem small, or feeling unsafe in situations where you know you’re actually okay. You may be tired of simply talking about the past and ready to understand what’s happening beneath the surface to gently begin to create a different experience for yourself.
Clients Come To Me When They:
Repeat old patterns
Constantly dwell on the past
Feel unsafe
Are easily triggered
Criticize themselves
Feel disconnected
Have trouble staying present
Feel stuck
Are tired of talking
Many adults know exactly what happened to them. The harder part is understanding why their body, emotions, and relationships still respond as if the past is happening now.
How Childhood Trauma Therapy With Me Works
I’m here to help you better understand what’s happening and develop tools you can use to support yourself in everyday life. We begin by getting curious about your patterns and learning practical skills to help you feel more grounded and regulated, both in and outside of therapy.
We move at a pace that feels comfortable for you. We begin by understanding what’s happening in your mind and body and learning ways to work with it. If it becomes helpful to explore past experiences, we’ll do so gently and thoughtfully, while continuing to build your sense of safety and ability to regulate.
Approaches We May Use
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Brings the body into the work through movement, awareness, grounding, and other physical practices to reduce stress responses and increase a sense of stability.
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Uses tapping while we talk about an experience or feeling to settle the body while we work with difficult memories.
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Uses intentional breathing to influence the body's stress response and gives you a practical way to settle yourself when you feel activated.
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Helps you understand the different parts of yourself that developed around difficult experiences. This increases self-compassion and helps you understand your reactions.
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Brings intentional movement into therapy so you reconnect with your body and build grounding, stability, and awareness.
You Don’t Have To Keep Carrying It The Same Way
You’ve already done the work of understanding what happened. Now we can focus on what is happening in your body, the patterns that keep showing up, and what you need to feel more like yourself again.
What Changes With Childhood Trauma Therapy
Understanding your past matters. But I want to help you live differently today.
Clients notice:
More calm
Less reactivity
Fewer ruminating thoughts
Greater self-awareness
More self-compassion
Less internal criticism
Stronger self-trust
More connection
“Over time, you become more tuned in to your true self and more confident in knowing how to take care of yourself.”
About Susan Shafer
Hi, I’m Susan Shafer, Licensed Professional Counselor, Advanced Accredited, Certified EFT Practitioner, and Certified 500 Hour Yoga Instructor.
I believe adults can make peace with their past without spending all of therapy talking about it.
My approach brings psychotherapy together with somatic work, tapping, breathwork, movement, and yoga so we can work with what you understand and what your body is still experiencing.
My extensive work in crisis management and trauma treatment, including intensive work with children shaped how I work with adults who are still carrying the effects of neglect, abuse, narcissistic abuse, violence, or other painful childhood experiences.
I’ve seen how experiences from early life can continue to affect the way someone responds, connects, copes, and understands themselves years later.
I practice the same tools I share with my clients. Outside of work, I enjoy yoga, meditation, tapping, exercise, traveling, family time, volunteering, and outdoor activities that do not involve much running! :)
If you’re ready to take the first step, I’m ready to connect.
Availability: I provide virtual mental health counseling for residents of New Jersey, North Carolina and New Hampshire.
Education, Credentials, and Trainings
Education
M.A.
University of North Carolina-Charlotte, 2008
Licensure & Credentials
Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC)
North Carolina #8482
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
New Jersey #37PC00876900
Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
New Hampshire #3481
Advanced Accredited, Certified Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) Practitioner
Certified 500 Hour Yoga Instructor
National Board Certified Counselor
NBCC #240852
Areas of Training & Experience
Internal Family Systems (IFS)-informed therapy
Extensive crisis management experience
Extensive trauma treatment experience
Childhood trauma
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT Tapping)
Somatic and body-based approaches
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Mindfulness-based approaches
Breathwork, movement, and yoga-informed practices
3 Steps To Get Started
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Fill out the contact form and tell me a little about what brings you in.
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We’ll talk about what you have tried, what you want to change, and whether my approach feels like a good fit.
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We’ll learn more about your history and what's happening now, then begin building practical ways to help you feel more regulated.