Childhood, Intergenerational, & Complex Trauma

• Do attending family gatherings or social functions sound like your absolute worst nightmare?
• Do you struggle to set and enforce boundaries because you cannot stand feeling the guilt and shame of letting down others?
• Do you ever feel numb, disconnected, angry, powerless, dead inside, scared, on auto-pilot, anxious, or shut down when you come across something stressful?

If this sounds like you at any point in your life, then you are likely living out the long-term effects of childhood, intergenerational, and/or complex trauma. 

Sure, you probably did not experience a huge natural disaster, near-death experience, or war, BUT you did experience hurt and confusion in your upbringing that may still be self-sabotaging your relationships or perpetuating self-doubt years later. 

Those seemingly "normal" or everyday experiences in your childhood, with your caregivers, at school, behind closed doors — those experiences matter. They could be the very reason behind the questions like: 

• "Why am I like this?"
• "Why do I do this to myself?"
• "Why can't I change?"

I get it because I have asked those questions and been there myself. Maybe you get it too because maybe the shame and self-doubt is built right into your family's or your culture's DNA. 🧬 Maybe you might be the very first person in your family to seek help or get into therapy— I was! 

Don't let the lie, "My childhood wasn't that bad..." keep you from the healing you deserve. Breaking the cycle of trauma is not easy, but it is definitely worth it— trust me! You can be a first generation cycle breaker like me too!

So the good news is that your past does not get to dictate your future. There is hope for a restored and renewed you! With a little bit of help from a trained and professional trauma therapist, you may be on your way to healing into your most empowered, confident self.

In fact, I, Lan Nguyen, LCSW, am Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) trained and certified in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), two well-studied and established therapies for the treatment of trauma! Maybe a specialized somatic trauma therapy like EMDR may be the key to unlocking your freedom to live with less fear, distress, and reactivity!

Maybe you are not even sure if what you have experienced in childhood can be considered "traumatic"... Maybe you have blocks or gaps in your memory and cannot even recall much before high school. Whatever the case, working with a trained trauma specialist like me, Lan Nguyen, LCSW, may help move you from powerless to empowered. With tools such as EMDR, sometimes you do not even have to have the fullest or clearest memory of your upbringing to still find sweet relief and peace from a confusing past.

Trauma, whether big or little, seemingly legitimate or not, whether passed down from generation to generation or experienced as a child, does not have to be a part of your story. Reach out today to email me to start your healing journey and reclaim your narrative. 📩