Understanding 4 Types of Trauma and How Therapy Can Help You Heal
Trauma doesn’t always come from one dramatic event—it often stems from repeated experiences that shape our emotional world, relationships, and sense of self. At Changing Tides Counseling, we understand that healing trauma requires more than just talking about the past. It requires reconnecting with our inner parts, calming the nervous system, and reclaiming safety and wholeness.
In this blog, we’ll explore four core types of trauma and introduce powerful trauma therapies—Internal Family Systems (IFS), EMDR, and Brainspotting—that can support deep, lasting healing. If you’ve been searching for trauma therapy, katy counseling, or therapy katy, read on to see how these approaches may support your journey.
1. Attachment Trauma
Attachment trauma occurs when a child’s early bond with a caregiver is disrupted by emotional unavailability, inconsistency, or rejection. These early wounds often result in anxious or avoidant attachment patterns, mistrust, or difficulty in forming healthy relationships.
Common signs of attachment trauma:
Fear of abandonment or rejection
Difficulty setting boundaries
Clinginess or extreme independence
Feeling unworthy of love
How Therapy Can Help:
Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps you access and heal younger “parts” that still carry unmet attachment needs.
Brainspotting allows for non-verbal processing of preverbal or early relational trauma.
EMDR can desensitize past memories of disconnection or betrayal.
2. Safety Trauma (Physical or Sexual Abuse)
Safety trauma results from experiences that threaten bodily or emotional security—such as sexual assault, physical abuse, or ongoing threats of harm. This trauma activates the body’s survival response and often results in PTSD, hypervigilance, and distrust of others.
Symptoms may include:
Flashbacks or intrusive thoughts
Panic attacks or intense anxiety
Feeling unsafe even in safe environments
Dissociation or emotional numbing
How Therapy Can Help:
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is highly effective for processing and neutralizing traumatic memories without re-traumatization.
Brainspotting targets trauma stored in the nervous system, helping release somatic tension.
IFS supports inner safety by working with protective and wounded parts at your own pace.
3. Abandonment & Neglect Trauma
This form of trauma develops when emotional or physical needs are consistently unmet during childhood. It includes being ignored, left alone, or emotionally unsupported. Over time, these experiences can lead to a profound fear of being “too much” or “not enough.”
Signs of abandonment trauma:
People-pleasing or codependency
Chronic loneliness or emptiness
Self-sabotage in relationships
Deep fears of rejection
How Therapy Can Help:
Internal Family Systems (IFS) helps you connect with inner child parts that were left behind and give them the care they never received.
EMDR can target moments of rejection or neglect to reduce emotional overwhelm.
Brainspotting gently processes body-held memories that don’t always have words.
4. Sense of Self Trauma (Shame, Rejection, Humiliation)
Trauma to the sense of self often stems from experiences of bullying, humiliation, or chronic invalidation. This type of trauma erodes self-worth and can leave a person feeling fundamentally broken or “not good enough.”
Symptoms of sense of self trauma:
Toxic shame or harsh inner criticism
Fear of being seen or judged
Impostor syndrome
Avoidance of vulnerability
How Therapy Can Help:
IFS works with inner critics and wounded parts to restore self-compassion.
EMDR reprocesses key memories that shaped negative self-beliefs.
Brainspotting can access the emotional core of shame and help integrate acceptance and healing.
Trauma Therapy at Changing Tides Counseling
If you’ve been searching for katy counseling, therapy katy, or trauma therapy that’s both holistic and personalized, Changing Tides Counseling is here to walk alongside you.
📞 Schedule a consultation today and explore how IFS, EMDR, or Brainspotting can support your healing process.
We proudly serve Katy, Texas and offer trauma therapy for individuals of all backgrounds and experiences. We accept insurance to ensure that life-changing therapy is accessible to more people.
Ready to Start Your Healing Journey?
Healing trauma takes more than insight—it requires a connection with the parts of us that have been hurt and hidden. Internal Family Systems offers that connection, and Changing Tides Counseling is here to guide you every step of the way.
If you’re searching for therapy in Katy that is trauma-informed, compassionate, and rooted in proven models like IFS, we invite you to reach out today.
📞 Contact us to schedule your first session or consultation.
Let’s begin your journey back to Self.
📍Located in Katy, Texas, and serving clients throughout Fulshear, Richmond, Houston, and beyond with in-person and virtual therapy options.
📞 832.303.9419
📧 office@changingtidescc.com
🌐 www.changingtidescc.com