Childhood Trauma Coaching for Adults
If you grew up with childhood trauma, abuse, neglect, or in a dysfunctional family, you know how deeply those experiences can shape your adult life. My childhood trauma coaching for adults helps you understand your patterns, manage triggers, set healthy boundaries, reconnect with your body and feel more empowered in daily life. Over time, it supports you in transcending past painful experiences, integrating body, mind, and emotions, and creating a life that feels whole, free, and authentic.
I offer childhood trauma coaching for adults online worldwide, giving you the flexibility to work on healing wherever you are. You can start with a free consultation to explore how my approach can support your unique journey and help you finally step into the life you deserve.
Does any of this sound familiar?
Growing up with childhood trauma, abuse, neglect, or in a dysfunctional family can leave lasting imprints that show up in adulthood in unexpected ways. Many people recognize symptoms but may not fully remember what happened to them.
As an adult with childhood trauma, you may notice:
You may find yourself feeling overwhelmed, numb, or disconnected from yourself. Many people struggle with anxiety, depression, or experience a harsh inner critic that seems relentless. You might also notice that you have intense reactions that feel out of proportion to the situation at hand.
In your relationships, you may:
Trust can be particularly difficult, and you might struggle to trust others even when they have proven themselves to be trustworthy. There may be an underlying fear of abandonment or concern about repeating unhealthy patterns from your past. Setting boundaries can feel nearly impossible, and you may have difficulty identifying your own needs. These challenges often manifest as anxious, avoidant, or disorganized attachment styles.
In your body, you may notice:
Your body might carry chronic tension, fatigue, or a feeling of being constantly on edge. You may find yourself easily startled or living in a state of hypervigilance, always scanning for potential threats. It can be difficult to feel safe or relaxed, even in environments that are objectively secure.
Your body might carry chronic tension, fatigue, or a feeling of being constantly on edge. You may find yourself easily startled or living in a state of hypervigilance, always scanning for potential threats. It can be difficult to feel safe or relaxed, even in environments that are objectively secure.
You may also experience:
A sense of low self-worth or chronic shame may permeate your daily life. Perfectionism can become a driving force that never quite feels good enough, no matter what you achieve. There may also be a persistent sense of not belonging, of being fundamentally different or separate from those around you.
If you notice some of these signs, know that they are not a character flaw or weakness. They are adaptive responses that helped you survive difficult circumstances as a child. While these experiences can be exhausting and debilitating, they don’t have to define the rest of your life. You are not broken. Healing is possible, and neuroscience now shows that our brains can recover—even decades later.
Who is it for?
This coaching isn’t only for people who identify as having experienced childhood trauma. It is beneficial for a wide range of adverse childhood experiences. This coaching is for you if you have experienced:
Benefits of childhood trauma coaching for adults
Emotional freedom
You can learn to manage overwhelming emotions without being controlled by them, releasing the chronic anxiety, depression, or numbness that’s held you back for so long. Through this work, you’ll discover the wisdom of your emotions and learn to quiet your inner critic while developing genuine self-compassion. You’ll be able to feel your feelings without being swept away by them, experiencing more joy, peace, and presence in your daily life. Perhaps most importantly, you can transcend painful or traumatic memories so that they lose their power over you.
Faster symptom relief
Traditional talk therapy is often not enough to heal trauma since it frequently excludes the body. EMDR is a bottom-up approach that includes the mind, body, sensations, and emotions. When people process traumatic experiences with EMDR, noticeable improvements in trauma symptoms can occur within just a few sessions (excluding preparation time). As a result, distressing symptoms like nightmares, flashbacks, and overwhelming emotions subside.
Healthier relationships
It’s possible to transform your attachment patterns and move toward earned secure attachment. You can learn to set and maintain healthy boundaries without guilt, trusting yourself and others more fully. As you develop the ability to communicate your needs effectively, you’ll find yourself attracting and maintaining healthier relationships. This healing allows you to break cycles of dysfunction that may have existed in your family for generations.
Nervous system regulation
You can learn to feel safer in your body and in the world around you. Rather than reacting automatically to triggers, you’ll develop the capacity to respond thoughtfully. Your window of tolerance for stress and emotion will expand, allowing you to experience more calm and groundedness in your day-to-day life. Many people also find they sleep better and have more energy as their nervous system finds regulation.
Inner wholeness
Healing inner fragmentation helps you feel more integrated as a person. You can reconnect with lost parts of yourself and come to know who you are beyond your trauma. This work allows you to access your authentic self more consistently, ultimately feeling whole, worthy, and enough exactly as you are.
Breaking intergenerational cycles
You have the opportunity to parent differently than you were parented, giving your children what you didn’t receive. You can stop the transmission of trauma to the next generation by modeling healthy relationships and emotional regulation. In doing so, you create an entirely new legacy for your family.
Empowered living
This journey takes you beyond merely surviving to actually thriving. You’ll be able to pursue your goals and dreams with confidence, making decisions from a place of clarity rather than fear. You can create a life that’s truly aligned with your values, feeling empowered rather than victimized by your past..
If this resonates, I would like to offer a gifted session to explore how I can support your healing journey.
About me
Hi, I’m Natalie—a trauma counsellor and coach with over 14 years of experience supporting adults healing from childhood trauma, complex trauma, and relational wounds.
But my understanding of this work isn’t just professional—it’s personal.
I grew up in a dysfunctional family. I know what it’s like to carry survival patterns into adulthood, to feel stuck, to question whether real healing is even possible. And while every person’s recovery journey is unique, I also know—from lived experience—that healing can happen.
My own journey included counselling, coaching, yoga, and deep inner work. I’ve sat in the client’s chair for EMDR, parts work, and somatic therapy. I understand this process from both sides: the professional expertise, and the lived reality of navigating trauma recovery.
Today, I bring that integration of professional expertise, lived experience, and gentle but accountable presence to the work I do with clients.
My approach to trauma coaching for adults: The Integrative Trauma Recovery Model™
I created the Integrative Trauma Recovery Model™ specifically to support adults healing from childhood trauma, relational trauma, and complex trauma. This framework combines evidence-based trauma healing approaches with empowering, forward-focused coaching to create a holistic path toward emotional freedom, nervous system regulation, and inner wholeness.
The model draws from multiple healing modalities—including EMDR, IFS-informed parts work, polyvagal theory, somatic practices, and attachment-focused work—tailored to your unique needs and nervous system. Rather than following a single rigid approach, I integrate what serves your healing best.
How I Work
I bring an anti-oppressive, trauma-informed lens to all my work, understanding deeply how systemic oppression and personal trauma can intersect. Healing must be safe, inclusive, and rooted in your autonomy.
Our work together is collaborative. You are the expert on your life—I offer tools and guidance, but you choose the direction and pace. We never move faster than your nervous system can safely handle, and we work holistically with mind, body, emotions, relationships, and patterns, because trauma touches every part of you.
My goal isn’t to create dependence—it’s to help you build the skills to thrive on your own. I offer online sessions worldwide so you can access support wherever you are.
What Makes This Approach Different
Traditional talk therapy or coaching often focuses primarily on the mind—understanding, analyzing, and discussing your experiences. But childhood trauma doesn’t just live in your thoughts; it lives in your body, your nervous system, and your relational patterns.
The Integrative Trauma Recovery Model™ addresses all of these dimensions. You get the depth of evidence-based trauma healing without the rigidity of traditional therapy, and the empowerment of coaching without bypassing what truly needs healing. The goal isn’t just symptom relief—it’s deep reconnection with your authentic self, expansion of what’s possible, and lasting transformation.
Core Philosophy
I believe every human being carries an innate capacity to heal from trauma. I also believe that every one of us has a part that is untouched by what has happened to you—let’s call it your essence. You may feel disconnected from it right now, but one element of recovery is reconnecting with it.
Trauma doesn’t define who you are—it’s an experience your body and mind adapted to in order to survive. Healing is about reclaiming your agency, reconnecting with your authentic self, and creating a life that feels safe, empowering, and aligned with your values.
Healing happens in context. Your experience is shaped by family, culture, systems, and broader social dynamics. Dynamics of oppression and marginalization are acknowledged and named, not dismissed or internalized as personal failure. My approach supports you in finding an empowered way to navigate these realities while building internal and relational resources, while also acknowledging and managing my own privilege in a healthy way.
Core Pillars of the Integrative Trauma Recovery Model™
The Integrative Trauma Recovery Model™ rests on three essential foundations for healing:
1. Your Commitment Healing unfolds through steady engagement. Your willingness to show up for yourself, at your own pace, is central to transformation.
2. A Safe, Grounded Coaching Relationship Trauma heals in relationship. A respectful, attuned, and consent-based coaching relationship provides a container for co-regulation, nervous system safety, and the emotional exploration needed to release old patterns.
3. Flexible, Integrative Methodology There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to your recovery, and this model allows me to draw from different modalities depending on your unique needs. We may use EMDR to process stuck memories, or IFS-informed parts work to heal inner fragmentation and reconnect you with your essence. Somatic approaches help release trauma that your body has held, while polyvagal theory guides us in understanding your nervous system and restoring a sense of safety and connection. We also draw on systemic and family constellation perspectives to understand intergenerational patterns. Throughout all of this, I bring anti-oppressive, trauma-informed practices that honor your identity and lived experience.
It’s your time to heal: Let’s begin
If this approach to healing childhood trauma resonates with you, I’d be honoured to get to know you. I offer a gifted session so you can explore your options in a safe, supportive space. You can book through my secure online booking system or message me at nat@brighthorizontherapies.com—whatever works better for you.
Your questions about childhood trauma coaching for adults answered
If you’re curious to learn more about trauma recovery at your own pace, you’re welcome to explore my Trauma Recovery FAQs.