Am I Ready for Trauma Processing?

At a glance

  • Readiness is about honesty + stability, not willpower

  • Active substance use/addiction and active eating disorders often need attention first

  • Telehealth only • CA, GA, FL at the time of session

  • Languages: English + Hebrew (native) • Contact form only

I'm an EMDRIA Certified Therapist™ with training in Jungian depth psychology, offering trauma-informed assessment and careful readiness preparation for EMDR therapy and trauma processing.

“Ready” doesn’t mean fearless

Trauma processing requires contact with difficult emotional material. The question isn’t “Can you handle it?” It’s: Do you have enough stability and support for the work to actually move somewhere—without destabilizing your life?

Readiness tends to involve:

  • honesty about what’s going on (internally and externally)

  • some steadiness in daily life

  • enough support and structure to stay oriented while doing hard work

What I assess for (and why)

I pay particular attention to factors that commonly interfere with trauma processing:

  • Substance use / addiction: If there is active addiction, trauma processing often gets stuck or becomes destabilizing. In those cases, addressing substance use first is usually the most effective path.

  • Eating disorders: Active eating disorder symptoms can function similarly—reducing stability and making deep processing difficult to integrate.

  • Overall life stability: If trauma processing disrupts someone completely—sleep, work, parenting, basic functioning—the process typically doesn’t go anywhere. We slow down and build capacity first.

This isn’t about judgment. It’s about setting the work up to succeed.

What happens if you’re not “ready” yet?

We don’t force it. We build the foundation.

That can look like:

  • strengthening grounding/resourcing skills

  • increasing day-to-day stability and support

  • clarifying what helps you return to the present when you’re activated

  • coordinating care or referring when another layer needs to be addressed first

Often, this preparation is what makes later processing effective—and sustainable.

Best-fit signs

This may be a fit if:

  • you have enough stability to tolerate emotional movement without collapse

  • you can be honest about what’s happening (including substance use or eating patterns)

  • you want trauma work that is paced carefully and collaboratively

  • you want depth without overwhelm

Slow-down / not-best-fit signs (for now)

We may need to slow down or address other factors first if:

  • there is active addiction/substance dependence

  • eating disorder symptoms are active and destabilizing

  • your life situation is currently too unstable for processing (unsafe environment, severe sleep deprivation, etc.)

  • you are seeking urgent or crisis-level care

Related: EMDR intensive fit • What is Depth EMDR?

Next step: If you’re in CA, GA, or FL at the time of session, reach out via the contact form. We’ll start by assessing fit and readiness together.

Explore next: Depth EMDR • Fees & FAQ • Contact • Licensure & Telehealth