FOR WOMEN | ACROSS CALIFORNIA
PTSD & Trauma Therapy
Mind–Body Therapy for Trauma. Help Your Nervous System Finally Settle.
You keep avoiding relationships, places, and activities that matter to you.
The word “trauma” can feel loaded. For some, it brings to mind a specific overwhelming event. For others, it’s less clear—something cumulative, relational, or long-standing.
Ly Franshaua Pipkins, Psy.D., specializes in PTSD & trauma therapy across California through her online therapy practice, using nervous system-based approaches to get to the root of what’s driving your trauma symptoms instead of just teaching you to manage them.
YOU HESITATE TO TRUST BECAUSE YOU FEAR SOMETHING BAD WILL HAPPEN AGAIN.
Imagine connecting with the people, places, and activities that bring you joy.
You’re Ready To:
soften your self-critical part and understand where it comes from
ease the guilt that shows up around family, culture, and expectations
feel more grounded in your body, even during big emotions
quiet the constant pressure to perform or “get it right”
build a kinder, steadier relationship with your inner world
hear your true voice — separate from fear, comparison, or obligation
navigate relationships with more clarity and less emotional reactivity
set boundaries without feeling like you’re betraying anyone
feel more confident speaking up at work or in relationships
reconnect with parts of yourself you’ve pushed aside to keep others comfortable
move through the day with more ease, presence, and internal safety
HOW IT WORKS
Together, we use brain body-based therapy to integrate your past and present experiences.
All of our work begins with the relationship between you and me. We’ll start with a consultation to see how we connect. From there, we’ll move forward with a full assessment and begin the work.
Like files in a computer, our memories must be processed, encoded, and stored in our brains. When we experience something painful, this processing and encoding system can go awry. In Brainspotting, we can access where the troubling files are stored, properly process them, and resolve them, storing them in a way that causes less distress, anxiety, and pain.
Together, we’ll find a “brain spot”: an area in your field of vision to focus on. I’ll ask you to mindfully observe what comes up as you keep your eyes on this spot and consider what’s bothering you. Sometimes, we’ll use tools like bilateral music (via headphones) to enhance the process, encouraging both sides of the brain to engage in the process.
As you continue to focus on the brain spot, your brain will begin to re-process and neutralize the “file” stored there, and you’ll start to notice feelings of more calm, clarity, and relief. You’re in control of every step of the way of this process—we trust that your brain knows what to do. My role is to be here as a guide and a safe container: a safe, stable presence that allows your nervous system to do the hard work to heal.
In the midst of challenges like the ones you’re facing right now, it can be easy to forget that your body has an innate ability to heal. In our work together, you can access that ability, it just requires a bit of help to get unstuck. Dr. Pipkins provides Brainspotting online throughout California. As someone who experienced the power of Brainspotting as a client first, she brings both training and personal understanding to this work.
My services are available online across CA, making it convenient for you to access care no matter your situation.
I specialize in brain body-based therapies because of the positive—and often more immediate—changes I saw in my clients.
Do more than just manage your symptoms.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. In my approach, the goal is not to force you to revisit or retell painful experiences before your system is ready. Mind–body therapies such as Brainspotting allow us to work with how trauma is held in the nervous system without requiring detailed verbal processing of every experience. Therapy moves at a pace that prioritizes steadiness, safety, and regulation rather than overwhelm.
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Yes. Trauma is not defined only by dramatic or life-threatening events. Many people experience long-term nervous system activation from chronic stress, emotional neglect, relational instability, identity-based stress, repeated criticism, or environments where they did not feel emotionally safe or supported. Often, what matters most is not only what happened, but how the nervous system adapted in response.
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Many trauma responses are stored physiologically rather than only cognitively. You may understand where certain reactions come from and still notice your body responding automatically during conflict, closeness, stress, or perceived rejection. This does not mean you are failing to heal. It often means the nervous system is still operating from patterns that were learned through experience and survival over time.
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Nervous system–based trauma therapy focuses not only on insight, but on helping the body experience greater regulation, flexibility, and safety over time. Sessions may include attention to body awareness, activation patterns, grounding, pacing, and emotional processing in ways that feel manageable rather than overwhelming. The work is collaborative and gradual rather than forcing immediate disclosure or intense emotional exposure.
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For many people, yes. Brainspotting is a brain–body therapy designed to work with trauma, attachment wounds, anxiety, and other nervous system patterns held beneath conscious awareness. Rather than focusing only on talking through experiences intellectually, Brainspotting helps access deeper physiological processing in a way that can feel more direct, contained, and less verbally demanding for some people.
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Many people who seek this work have already done significant insight-oriented therapy. They often understand their patterns clearly but still feel stuck in certain emotional or physiological responses. Nervous system–based approaches can offer a different layer of work by focusing more directly on how trauma and chronic activation are held in the body, not only how they are understood cognitively.
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Often, yes. Trauma can shape the way people experience trust, vulnerability, boundaries, conflict, and emotional safety in relationships. As the nervous system becomes less organized around protection and vigilance, many people notice greater ease in staying present, communicating clearly, tolerating closeness, and responding less automatically during emotionally activating moments.
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The free consultation that I offer is simply a chance to explore fit.
During that brief call we can:
talk about what you’re looking for
answer any questions you may have
decide whether this approach feels like the right next step
If it feels helpful, you’re welcome to request a consultation and we can take that next step together.