Therapy for Trauma, Emotional Eating, & Self-Criticism in West Des Moines
When the Weight of the Past (or the War Within) Pulls You Off Course
You might feel like you are walking through life with a heavy backpack you didn’t ask for. It’s not just the weight of old wounds or trauma; it’s the accumulated heaviness of shame, self-criticism, and the exhausting battle with your own body. Carrying that load makes it impossible to find your footing.
We help you set down the weight, recalibrate your compass, and find your way back to yourself.
Therapy for Trauma & PTSD
Navigating the Terrain of Your Past
We hold space for the full spectrum of your story. Trauma doesn’t look the same for everyone. For some, the path was broken by a major event—a distinct trauma, abuse, or loss that divided your life into “before” and “after.” You need a guide who can handle the weight of that story and help you find safety again. For others, you might not even call it “trauma.” You might just call it “the stuff” that happened to you. A difficult childhood where you walked on eggshells, a toxic relationship, or years of feeling unseen. Big or small, named or unnamed—these experiences leave a mark. They act like invisible magnets, constantly pulling you back into old patterns and reactions.
The Goal: We provide a strong, safe container to process what happened—no matter how heavy it feels. We help you “unhook” from the past so you can move forward on your path, not the one your history dictated for you.
Overcoming Chronic Self-Criticism
Silencing the Inner Critic
Is your internal compass stuck on “Not Good Enough”? For many of our clients, the harshest voice in the room is the one inside their own head. That crushing weight of perfectionism tells you that you’re “lazy,” “behind,” or “broken”—no matter how hard you work or how much you achieve. This isn’t a personality flaw; it’s a survival map that no longer works.
The Goal: We’ll help you trade that inner bully for an inner ally. By practicing the skill of self-compassion, you can reconnect with the authentic, worthy person you already are—and finally find rest on stable ground.
Binge/Emotional Eating & Body Image Issues
Finding Safety in Your Own Skin
Ending the war with your body. Are you tired of the constant battle to “fix” yourself? Maybe it’s the exhausting mental math around food, or maybe it’s avoiding mirrors or photos because you don’t like what you see in them. This disconnect often fuels a painful cycle: swinging between trying to be “good” (following strict rules) and feeling out of control (turning to food for comfort) when the stress hits. We believe this isn’t a willpower problem; it’s a regulation problem. Your hunger isn’t a character flaw and your body isn’t the enemy—it’s the vehicle for your life. Whether you are bingeing, constantly dieting, or hiding, your system is simply trying to cope with feelings that seem too big to handle.
The Goal: We’ll help you understand why you turn to food (or control) for safety and help you rebuild a relationship with your body based on respect, not war, so you can live a full, vibrant life—not one spent counting calories or hiding.
How We Guide You Home
Beyond just “talking about it.” You can’t think your way out of a nervous system response. If you’ve tried talk therapy before and felt like you were just spinning your wheels, you need a map that covers the whole terrain—mind, body, and heart. Our approach combines deep, brain-based processing with practical skill-building.
- Heal the Wounds (Trauma): We use EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) to help your nervous system “digest” stuck memories so the past stops hijacking your present. This allows you to process traumatic events without having to relive every painful detail.
- Quiet the Critic (Shame): To dismantle deep-rooted shame, we combine the processing power of EMDR with Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and Mindful Self-Compassion. These tools work together to retrain your brain, helping you stop the internal war and start acting as your own ally.
- Make Peace with Your Body (Food & Image): We adhere to a strictly weight-neutral approach to care. We focus on rebuilding a relationship with food and your body based on trust and respect, not the number on a scale. We integrate EMDR to address body image trauma alongside DBT skills to help you navigate intense emotions without using food to cope.