Trauma Therapy in Hayward, CA
EMDR therapy for women, online and in-person, to help you heal from the past and create meaningful inner change.
On your bad days, you struggle with overwhelming feelings of anxiety, sadness, and fear. You carry the impact of experiences where the people closest to you caused pain or didn’t protect you, and it still echoes in how you relate to others. Maybe you focus on the needs and opinions of others more than your own. You’ve tried different ways to feel better and cope…and it works…for a short while. But eventually you fall back into the cycle of feeling unworthy and lost. You’re in a constant (and exhausting!) battle with your inner critic. You feel like you’ve really made it in some parts of your life... but you just can’t seem to escape your past. And on top of everything you’ve been through, the world’s pressures, like ongoing injustice, discrimination, and challenges tied to your identity can leave you more on edge and exhausted. I want you to know that with support, you can build a life that isn’t organized around survival. EMDR therapy can help your nervous system learn something different.
I believe that beneath the memories, fear, and anxiety, your wise Self is still there waiting to be met again. Change happens when you feel supported and safe enough to explore deep and at the root. My approach as a therapist is steady, compassionate, and collaborative, focused on helping you build trust in yourself and the therapeutic process, as you move toward a life that feels good to you.
CHECKING IN
Is this how you’re feeling?
EMDR therapy helps you get unstuck from painful memories & coping patterns, limiting critical self beliefs, & old narratives that are no longer serving you.
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I help people heal from the wounds of the past weather they come from childhood hurt, family (intergenerational) trauma/dysfunction, or painful challenges later in life and from the anxiety that can show up when life has felt heavy for a long time. Together we untangle old stories, stuck emotions, and the beliefs that make everything feel overwhelming. In our work, we’ll slow things down, listen to what your mind and body are trying to tell you, and make space for new ways of responding to yourself and the world around you. My hope is that you leave therapy feeling more supported, more confident in yourself, and better able to move through life on your own terms.
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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) helps your brain gently process painful memories so they no longer feel as overwhelming or vivid. Through guided eye movements and other forms of bilateral stimulation, your mind and body get the chance to sort through what happened in a safer more regulated way. Over time, the feelings, thoughts, and body sensations tied to those experiences soften, and you gain more space to respond rather than react. My approach to EMDR is attachment focused, which means I carefully honor your pace and tailor the work to match your relational needs. Many people tell me EMDR helps them feel more present and empowered in their daily lives.
You can learn more about EMDR here: https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/
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I offer a supportive kind of dream work that helps you listen to your dreams not as random stories, but as meaningful messages from your inner life. Dream work has been used for thousands of years across cultures to help people gain insight, understand their emotions, and make meaning of their experience. Together we can explore your dreams, gently uncovering what they might be trying to show you. From a depth psychology perspective, dreams give us a window into the unconscious- the part of the mind that holds deeper emotions, unspoken memories, and hidden patterns. Dream work can bring insight, soften fear, and help you move toward healing in an intuitive way.
THE THERAPEUTIC PROCESS
Honoring your pace
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BUILD TRUST & SAFETY
We start by building a trusting relationship where you can feel seen and supported. Through thoughtful questions and explorations we uncover the focus of our work together. You'll learn mindfulness and coping skills to help you stay grounded as we prepare to dive into the deeper work.
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REPROCESS & RECLAIM
This is where the heart of the work happens. Using EMDR and other integrative therapies we process past traumas and difficult life experiences. We welcome whatever arises and attend to it with compassion and grace.
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INTEGRATE & REIMAGINE
You create new healthy core self-beliefs and integrate all the learning from our processing sessions. You reimagine your life through the trust, self-compassion, and inner resilience you have created.
Hi, I’m Elba
I am Licensed Clinical Social worker (LCSW #108027) and EMDR therapist, who is passionate about helping women heal from past traumas or difficult life experiences, create meaning from their pain, and find a new way forward in life.
My passion for this work grew out of my own lived experience which inspired me to deeply explore the generational patterns I carried and eventually led me to a path of helping others do the same.
I have spent the last decade focused on working with individuals who present with complex trauma including survivors of torture, asylum seekers, domestic/family violence survivors, and women in recovery from substance use. I have advanced training in evidence-based and well researched therapy modalities such as EMDR, IFS, and mindfulness that uniquely equip me to work with those who have experienced trauma at all stages of life. But most importantly, the cornerstone of my practice is the genuine presence, attunement, and warmth that I bring to my work with clients. I take great care in building an authentic therapeutic relationship that honors our shared humanity so that we can dive deep into the work.
I aim to create a supportive and affirming space for women, especially women of color, where you can come and break generational patterns and feel worthy of taking space and being seen. I welcome your therapeutic cultural practices, beliefs, and ways of healing that are ancestral and grounded in your culture into our sessions. My work is deeply rooted in the belief that when we see that we are not our darkest thoughts and beliefs, that we are not the trauma we lived or inherited, we open ourselves up to vast possibilities and we begin to be the creators of our own lives.
FAQS
Answering your questions
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I am a private-pay (cash-pay) practice and do not accept insurance. This allows for greater flexibility, privacy, and individualized care. Upon request, I can provide you with a superbill (a type of receipt) that you may submit to your insurance for potential out-of-network reimbursement. I recommend contacting your insurance provider in advance to understand your benefits as reimbursement is not guaranteed.
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My rate it $185 for a 50 minute individual therapy session. I see clients on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
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Yes! I offer virtual therapy to women who reside anywhere in California, as well as in-person sessions in Hayward, located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area.
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I work with adult women who are living with the long-term impact of childhood trauma, complex family relationships, and other relational traumatic experiences. Many of the women I work with are high-functioning, outwardly capable, yet struggle with anxiety, overwhelm, low-self worth or a harsh inner critic. I have a special interest in working with Latine/a women and approach this work with deep attention to cultural and generational influences.
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During your first session I take time to understand what’s bringing you to therapy and what you’re hoping to gain from our work together, I’ll ask you thoughtful questions about your current concerns, your history, and your goals, while also getting to know you as a person so we can move forward at a pace that feels supportive to you.
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EMDR is my primary treatment modality, especially in working with trauma and anxiety related to trauma. That said, therapy is never one-size-fits-all. I thoughtfully integrate other approaches such as Internal Family Systems (IFS), mindfulness practices, and DBT skills when they support your healing.
LET’S WORK TOGETHER
Ready to take the first step?
Reaching out for therapy can feel like one of the hardest first steps, and you don’t have to navigate it alone. When you contact me, I'll take time to listen to what's bringing you in and what kind of support you're looking for, and I'll let you know if I'd be a good fit for your needs. I offer a free 15 minute initial consultation to help you get a feel for my approach and ask any initial questions. If you're ready to take the first step I invite you to reach out to schedule your consultation.