Sexual Trauma Therapy in Lynnwood, WA

Healing From Sexual Trauma With Safety, Choice, and Compassion

When Sexual Trauma Lives On
in the Body

Sexual trauma can profoundly affect how you feel in your body, your relationships, and your sense of safety in the world.

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What makes sexual trauma especially painful is that it often involves violation of boundaries, loss of control, and betrayal of trust—sometimes by someone you knew, depended on, or loved.

Many survivors carry deep confusion, shame, or self-blame, even when they logically know what happened was not their fault.

You may have been told to “move on,” minimize what happened, or stay silent.

You may appear high-functioning on the outside—while inside, your nervous system is still bracing.

If this resonates, I want you to know:
Your reactions make sense. Your body adapted to survive.

Common Symptoms of Sexual Trauma

Anxiety, panic, or shutdown in intimate or vulnerable situations
Disconnection or numbness from your body
Difficulty with touch, sex, or physical closeness
Strong emotional reactions that feel “out of proportion”
Hypervigilance, startle response, or feeling constantly on edge
Shame, self-criticism, or feeling “damaged”
Difficulty trusting others or setting boundaries
Dissociation, spacing out, or losing time
Chronic tension, pain, or a sense that your body isn’t safe

Sexual trauma can stem from childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, coercion, boundary violations, or repeated experiences where your “no” wasn’t respected—even if no one ever named it as trauma.

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What Healing From Sexual Trauma Can Look Like

✅ Feeling safer and more present in your body

✅ Reduced shame and self-blame

✅ More choice around intimacy, boundaries, and connection

✅ Your nervous system no longer reacting as if the trauma is still happening

✅ Being able to say yes, no, or maybe—with clarity and self-trust

✅ Reclaiming your body as yours

Healing happens gradually, with pacing, consent, and deep respect for your system’s wisdom.

How I Work With Sexual Trauma

I take a gentle, collaborative, and body-based approach, especially mindful of how easily sexual trauma can be re-triggering. You are always in control of the pace, focus, and depth of our work. We do not rush into details. We focus first on safety, stabilization, and internal trust.

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Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Using Internal Family Systems, we explore the parts of you that developed to survive sexual trauma—such as parts that freeze, dissociate, avoid closeness, or stay hyper-alert.

Rather than trying to “get rid of” these responses, we approach them with curiosity and compassion.

IFS helps you:

Reduce internal shame and self-blame
Understand protective coping strategies
Build internal safety and self-leadership
Heal attachment wounds related to betrayal or violation

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EMDR Therapy

With Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, we gently process traumatic memories that remain stuck in the nervous system.

EMDR can help:

Reduce emotional intensity connected to traumatic experiences
Decrease body-based reactions and triggers
Allow memories to feel more distant and less overwhelming

We move slowly, with strong resourcing, so your system never feels pushed or flooded.

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Somatic Experiencing

Sexual trauma often involves immobility, freeze responses, or loss of bodily autonomy, which can leave trauma stored in the body.

Through Somatic Experiencing, we work with physical sensations rather than forcing verbal recall.

Somatic work helps:

Restore a sense of agency and choice in your body
Release survival energy held in the nervous system
Rebuild a felt sense of safety and embodiment

This approach is especially supportive if talking alone hasn’t led to lasting change.

Jane" I-Chen Liu, LMHC. SEP™ is a trauma therapist who specialized in EMDR, IFS parts work, and somatic experiencing to treat CPTSD, sexual trauma, and medical trauma, and difficult family dynamics for clients in Lynnwood WA and Washington State.

Virtual

Lynnwood WA

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Hybrid