Trauma-Informed & Holistic Individual Therapy
Support for trauma, anxiety, grief, and life transitions—through a holistic, body-aware approach that helps you feel more grounded, clear, and like yourself again.
With Miriam Chor Freitas, LCSW, EMDR-CIT, CCTP-II, RYT
Trauma-Informed & Holistic Individual Therapy
You’ve made it through hard things. Maybe you even became skilled at functioning through the pain. But you’re tired, frustrated, and deep down, you know there’s more to life than just surviving.
You’re ready for something different—making peace with your past, feeling safer in the present, and moving toward a future with more clarity, connection, and peace of mind.
You want more than just surviving. You want to thrive.
Whether you’re navigating painful emotions, life transitions, or feeling stuck in old patterns, you don’t have to do it alone.
Individual therapy with Miriam Chor Freitas, LCSW offers a compassionate, integrative approach that honors your lived experience while supporting nervous system regulation, emotional healing, and personal growth.
What Working With Me Looks Like
I’m a licensed clinical social worker providing individual therapy to adults through an integrative, whole-person approach. Together, we explore your thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations to help you move through pain, process past experiences, and create meaningful change.
I offer client-centered therapy that is compassionate, honest, and body-aware. I won’t give you a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, we slow down, tune in, and work in a way that honors your story, your nervous system, and your pace.
As part of this process, we may gently explore and shift patterns—such as negative beliefs or recurring thought cycles—so you can relate to yourself and your life with greater clarity and self-compassion.
Tools and approaches we may incorporate:
Breathwork and grounding practices
Mindfulness and meditation, including mantra meditation
Somatic awareness and gentle movement
Parts work
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
Polyvagal-informed interventions
Skills from DBT and relational therapy
Self-care practices that support your cognitive, emotional, and physical well-being
I also bring a culturally responsive and inclusive lens to my work. As a multicultural therapist originally from Brazil, I value and respect diverse identities, experiences, and backgrounds. I offer therapy in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
I have experience working with individuals from a wide range of communities, including immigrants, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ clients. I am mindful of the impact of systemic and cultural factors, and I strive to create a space where you feel seen, respected, and supported..
My Therapeutic Approach
My approach to therapy is integrative, trauma-informed, and body-aware. I combine evidence-based practices such as EMDR and somatic nervous system regulation with mindfulness, body-based interventions, and practical coping tools.
Therapy is tailored to your lived experience, identity, and current life circumstances—supporting you in moving from surviving to thriving, while fostering resilience, embodiment, and self-trust within a culturally affirming space.
Therapy can support you in:
Feeling more grounded and calm
Understanding and working through the roots of emotional pain
Regulating your nervous system
Shifting limiting beliefs and patterns
Reconnecting with your body, boundaries, and sense of self
Cultivating self-compassion and self-worth
Showing up more authentically and confidently
Building supportive self-care practices
Creating a greater sense of purpose, connection, and meaning
My work may integrate:
EMDR and somatic approaches – to support processing and nervous system regulation
Mindfulness and breathwork – to reduce overwhelm and increase presence
Cognitive and relational work – to shift patterns of self-criticism and deepen insight
Body-aware regulation practices – to build a felt sense of safety
Tailored strategies – so you have tools that fit your life
Healing isn’t one-size-fits-all. Our work is collaborative, paced with your nervous system, and grounded in your values and goals.
Who I Work With
I work with adults navigating a wide range of life challenges and transitions.
My practice is inclusive and affirming of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, multilingual communities, and people from diverse cultural and life backgrounds.
Areas I Support in Therapy
Trauma and PTSD
Anxiety and depression
Grief and loss (including divorce and relationship endings)
Chronic illness and medical trauma
Menopause and midlife support
Identity, minority stress, and stigma-related experiences
Personal growth, grounding, embodiment, and meaning-centered healing
Grief and Loss
Ending a relationship, losing a loved one, or moving through major life transitions can bring waves of grief, anxiety, and identity shifts. Therapy offers a space to process these experiences, understand your patterns, and begin again with greater clarity and self-compassion.
Complex Trauma & PTSD
Trauma isn’t always a single event—it can be developmental, relational, or ongoing. Using EMDR, somatic approaches, and nervous system regulation, we work to gently shift survival responses into a greater sense of safety, integration, and resilience.
LGBTQ-Affirming Therapy
You deserve support that honors who you are. I provide an affirming space where you can explore gender, sexual orientation, gender dysphoria, and societal stressors with understanding and care.
Anxiety & Depression
Persistent worry, emotional overwhelm, or a sense of heaviness can make daily life feel exhausting. Therapy offers a space to understand what’s beneath these experiences, develop tools for regulation, and reconnect with a sense of stability, clarity, and self-trust.
Midlife & Menopause Support
Midlife and menopause can bring emotional, physical, and identity shifts that feel disorienting or overwhelming. Therapy offers a space to process these changes, regulate the nervous system, and reconnect with yourself during this transition—supporting greater clarity, self-compassion, and empowerment.
Chronic Illness & Medical Trauma
Living with chronic illness can deeply impact identity, emotional well-being, and your relationship with your body. Therapy can support nervous system regulation, grief processing, and the integration of mind-body healing, helping you reconnect with resilience and meaning. This work is especially powerful when combined with somatic therapy and trauma-informed EMDR approaches.
Building Safety, Connection, and Resilience
The goal of our work together is to support your ability to navigate life with greater resilience, flexibility, and self-trust.
Over time, you may begin to notice:
A greater sense of self-worth and inner stability
Healthier boundaries and more fulfilling relationships
Increased emotional regulation and a deeper sense of calm
A shift from surviving toward growth, clarity, and empowerment
How to Get Started
If you’re ready to explore healing in a supportive, culturally responsive, and compassionate space, I’m here to walk beside you.
Therapy takes courage, and you don’t have to do it alone.
FAQs
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I offer both. You can contact me via email to schedule your free 20-minute phone consult or you can call me at 858-842-0234
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75-minute initial assessment for individual therapy- $250.00.
Please note that if you are using insurance, they only cover 60 minute intakes.
55-minute individual sessions - $200.00
70-minute individual sessions - $240.00
85-minute individual sessions - $280.00
* Reduced fees may be available in special circumstances.
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I accept Cigna, Healthnet, and Spring Health only for individual therapy. I can also work as an out-of-network provider for other insurance plans as well. I can provide you with a Superbill that you can submit to your insurance company to apply toward your deductible and/or reimbursements.
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Insurance often covers individual therapy, but it typically requires a mental health diagnosis and that treatment be considered “medically necessary.”
Insurance often covers individual therapy, but there is a grey area. It requires a mental health diagnosis and they have to consider the treatment “medically necessary.” In addition to that, they do have access to your medical records.
If you’re seeking support for personal growth, life transitions, or challenges that don’t meet those criteria, insurance may not cover sessions.
In these cases, paying privately allows for greater treatment flexibility, privacy, and a more personalized approach to your care.
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How often should we meet?
I work with new clients on a weekly basis. I know from experience and research that it’s important to come to sessions frequently and consistently to create a strong working relationship with your therapist and achieve your desired results sooner. As treatment progresses, sessions may be spread over time. Your health and well-being is worth the commitment. For practical purposes, we will try to establish a re-occurring weekly appointment at the same time.Item description
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Generally speaking, during the first 1-3 sessions, we will do a thorough history, discuss your situation in detail and establish specific goals for treatment. During the mid-stage of treatment, we will process your trauma, identify your triggers and develop a set of tools for dealing with the issues that brought you to counseling and a self-care routine to improve the overall your quality of your life. In the last stage of therapy, we will focus on practicing the new skills and understanding learned in the therapeutic process and integrating the goals from treatment into the fabric of your daily life.
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Everyone is different but generally speaking, the pain starts to subside and give space to awareness, resilience, self-compassion, understanding, joy and fulfillment. Clients improve their ability to notice and connect their cognitive, emotional and somatic processes and integrate the experience into new ways of dealing with their circumstances and feeling less triggered by challenging people and/or life situations. Their relationship to themselves and others improve. They have new tools to solve old and new problems and they feel more empowered to use them. At the end of therapy, they feel more connected to their inner sources of strength and wisdom and start to experience themselves and the world in a more positive light. Item description
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