Denver Relationship Trauma Counseling: Healing Together

Erika Baum
Sep 23
3 min read

Relationships can be our greatest source of connection - but also our deepest source of pain. If you've experienced emotional neglect, abuse, betrayal, abandonment, or attachment trauma in past or current relationships, you might be carrying wounds that feel invisible but impact every area of your life.

Relationship trauma doesn’t just affect how we love - it affects how safe we feel in the world, how we relate to ourselves, and whether we believe we are worthy of real intimacy.

Whether you’re navigating painful patterns in your current relationship or trying to make sense of unresolved hurt from your past, I want you to know: you don’t have to carry it all alone. Relationship trauma counseling can help you feel safer in your body, your emotions, and your relationships—maybe for the first time.

What Is Relationship Trauma?

Relationship trauma occurs when emotional or psychological harm happens within a close relationship—often repeatedly or in formative years. This can include:

Emotionally neglectful, critical, or abusive partners
Growing up with emotionally immature parents or caregivers
Being an adult child of alcoholics (ACOA) or of emotionally unavailable parents
Experiences of gaslighting, betrayal, or abandonment
Chronic attachment wounds—feeling unsafe in love, unseen, or "too much"

You might not always call it trauma, but your nervous system remembers. And so do your relationships.

How Relationship Trauma Shows Up

Here are some common ways I see relationship trauma manifest in clients:

Fear of intimacy or abandonment
Feeling like you’re “too much” or “not enough”
Constantly over-giving or shutting down to protect yourself
Struggles with trust, boundaries, or emotional regulation
Repeating painful relationship patterns despite your best efforts
Numbing out, dissociating, or becoming hyper-independent

These are not character flaws. They are adaptations—your system’s way of surviving in unsafe relationships. And with care and support, they can shift.

My Approach to Healing Relationship Trauma

In my Denver counseling practice, I support individuals and couples through a trauma-informed, relational lens. Healing looks different for everyone, but some of the approaches I use include:

Attachment-Focused Therapy

Understanding your attachment style—and how it was shaped by past relationships—can help you build safer, more secure connections moving forward.

EMDR + IFS

These modalities allow us to work with the deeper roots of trauma—often beneath conscious awareness—without reliving the pain. EMDR is powerful for processing past events, while IFS (Internal Family Systems) helps us work with the protective parts of you that carry relational wounding.

Somatic + Nervous System Support

Because trauma lives in the body, we gently work with sensations and regulation tools to help you feel safer and more present in connection.

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)

In select cases, KAP offers a deeply supportive option for those feeling stuck or disconnected from their healing. I work with clients interested in spiritually-integrated, whole-person healing.

Couples Counseling with a Trauma Lens

If you’re in a relationship, we can explore how your respective attachment styles and trauma histories show up—and how to move toward co-regulation, emotional safety, and connection.

Why “Healing Together” Matters

Trauma often teaches us to isolate, to protect ourselves by never needing anyone. But we heal in safe, attuned relationships—with ourselves and others.

You don’t have to be in a perfect place to begin healing. You just need to be willing to show up.

Whether you’re:

Trying to break old relational cycles
Struggling with trust or emotional safety
Recovering from a breakup, betrayal, or attachment wounding
Or navigating your current relationship with hope and fear at the same time

You deserve support.

You're Not Meant to Do This Alone

As a therapist in Denver specializing in relationship trauma, CPTSD, and attachment repair, I hold space for your story with compassion and clarity. Together, we’ll work toward helping you feel more regulated, connected, and empowered—within yourself and in your relationships.

If any part of this resonated with you, you’re already on your healing path. I’d be honored to walk alongside you.