What happened to you actually matters.

I know people make jokes about Freud and "your mom" — but there's real truth in what gets dismissed. Childhood trauma follows us. It's not stuck back there in childhood. It lives in the body, in the nervous system, in the patterns that keep showing up in your adult life. And ignoring it doesn't make it go away.

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What I actually think about this

"The things that happened to you in childhood have a genuine impact on who you become as a person. And ignoring it doesn't make it go away — it just means it shows up somewhere else, in ways you might not connect back to the source."

Childhood trauma isn't just about big, obvious events. It's also about what was missing — attunement, safety, consistency, being truly seen. The body keeps a record of all of it. And those early experiences shape the nervous system, the relational patterns, the inner critic — all of it.

What we do in therapy is go back to the source — carefully, at your pace — so you can understand yourself instead of just fighting the symptoms of what happened to you.

Where it shows up

Trauma doesn't just live in the memories.

It lives in how you move through the world — in your relationships, your body, your sense of what's possible for you. Here's what I'm often tracking.

Relational patterns

Who you choose, how much you trust, what you expect people to do when things get hard.

The inner critic

Shame, self-blame, the voice that says you're too much or not enough — often rooted in early experiences.

Body responses

Hypervigilance, shutting down, numbness, reactivity that feels out of proportion — your nervous system remembers.

Protective patterns

The coping strategies that helped you survive then — and are getting in your way now.

"We go gently. I'm not going to push you somewhere you're not ready to go. The work is collaborative and paced by you — and I'll be honest with you about what I'm noticing along the way. You don't have to go back there alone."

— Tyler Ricks, LPC-Associate

My approach

Trauma work requires a particular kind of care — one that doesn't rush toward the wound before the relationship is ready to hold it. I draw from psychodynamic frameworks to understand how early experiences shaped you, and from AEDP and NARM to work with the nervous system directly. We work at the pace that's right for you. Self-compassion isn't just a concept here — it's woven into every part of the work.

Psychodynamic AEDP NARM Trauma-informed Depth-oriented

Real questions

Before we start.

What if I don't have a "big T" trauma?

Trauma isn't only about dramatic events. Emotional neglect, inconsistent caregiving, chronic invalidation — these leave real marks too. If the impact is there, the experience counts. You don't have to qualify.

I'm scared of bringing up old stuff and making things worse.

That fear makes complete sense — and I take it seriously. We don't go anywhere before the relationship between us is solid enough to hold it. The pacing is collaborative. You're always in the driver's seat.

Do you take insurance?

I'm private pay. Superbills for out-of-network reimbursement and HSA/FSA accepted. Full details on the Work With Me page.

You don't have to go back there alone.

A free 15-minute call. No pressure,
no commitment — just a real conversation.

Book a free consult → About Tyler

Virtual across Texas · $125/session · Sliding scale available