NARM Therapy for Developmental Trauma & C-PTSD
Working with the survival strategies that continue to shape your life today
NARM® — the NeuroAffective Relational Model — is a therapeutic approach developed specifically for developmental, attachment and relational trauma.
Early in life, we learn ways of adapting that help us maintain safety, connection and belonging.
These survival strategies from childhood can be remarkably intelligent and necessary at the time. But they can continue long after the circumstances that created them have changed.
Taken into adulthood, they may affect how we regulate ourselves, who we believe we are in life, and how we relate to other people.
How is NARM different?
NARM does not focus primarily on repeatedly revisiting or retelling traumatic experiences from the past. Instead, we become curious about how adaptations from the past are showing up in your life right now and how they are actually in the way for us to create the life we want to live.
We might explore questions such as:
-
What do I really want for myself?
-
What happens inside me when I move toward it?
-
What gets in the way of connection, intimacy or greater aliveness - our very basic human needs?
-
Which strategies that once protected me, may now be limiting me?
This allows us to work with developmental trauma without defining you by what happened to you.
What can we work with?
NARM can be particularly relevant when you struggle with:
-
emotional or nervous-system dysregulation
-
shame and low self-worth
-
difficulty identifying your needs
-
people-pleasing and difficulty setting boundaries
-
disconnection from yourself, your body or certain emotions
-
difficulties with closeness, trust or intimacy
-
recurring relationship patterns
-
feeling stuck despite understanding yourself intellectually
The goal is not to eliminate or fight your survival strategies.
We approach them with curiosity and respect while developing greater awareness, self-regulation, agency and connection.
My approach to NARM
NARM is at the center of my work with developmental trauma and C-PTSD.
At the same time, trauma can affect both our relationships and our nervous system. Where helpful, I therefore complement NARM with IFS® and somatic approaches, including TRE® and nervous-system regulation.
You don't need to decide which method you need.
We explore together what is happening and what may support you.
Is NARM right for you?
You don't need to understand your patterns before beginning therapy. Discovering how you have learned to adapt can itself be an important part of the therapeutic process.
If you would like to explore whether NARM and my approach might be helpful for you, we can start with a free 20-minute consultation.