Trauma Therapy in Connecticut
Specialized PTSD and trauma treatment from an EMDRIA-certified therapist with Silver Hill experience.
Understanding & Healing Trauma
Trauma leaves marks. Whether from a single distressing event or prolonged, repeated harm, trauma alters how your brain processes safety, trust, and belonging. You might experience intrusive memories, nightmares, hypervigilance, or emotional numbness. Triggers remind your body of the threat without conscious understanding. Healing is possible, but it requires skilled, compassionate, trauma-informed care.
Robert Romano, LCSW, brings specialized expertise in trauma therapy. He's EMDRIA-certified in EMDR (the gold-standard trauma treatment), spent four years at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan treating complex trauma cases, and integrates trauma-sensitive approaches including IFS (Internal Family Systems), somatic therapy, and DBT. His clinical depth means you're receiving care from someone who understands trauma's complexity and knows how to guide healing.
What Is Trauma & PTSD?
Trauma
Exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence. Trauma overwhelms your brain's normal processing, leaving the memory "frozen" with its full emotional and physical impact intact.
PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
When trauma symptoms persist weeks or months, interfering with functioning. Includes intrusive memories, avoidance, negative cognitions about self/world, and hyperarousal. PTSD is treatable.
Complex PTSD (C-PTSD)
Develops from prolonged, repeated trauma—childhood abuse, domestic violence, combat. Beyond PTSD symptoms, includes difficulty with emotion regulation, trust, self-concept, and sometimes dissociation. Robert specializes in complex trauma.
Trauma Types Robert Treats
- Childhood Abuse: Physical, emotional, sexual, neglect
- Adult Sexual Assault: Rape, harassment, coercion
- Domestic Violence: Intimate partner abuse
- Accidents & Injuries: Motor vehicle, falls, medical events
- Combat & Military: PTSD, moral injury
- Medical Trauma: Surgeries, illness, pain
- Loss & Grief: Sudden death, suicide
- Witnessing Violence: Including childhood exposure
Evidence-Based Trauma Treatment Approaches
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing): EMDRIA-certified. Bilateral stimulation combined with trauma memory recall allows your brain to naturally reprocess the memory, reducing its emotional charge. Often faster than talk therapy alone.
IFS (Internal Family Systems): Views your mind as having "parts," some protecting you from trauma. IFS helps parts communicate, release trauma burden, and integrate for wholeness.
Somatic Therapy: Recognizes trauma lives in the body. Somatic practices help your nervous system release stored trauma, restoring sense of safety.
Trauma-Focused CBT: Addresses trauma-related thought patterns and avoidance behaviors through gradual exposure and cognitive restructuring.
DBT: For trauma with emotion regulation or self-harm, DBT teaches distress tolerance and interpersonal skills.
Why Robert's Silver Hill Background Matters
Four years at Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut—a leading psychiatric hospital specializing in complex mental health and trauma—means Robert has worked with severe, complex trauma cases. This experience translates to sophisticated clinical judgment, understanding of trauma's presentation, and proven ability to guide healing.
Safety-first approach: Silver Hill model emphasizes creating safety before processing. Robert builds stability and coping skills before trauma work begins.
Trauma-informed: Understanding that trauma responses aren't defects but understandable survival mechanisms. Compassion and non-judgment are foundational.
Integrated care: Recognizing trauma's impact on sleep, body, nervous system, relationships. Treatment addresses the whole person.
Begin Trauma Healing Today
Trauma healing is possible. You don't have to live with triggers, flashbacks, or numbness. The first step is a free 15-minute consultation where Robert listens and you explore if his approach is right for you.
Phone: 203.654.9094
Email: LCSW@robromano.com
Offices: Darien (30 Old Kings Hwy S) & Westport (191 Post Road W) | Telehealth: Throughout Connecticut