Getting Past Your Trauma and Anxiety

Ritsu Itoi, trauma & anxiety therapist

Hi, I’m Ritsu. I am a licensed therapist practicing in Seattle, and a trauma & anxiety specialist.

Like many of us, you were probably raised to be responsible, self-sufficient, and helpful to others. Asking for help yourself probably does not come easily to you. I am glad that you are considering therapy to take care of yourself.

Many of my clients reach out to me because they want to be free from a debilitating feeling of constant worry, anxiety, stress, or panic. They have a hard time stopping their thoughts and relaxing. Sometimes they suffer panic attacks or anxiety attacks. Others struggle with strong negative emotions such as fear and anger. Whatever the individual experience is, what’s common is that most of my clients have a sense that they are overreacting. They are often puzzled by the intensity of their emotional responses and blame themselves for it.

These difficult emotions, paired with self-criticism, get in the way of living a fulfilling life. We start doubting our own judgement. We start withdrawing from life and end up feeling stuck and out of control. We start believing that we are not smart enough to figure things out on our own. Does any of this sound familiar to you?

Your Trauma Has Power Over You

My central belief as a therapist is that there are reasons why we do things the way we do. When there are patterns of problematic feelings, behaviors, or thoughts, there are likely past experiences, often traumatic, that are intensifying these responses.

My goal is to help people be able to live fuller lives through a transformative journey to understand, work through, and go beyond the past trauma that is negatively affecting their lives. Your past may have a lot of power over you and may make you feel powerless right now. I will help you regain power and rediscover your strengths.

To achieve those results, I use an integral approach combining evidence-based therapy techniques and best practices, based on careful observations of your unique situation and my extensive experience working with diverse clients and issues. The treatment techniques offered are CBT, DBT, EMDR, IFS, Motivational Interviewing, Neuropsychotherapy, and Mindfulness.

Curious? Let’s Talk.

Call or e-mail me to set up a 15-min free phone consultation. We can discuss your concerns and goals, and address questions you may have about therapy. If you decide that my approach and style are a good fit for you, we will set up an appointment to start meeting.