Not Every Disagreement Is Dangerous: Trauma Therapy for Conflict Aversion in Falls Church, VA
Sometimes, childhood trauma therapy for conflict aversion can reveal just how deeply our coping patterns run. To keep yourself safe, your version of boundaries has become…avoidance. You don’t respond to your emotionally immature mom. You spend less time with your toxic friends. You text your volatile family less and less. You make up reasons as to why you can’t be with family for the holidays: you have work, something else came up, your partner had an emergency. It goes on and on.
Why Avoidance May Actually be Causing You More Harm than Good
But the anxiety still LIVES in you. You walk on eggshells, fearful of the anger that could come from everyone else. It shuts you down. But even when you don’t deal with them, you are so worried about their reaction—will it be calm? Will it be angry? Will it be cruel?
Avoidance can help you for a while, but the high anxiety is exhausting you. It’s also not helping you manage conflicts or disagreements. And that issue probably translates to other areas: overworking at work, struggling to deal with disagreements in romantic partnerships, or other relationships.
Here’s the thing: You can actually learn to manage that anxiety, be compassionate towards your emotions, and communicate those to the people you need to. Working with a therapist who specializes in trauma therapy for conflict aversion can help you get there.
How Childhood Trauma Therapy for Conflict Aversion Helps You Tackle Avoidance
Here is how we address conflict in childhood trauma therapy:
Slow down.
Slowing down during conflict and disagreements matters because you usually tend to speed up. When you feel urgency or threat, you might be someone who switches to people-pleasing rather than communicating your feelings, needs, and boundaries. In childhood trauma therapy, we work together to find grounding and anchoring strategies that support you in remaining present and connected even in these tough moments.
Identifying and communicating your needs and feelings.
We support you in building your awareness of and vocabulary for what you are feeling and when. This also comes as we restore your mind-body connection, particularly during high-stress moments (like conflict). We also support you in expressing this language in your own words, instead of getting defensive and shutting down.
Seeing past (everyone’s) defenses, including your own.
You tend to shut down because whenever you express a boundary, some pretty sharp, critical responses come your way. These responses can also be triggering in your body. You may even get defensive yourself and say things you later regret. Together, we work on how to remain grounded during these moments and how to continue expressing your needs in a way that is regulated. You are always allowed to communicate your needs—even if the other person does not respect them. You can respect them first.
Making peace with a result that isn’t “fixed.”
Not every conflict is going to end in a happy, fixed ending that is all tied up with a bow. Exploring the root cause of this in childhood trauma is important because it likely means that if something does not “end perfectly,” it feels like it isn’t right or resolved. At Nurturing Willow Psychotherapy, we work on shifting out of binaries and into being okay with multiple possibilities being true and held together at once.
Find Emotional Safety with Trauma Therapy for Conflict Aversion in Falls Church, VA
Alice Zic, MPH, LCSW | Licensed Trauma Therapist and Founder of Nurturing Willow Psychotherapy, LLC
At Nurturing Willow Psychotherapy, we provide gentle, trauma-informed care to help you restore a sense of safety, reconnect with your inner resilience, and remember the parts of yourself that feel most alive.
Here’s how to get started:
Schedule your free 15-minute consultation by clicking below.
Complete a short pre-consultation form so we can learn more about your goals.
Meet with trauma therapist Alice Zic to explore how therapy can support your healing.
Begin your path toward healing and reclaim your sense of self through compassionate childhood trauma therapy.
Learn About Online Childhood Trauma Therapy in Virginia
Online therapy offers an accessible, supportive way to begin childhood trauma therapy from the comfort of your own space. As a therapist licensed in Virginia, I’m able to work with clients located anywhere in the state. All you need is a quiet space, a reliable internet connection, and your preferred device to get started—no traffic, no commute, just care that fits into your life.
Schedule your free consultation call below to begin:
In-Person Therapy Services Available at Nurturing Willow Psychotherapy
Nurturing Willow Psychotherapy provides in-person therapy on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in New Orleans, Louisiana. If you live in the Greater New Orleans area and are seeking support for childhood trauma, the lasting effects of an emotionally immature parent, or anxiety therapy for your teen, our Mid-City office offers a warm, welcoming space to begin your healing journey.
Additional Online Therapy Services
In addition to our work with childhood trauma, Nurturing Willow Psychotherapy provides online therapy for teen anxiety in Connecticut, Virginia, and Louisiana, as well as in-person sessions in New Orleans. Whether you’re navigating the effects of parentification, supporting a teen through emotional overwhelm, or healing from childhood neglect, we offer a compassionate, judgment-free space for growth and recovery—accessible wherever you are in CT, VA, or LA.
Meet Alice Zic, Compassionate Childhood Trauma Therapist
Alice Zic, MPH, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker based in New Orleans, Louisiana, offering online therapy to clients across Louisiana, Connecticut, and Virginia, as well as in-person sessions in New Orleans. As a trauma therapist, Alice specializes in helping perfectionistic, mother-wounded women heal from childhood trauma and grow into confident, self-assured adults.
Her work is grounded in attachment-based therapy and informed by Internal Family Systems (IFS)—a trauma-focused, evidence-based approach that supports mind-body healing while fostering reparenting and compassion for the wounded, critical, and protective parts within you.
To learn more about Alice, click here. To begin your journey with her, schedule your free consultation today.