SEXUAL ABUSE THERAPIST IN CAMPBELL, CA
Therapy for survivors of sexual abuse
I won’t question you if you can’t clearly remember what happened.
I won’t tell you your experience “doesn’t count” (it does).
I won’t judge you if you never told anyone before now.
I will help you reprocess the experience(s) so that you can live without this heavy weight.
Available in-person in Campbell, CA and virtually throughout CA & PA.
Maybe things on the outside are “okay.”
But inside is a different story…
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Bouts of anxiety or depression that may not feel directly connected to the incident
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A sense of deep, deep shame that you can’t name or point to a clear cause for
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Trouble with intimacy today, even with partners you know are safe
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Keep replaying what happened in your head, even if you tell yourself it wasn’t “that bad”
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Wondering why you can’t just put this behind you and live your life
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Flashbacks or heightened emotional reactions that “don’t make sense”
My bottom-up approach can help you process sexual trauma trapped in your body
Trauma often causes memories to “get stuck” in the moment they occurred, with all the same physical sensations, overwhelm, and extreme emotions as the day it happened.
When your brain is in this activated state, it’s nearly impossible to think or talk your way out.
That’s why I don’t rely on talk therapy alone.
A somatic approach with EMDR gives you a new access point, through your body, not your thoughts, and helps you fully re-process the trauma so thinking about it feels more neutral than triggering.
How sexual abuse therapy works
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Build coping skills
I help you take immediate steps to create a baseline of bodily safety: making sure you’re sleeping, equipping you with grounding skills, and building a relationship of trust between us.
This foundation is what will make you feel able to handle talking about the assault or abuse if you decide you want to.
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Explore where the pain is
Once you feel ready — there’s no rush! — I’ll help you unravel the complicated memories and feelings to identify which moments we should target with EMDR.
This identification is especially helpful when dealing with childhood abuse that feels fuzzy, sexual assault, or a trauma that’s fragmented and unclear.
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Reprocess with EMDR
When you’re ready, we begin EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.
We revisit memories while allowing your brain to process them differently this time, so they feel more neutral and less “alive” in your day-to-day life.
Therapy is worth it
My clients often report outcomes like…
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✔ Trusting your body and no longer feeling afraid of physical sensations
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✔ Finally having clarity and a name for what happened to you
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✔ The memory feeling more neutral and in the past, without extreme distress
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✔ Lightness and freedom with safe sexual intimacy today
I’m Michele Root, LCSW, sexual trauma therapist
Whatever your story, I can handle it:
I spent time as a victim advocate, staying with survivors from that initial uncertain hotline call of "I may have been raped" to holding their hand during the forensic rape exam, to sitting with them during court proceedings.
I’m deeply aware of how our minds deal with sexual trauma. It’s normal to not tell anyone (for decades, even), recant your story, or not be sure. None of that invalidates your experience.
I have extensive experience with assaults that aren’t clear-cut, and I can help you identify and name what really happened without judgment.
I have advanced training in EMDR for trauma and complex trauma (trauma that adds up over time). We don’t “just talk.” We reprocess where the trauma is stuck in your body.
Want to know more about my experience and approach?
Let’s sit in the suck together
Getting support for sexual abuse and trauma isn’t easy.
But it’s better when you have someone in your corner who believes you, helps you put the pieces together, and can guide you through reprocessing.
Ask a sexual assault therapist
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No, not if you don’t want to, and definitely not right away. Sometimes my clients take a year or more to finally feel ready to talk about the abuse or assault.
I know it’s not easy, and I’ll never push you into talking about it until you want to.
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That’s okay, and actually it’s an incredibly normal and common thing. Whatever happened, your experience and reaction is valid. We focus on your nervous system and what your body needs to heal.
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Yes. Many of my clients come to me as adults with sexual trauma that occurred when they were a child or a teenager.
You may feel unclear about what you remember and what really happened. You may have never told anyone about it, or maybe you did… and they didn’t believe you or protect you.
This is all completely normal. I’m here as a steady support to go into those dark places with you and help you finally process what happened.
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Yes, I offer victims of crime therapy. If you are going through the criminal justice system for what happened to you, I’m happy to be your therapist through this often re-traumatizing time. As a former victim advocate, I have extensive experience with the process, from the initial report through the trial.