Trauma-Informed Individual Therapy
Trauma Therapy in WASHINGTON D.C.
Trauma-informed therapy starts with recognizing that our histories live in our present. Throughout my career, I've built my practice around the deep connection between past, present, and future.
Supporting Therapy Clients by Building Resilience
Therapy with me is relational and integrative, focused on helping you understand how your past has shaped your present.
Together, we build the resilience, confidence, and self-compassion you need to move toward the future you want.
Trauma therapy does not inherently mean a traumatic event has happened or that the hurt is plain and on the surface.
And therapy should certainly not be sought out only during a crisis!
Therapy is a place to work through the stressors of everyday life, strengthen your emotional skills, and grow more confident in your boundaries and self-expression. It's a space to invest in your relationships, shed old patterns like people-pleasing, or find healing after a breakup.
Therapy can also support your personal growth, helping you reconnect with your body, clarify your values, and explore the life experiences that have shaped you.
How does trauma happen?
Trauma occurs when the body and nervous system are overwhelmed by experiences that are too much, too fast, too soon, or too often. Trauma doesn't always come from a single dramatic event—it can also come from losses like a breakup, a death, or losing a cherished pet.
And for many people, trauma lives in the earliest relationships: caregivers who were emotionally unavailable, love that felt inconsistent or conditional, being handed adult responsibilities too young, or never feeling truly seen, heard, or safe in the places that were supposed to feel most secure.
These experiences can shape how we relate to ourselves and others and can lead to patterns of anxiety, avoidance, or difficulty trusting and connecting deeply.
Who does trauma therapy benefit?
Everyone deserves support, and no experience is too small to bring to therapy. Trauma therapy can help you rebuild your inner sense of safety and rediscover a deeper connection with yourself.
WASHINGTON D.C. ADHD Therapy
Therapy for Women with ADHD
As a woman with ADHD, I know firsthand how hard it can be to navigate a world that wasn't built for neurodivergent minds. Struggling to complete tasks, feeling overwhelmed by unexecuted ideas, difficulty focusing, or the compulsion to constantly keep moving—trauma therapy can help ease the weight of these daily challenges.
My work with women with ADHD focuses on identifying the unique strengths that come from these experiences and building sustainable systems to support executive functioning, emotional regulation, maintaining focus, and beyond.
WASHINGTON D.C. young adult Therapy
Therapy for Young Adults
Going from the structure of high school or college into the responsibilities of adulthood is a bigger shift than most people expect. Young adults are navigating friendships, romantic relationships, first jobs, and the quiet pressure of figuring out who they are and who they want to become.
My mission as a therapist for young adults is simple: to be someone who genuinely gets it, because I've been there myself. I know what it's like to seem like everything is fine while internally struggling to find your footing. I help clients understand their emotions, identify their values, and explore the relationships that matter most to them—together building the tools to live a life that feels authentically theirs.
Anxiety Therapy AND COUNSELING
Therapy for Anxiety
Anxiety is one of my deepest areas of specialty as a therapist, and something I've navigated personally. Whether it shows up as racing thoughts, persistent negative thinking, or catastrophic spirals, anxiety can feel completely overwhelming. I understand the frustration of trying your hardest to stop ruminating and feeling like nothing works.
Using a mind-body approach that integrates somatic and cognitive techniques, I help clients understand the anxious parts of themselves, develop tools to soothe the body when anxiety flares, and rebuild a sense of agency over their thoughts.
My work is especially focused on individuals who feel trapped by worry and worst-case-scenario thinking, helping them move toward confidence, peace, and genuine joy.
WASHINGTON D.C. relationship Anxiety Therapy
Therapy for Relationship Anxiety
I support my clients in returning to themselves in their relationships. Many of the people I work with know relationship anxiety well—the persistent fear of not being liked, not being accepted, of not being enough—and have coped by becoming endlessly available to the people they love. They show up fully, give generously, and hold space for everyone else, often forgetting to hold space for themselves.
Together, we work to rewrite the narratives that keep my clients locked in relationship anxiety and self-abandonment. We explore what new relational patterns could look like: ones built on self-trust, attentiveness to their own needs, a growing confidence in their right to set boundaries, and an internal sense of safety that doesn't hinge on what others think or feel.
I believe that safety doesn't have to come from another person — it can be sourced from within. Through IFS, EMDR, and other evidence-based, attachment-focused approaches, I support my clients in finding their way back to themselves and recognizing that they have always been the ones they needed most.
Modalities I Use in Therapy
In addition to IFS and EMDR, I also work within a holistic and integrative approach: I utilize a strengths-based framework rooted in ACT, DBT, Polyvagal Theory, and Attachment Theory. We will choose the best modalities together during our sessions to tackle your needs specifically.
Counseling in WASHINGTON D.C.
Therapy with Jessica
Jessica Attas is a therapist serving residents of Washington D.C. who focuses on trauma therapy for adults and young adults, integrating EMDR and IFS into her practice. She additionally supports couples in all stages of relationship.
Get started with your Washington D.C. therapy journey by reaching out.
We’re ready to meet you where you are.