---
title: "Childhood Trauma Therapy for Adults | McFadden Institute"
url: https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/specialties/childhood-trauma
description: "Online therapy for Florida adults whose childhood still shows up today. No need to retell it or remember every detail. Robert Cushing, LCSW."
lang: en
---

Image: Open golden grassland at dusk with a single tree on the horizon. (https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/__l5e/assets-v1/01145626-adff-4fe0-953d-4ccaaa0f81ed/plains-dusk.jpg)

Specialties

# Childhood Trauma in Adults

You're an adult now. Some part of you still reacts like the kid who had to stay on guard.

Book a free consultation: https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/contact
How RRT works: https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/approach

## What this looks like

You keep the peace at your own expense.

Small conflicts feel far bigger than they are.

You shut down when you'd rather speak up.

Rest feels unsafe, as if something is coming.

## How Rapid Resolution Therapy approaches it

We work with the reactions you have today, not with a full account of your childhood.

You won't be asked to relive the details or piece together every memory.

## What early experiences can teach a body

Children adapt to whatever is around them. If home was unpredictable, loud, cold, frightening or simply too much, a kid learns to watch faces, anticipate moods, go quiet, get small, or get very good at being useful. Those were smart moves at the time.

The trouble is that the lessons don't expire. The body that learned to stay alert at seven can still be doing it at forty, in a workplace or a friendship that looks nothing like the house you grew up in. It's the same learned reflex I describe on the main trauma and PTSD (https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/specialties/trauma-and-ptsd) page.

## How it shows up now

People-pleasing that goes well past kindness. Bracing whenever someone is quiet. An overreaction that surprises you, followed by shame. Shutting down in the middle of a hard conversation. A constant low hum of anxiety (https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/specialties/anxiety), or a flatness that looks a lot like depression (https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/specialties/depression).

None of this means you're broken. It means you learned well.

## You don't need clear memories

Plenty of adults have patchy memories of childhood, or remember the facts without the feelings, or the feelings without the facts. That's fine. The work doesn't depend on reconstructing what happened. It focuses on how your mind is holding it now.

You also don't have to retell anything. Rapid Resolution Therapy (https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/approach/rapid-resolution-therapy) is built so that the details can stay yours.

## This isn't about blaming your family

Some people worry that therapy about childhood means putting their parents on trial. It doesn't. You can love your family, understand their limits, and still want to stop reacting to things that ended decades ago. Those can all sit together. We focus on you, and what's in your way now.

## Who this is for

I work with adults aged 18 to 64 who are in Florida at the time of each session. Sessions are 90 minutes by video, private pay, and the first step is a free 15-minute consultation to see whether the fit is right.

## What the work can aim at

The aim isn't to rewrite your childhood or to make peace with anything you don't want to make peace with. It's for the reflexes you learned back then to stop firing where they don't belong. If you're raising children of your own now, there's a page on therapy for parents (https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/who-i-help/parents) too. For some people that looks like being able to disagree without a pounding heart. For others it's resting on a Sunday without feeling guilty, or noticing a friend's quiet mood, or a boss's, without assuming the worst.

Change tends to show up in ordinary moments rather than dramatic ones. I'll be honest with you about what I'm seeing along the way, including if I think something else would serve you better. Some common patterns are described in signs of unresolved trauma (https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/resources/signs-of-unresolved-trauma).

If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). For emergencies, dial 911.

What kept you safe then doesn't have to run your life now.

## Questions people ask

### I don't remember much of my childhood. Can this still help?

It can. You don't need clear memories for us to work with the reactions you're living with now. Gaps in memory are common and don't block the work.

### Do I have to talk about my parents?

Only as much as you want to. What you share is your choice. The focus is on how things show up for you today.

### Is it too late to deal with this as an adult?

No. Many people only start looking at this in their thirties, forties or later, once life gets quiet enough for old patterns to become obvious.

Not sure if what you're carrying fits here?

A free 15-minute call is the simplest way to find out.

Book a free consultation: https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/contact

Rapid Resolution Therapy is a therapeutic approach, not a guarantee of specific results and not a substitute for medical care. Every person's experience is different and individual outcomes vary.

Back to home: https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/

Free consultation · no pressure

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