Trauma Therapy in Los Angeles for BIPOC, LGBTQ+ & Neurodivergent Communities
Nokdu Therapy offers trauma therapy in Los Angeles for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, QTIBIPOC, and neurodivergent communities. Our trauma therapy integrates somatic therapy with evidence-based care, because trauma lives in the body, not just the mind. Every therapist at Nokdu is trauma-informed and trained in somatic therapy: Ariadna Armenta, LCSW (#102477); Arthur Sun, LCSW (#129742); Christina Harrison, LCSW (#99941); Jessica “Gonji” Lee, LCSW (#88522); Jeffery Park, LMFT (#108456); Leslie Yick, AMFT (#147779) & APCC (#17060); and Rozheen Barekatein, ACSW (#123348).
- 7
- Trauma-informed therapists
on our Los Angeles team - 4
- Languages: English, Spanish,
Korean & Persian (Farsi) - CA
- Telehealth trauma therapy
statewide across California
What Is Trauma Therapy? A Los Angeles Practice Explains
Trauma is held in the body. It can show up as a racing heart, numbness, shame, chronic pain, or rage. Have you ever known something to be true logically, but still felt or reacted differently? For example, you spiral at night thinking about how you might have said something insensitive to your friend, even though your friend said they didn't think twice about it. This happens because our deepest wounds live in our subconscious brain and in our bodies, not our rational minds. Trauma therapy at Nokdu helps your nervous system process what talk therapy alone can't always reach.
At Nokdu Therapy, every clinician is trauma-informed and trained in somatic therapy. Somatic therapy holds the mind-body connection, and is based on the knowledge that our emotions and experiences manifest in the body.
Our Los Angeles trauma therapists draw on somatic modalities like EMDR therapy, Brainspotting, and Internal Family Systems (IFS), woven together with DBT, ACT, and CBT. Our therapists apply their accumulated skills to tailor an approach to your specific needs and circumstances.
We work across the full spectrum of trauma, from childhood and relational trauma to single-incident events, complex trauma, abuse, and neglect. We are also specialized in the trauma that stems from institutional and systemic harm, including transphobia, xenophobia, racism, ableism, and misogyny. As a QTIBIPOC-led practice, we hold your identity and community as part of the very fabric of the work.
How Trauma Shows Up in the Body
A nervous system stuck in threat-detection: constant scanning, racing heart, panic, and difficulty feeling safe.
Shutting down, dissociation, feeling untethered from reality, or feeling far away from your own body and emotions.
Trauma stored physically as gut issues, headaches, fatigue, and chronic illness.
Sudden anger, emotional flooding, or reactions that feel out of your control.
Trauma Therapy for PTSD, Complex Trauma & Beyond
Somatic trauma therapy in Los Angeles supports people navigating a wide range of overwhelming and distressing experiences.
PTSD & Complex Trauma
Support for single-incident PTSD as well as complex, developmental, and repeated trauma.
Anxiety & Panic
Calm the hypervigilance, panic, and constant threat scanning that often follow trauma.
Childhood & Relational Trauma
Heal attachment wounds, and experiences of harm or neglect that shape adult relationships.
Grief & Loss
Process complicated grief, ambiguous loss, collective loss, and traumatic bereavement.
Racial & Intergenerational Trauma
Hold the cumulative weight of racism and survival patterns passed down across generations.
Institutional Trauma
Repair harm from institutions like religion, medical industrial complex, ICE, and the police state.
Trauma Therapy for Racial, Intergenerational & Systemic Violence
Trauma doesn't only come from individual experiences. For many BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and immigrant communities, trauma is carried in the body across generations and reinforced by systems of racism, patriarchy, transphobia, xenophobia, and ableism.
Our trauma therapists in Los Angeles are specifically trained to address the unique ways systemic and intergenerational trauma affect our nervous systems. This includes racial trauma, the cumulative psychological impact of overt, covert, and historical racism; intergenerational trauma, the patterns of stress and survival passed down through generations; and institutional trauma, the harm caused by systems like the medical industrial complex, immigration enforcement, the police state, and education.
For QTIBIPOC people, holding the intersection of queer and trans identity with BIPOC identity can create compounding trauma. Working with our therapists doesn't require you to separate these parts of yourself. You don't have to defend your experiences, or justify why certain environments feel unsafe.
Somatic trauma therapy works by helping you process trauma stored in the nervous system rather than requiring you to narrate or intellectualize your experiences. While we can't heal from trauma that is still happening, we can support your nervous system so a difficult situation doesn't feel even worse.
Areas of Specialized Focus
Processing the cumulative impact of overt and covert racism on the nervous system.
Processing trauma inherited across generations.
Healing from harm rooted in religious communities, doctrine, and conversion experiences.
Harm from healthcare systems, DHS, education, and the carceral system.
How Somatic Trauma Therapy Works at Nokdu
Trauma therapy is collaborative and paced to your nervous system. We will titrate the process to help you prevent and manage overwhelm.
Free Consultation & Matching
We start with a free 20–30 minute consultation to hear what's bringing you in, answer questions, and match you with a trauma-informed therapist, including in your preferred language.
History & Treatment Planning
Your therapist gathers history and builds a plan grounded in your goals rather than a one-size-fits-all protocol.
Stabilization & Resourcing
Before deeper processing begins, you'll build somatic grounding and self-regulation skills so you feel safe and resourced throughout the work.
Somatic Processing
Using modalities like EMDR, Brainspotting, and IFS, you process trauma at the level of the nervous system, where it is stored, not just at the level of thought.
Integration & Ongoing Support
As processing deepens, sessions shift toward integrating new perspectives and building resilience. Telehealth is available throughout Los Angeles and all of California.
Every Therapist at Nokdu Is Trained in Trauma & Somatic Therapy
Trauma-informed, somatic care is the foundation of every therapist on our team. Each of us brings rigorous clinical training alongside lived experience and deep commitment to BIPOC, LGBTQ+, QTIBIPOC, and neurodivergent communities across Los Angeles.
Ariadna Armenta
Identifies as a first-generation Mexican, bisexual femme. Ariadna is trained in somatic therapy, EMDR, Prolonged Exposure, ACT, DBT, and CBT for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ clients navigating trauma.
Arthur Sun
Identifies as a queer, trans, Taiwanese-American, and neurodivergent person. They are trained in somatic therapy, DBT, and EMDR, and use an IFS-informed approach to trauma work.
Christina Harrison
Identifies as a first-generation, queer, Filipino-Jamaican American femme. Trained in somatic therapy, CPT, Prolonged Exposure, ACT, DBT, and IFS, and a certified CBT clinical trainer specializing in acute and complex trauma.
Gonji Lee
Identifies as a queer, nonbinary, neurodivergent person from the Korean diaspora. Founder of Nokdu, trained in somatic therapy, Brainspotting, IFS, DBT, and CBT, specializing in acute, complex, and intergenerational trauma. Provides therapy in Korean and English.
Jeffery Park
Identifies as a first-generation queer Korean. An EMDRIA-trained EMDR therapist who brings a QTIBIPOC-affirming, somatic approach to trauma and incorporates creativity into sessions.
Leslie Yick
Identifies as a Chinese, Vietnamese descendant of migrants and refugees who is queer and gender nonconforming. Trained in somatic therapy, Brainspotting, and Trauma-Focused CBT, specializing in intergenerational, religious, and spiritual trauma. Supervised by Gonji Lee, LCSW #88522.
Rozheen Barekatein
Identifies as an Iranian-American therapist and daughter of immigrants. Trained in somatic-based healing, CBT, ACT, mindfulness, and art, specializing in complex and intergenerational trauma for MENA & SWANA and QTIBIPOC communities. Provides therapy in English and Persian (Farsi). Supervised by Gonji Lee, LCSW #88522.
Trauma Therapy Across Greater Los Angeles
We serve clients via telehealth anywhere in California. Whether you're searching for a trauma therapist in Los Angeles or online somatic therapy statewide, Nokdu Therapy is here.
Common Questions About Trauma Therapy in LA
What is trauma therapy and how does it work in Los Angeles?
Trauma therapy understands how trauma affects the nervous system and the body, and incorporates strategies that meet the specific needs of people with a history of trauma. Because trauma is held in the body and the nervous system, our Los Angeles trauma therapists pair somatic therapy with modalities like EMDR, Brainspotting, IFS, DBT, ACT, and CBT. The goal is to help your nervous system settle so the past no longer controls the present.
Are all Nokdu Therapy therapists trained in trauma and somatic therapy?
Yes. Every therapist at Nokdu Therapy is trauma-informed and trained in somatic therapy. That means trauma care is not a single specialist's role here; it is the foundation of how our whole team works with BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and QTIBIPOC clients across Los Angeles and California.
What is somatic therapy?
Somatic therapy is a body-based approach that works with the nervous system rather than relying on talking alone. Trauma can live in the body as chronic pain, a racing heart, numbness, sudden fear or dread, and rage. Somatic approaches help you notice and release what talk therapy alone often cannot reach.
What types of trauma do you treat?
We support people navigating acute trauma, complex and developmental trauma, PTSD, relational and childhood trauma, grief and loss, racial trauma, intergenerational trauma, religious and spiritual trauma, and institutional trauma caused by systems like healthcare, immigration, and law enforcement.
Do you offer trauma therapy for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and QTIBIPOC communities?
Yes. Nokdu Therapy is a QTIBIPOC-led practice. You do not have to justify your experiences, or justify why certain environments feel unsafe. For many BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and QTIBIPOC people, trauma is reinforced by racism, transphobia, xenophobia, and ableism, and we hold that reality throughout the therapy journey.
Is trauma therapy available via telehealth across California?
Yes. We offer secure video sessions to clients located anywhere in California, including throughout greater Los Angeles. All you need is a device and a stable internet connection.
What languages is trauma therapy available in at Nokdu Therapy?
Across our team, trauma therapy is available in English, Spanish, Korean, and Persian (Farsi). Language availability depends on which therapist you are matched with, so let us know your preference during your free consultation.
Is trauma therapy covered by insurance at Nokdu Therapy?
We are not in network with any insurance companies. If your PPO plan confirms that they will reimburse you for services, you will automatically receive a superbill at the beginning of each month to submit to your insurance for reimbursement. Our therapists also have limited sliding scale spots if finances are a barrier.
Ready to Begin Trauma Therapy in Los Angeles?
Schedule a free 20–30 minute consultation with one of our trauma-informed, somatically trained therapists. Telehealth available statewide throughout California.