NABI FAMILY THERAPY

Medical Trauma EMDR Therapy Manhattan Beach, CA

Rebuild trust in your body and heal from medical procedures, surgery, or childbirth

Medical procedures were supposed to help, not haunt you.

Yet here you are, heart racing at the thought of your next appointment, replaying traumatic moments from surgery, childbirth, or medical treatments that left you feeling powerless and afraid. The flashbacks, nightmares, and overwhelming anxiety around anything medical have stolen your sense of safety in your own body.

At Nabi Family Therapy in Manhattan Beach, we understand that medical trauma is real trauma. Whether you experienced birth complications, surgical complications, medical gaslighting, or felt stripped of autonomy during treatment, your mind and body remember. Our specialized EMDR therapy helps you process these experiences without being overwhelmed by them again.

Like the butterfly (nabi) that emerges transformed, you can reclaim your relationship with your body and medical care. Our Manhattan Beach location provides a peaceful sanctuary where healing happens through gentle, evidence-based approaches that honor your unique experience and cultural background.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy is a scientifically-proven treatment specifically designed to help your brain process traumatic memories differently.

When medical procedures become traumatic, your nervous system gets stuck in a state of hypervigilance, making every medical interaction feel threatening. EMDR helps your brain file these memories appropriately so they no longer trigger overwhelming responses.

During EMDR sessions, you'll work with Linda Yoon or Soo Jin Lee, both extensively trained in trauma therapy, to identify the specific medical memories that continue to impact you. This might include moments of feeling unheard by medical staff, experiencing unexpected pain, complications during childbirth, or feeling your body was violated during procedures. The bilateral stimulation used in EMDR, often eye movements or tactile sensations, helps your brain reprocess these memories while you remain grounded in the present moment.

Our approach integrates cultural sensitivity with trauma-informed care, recognizing that medical trauma can be compounded by cultural barriers, language difficulties, or feeling misunderstood by healthcare providers. Many of our clients have experienced medical gaslighting or felt their concerns were dismissed, creating additional layers of trauma around seeking healthcare.

The goal isn't to forget what happened, but to reduce the emotional charge of these memories so you can approach future medical care from a place of empowerment rather than fear. Through EMDR, clients often report feeling more connected to their bodies, less anxious about medical appointments, and better able to advocate for their healthcare needs.

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Key Benefits

Traditional talk therapy can sometimes feel like reliving trauma over and over. EMDR allows you to process traumatic medical experiences without having to describe every detail or become overwhelmed by the emotions.
The bilateral stimulation helps your brain integrate these memories naturally while you remain safely grounded in the present moment. In our Manhattan Beach office, you'll work with therapists who understand that medical trauma affects both mind and body. Linda Yoon's extensive EMDR training, combined with her trauma-informed approach, means you can process difficult memories of surgical complications, birth trauma, or medical procedures gone wrong without flooding your system.
Many clients report feeling lighter after sessions, as if a weight has been lifted from their shoulders. The ocean breeze and calming atmosphere of our South Bay location provide the perfect healing environment where you can finally let go of memories that have held your nervous system hostage.
Medical settings no longer have to trigger immediate panic. EMDR helps retrain your nervous system's response to medical environments, procedures, and even the smell of hospitals.
Through targeted processing, you can walk into medical appointments feeling calm and centered rather than hypervigilant and afraid. Our Manhattan Beach clients often struggle with anticipatory anxiety before medical visits, sometimes avoiding necessary care altogether. Both Linda and Soo Jin understand how medical trauma can create a cascade of avoidance behaviors that ultimately compromise your health.
Through EMDR, we target the root memories that created these fear responses, helping your body learn that present-day medical interactions don't carry the same threat as past traumatic experiences. Clients frequently report sleeping better before medical appointments and feeling more present during procedures rather than dissociating or panicking.
Medical trauma often disconnects you from trusting your body's signals and needs. EMDR helps restore the vital connection between your mind and body, allowing you to trust your instincts about your healthcare again.
This is especially important for birthing people who experienced trauma during labor and delivery. The South Bay community we serve includes many individuals whose medical trauma stemmed from feeling unheard or having their bodily autonomy violated. Soo Jin's expertise in maternal mental health and both therapists' training in somatic approaches means you'll learn to reconnect with your body as a source of wisdom rather than betrayal.
Through EMDR, many clients rediscover their ability to advocate for themselves in medical settings, ask questions confidently, and trust their intuition about treatment options. Your body holds incredible healing wisdom, and EMDR helps clear the trauma that blocks access to that inner knowing.

Birth trauma affects up to 45% of birthing people, yet it often goes unrecognized and untreated. Whether you experienced emergency interventions, felt unheard by medical staff, had complications, or simply felt your birth didn't go as planned, EMDR can help you process these experiences and reclaim your sense of birthing power.
Soo Jin's specialized training in maternal mental health makes our Manhattan Beach practice particularly equipped to address the complex emotions around birth trauma. Many clients carry guilt, shame, or feelings of failure related to their birthing experience. Through EMDR, you can separate the traumatic aspects of your birth from your identity as a parent, allowing you to bond more fully with your child and feel confident about future pregnancies.
The healing ripple effects often extend to your entire family system, as birth trauma can impact attachment, parenting confidence, and intimate relationships. Our cultural sensitivity means we understand how family expectations and cultural birthing traditions may have added additional pressure to your experience.
Medical gaslighting, when healthcare providers dismiss, minimize, or blame patients for their symptoms, creates deep wounds that extend far beyond the original medical issue. EMDR helps you process these experiences of being disbelieved or having your concerns invalidated.
This is particularly important for women, people of color, and those from immigrant families who may face additional barriers in healthcare settings. Linda's background working with immigrant communities and understanding of systemic healthcare disparities informs her trauma-informed approach to medical gaslighting. Through EMDR, you can separate past experiences of being dismissed from your current healthcare interactions, allowing you to enter medical settings with confidence and clarity about your needs.
Many clients report feeling more empowered to speak up, change providers when necessary, and trust their own experience of symptoms. The goal is to help you reclaim your voice in medical settings while processing the trauma of having that voice ignored or minimized in the past.
One of the most powerful outcomes of EMDR for medical trauma is the ability to approach future medical care from a place of empowerment rather than fear. By processing past traumatic experiences, you can enter medical situations with clarity about your needs, boundaries, and preferences. Our Manhattan Beach clients often work on developing specific coping strategies and communication skills for upcoming procedures.
Both Linda and Soo Jin help clients create personalized plans for managing medical appointments, including how to communicate with providers, when to bring support people, and how to stay grounded during procedures. Through EMDR, the anticipation of medical care transforms from dread to informed preparation.
You'll learn to distinguish between healthy caution and trauma-based fear, allowing you to make medical decisions from a place of wisdom rather than anxiety. This preparation work often includes processing any cultural or family pressures around medical care, helping you honor both your heritage and your individual needs.

Our Services

✔ Trauma Therapy (EMDR)

Our EMDR therapy specifically addresses medical trauma through bilateral stimulation that helps your brain reprocess traumatic memories. Linda's extensive training in EMDR, combined with her trauma-informed approach, creates a safe space to heal from surgical complications, birth trauma, medical gaslighting, and procedure-related PTSD. Sessions focus on reducing the emotional charge of medical memories while maintaining your sense of safety and control throughout the process.

✔ Anxiety Treatment

Medical trauma often creates persistent anxiety around healthcare settings and procedures. Our anxiety treatment combines EMDR with practical coping strategies to help you manage anticipatory anxiety before appointments and stay grounded during medical interactions. We focus on distinguishing between healthy medical caution and trauma-based fear responses.

✔ Individual Therapy

One-on-one therapy sessions provide personalized support for your medical trauma healing journey. We integrate EMDR with other therapeutic approaches including somatic work, mindfulness, and cultural considerations. Individual therapy allows us to address the unique aspects of your medical trauma, whether related to specific procedures, cultural barriers in healthcare, or complex family dynamics around medical decisions.

✔ Maternal Mental Health Therapy

Soo Jin's specialization in maternal mental health makes our practice uniquely qualified to address birth trauma, postpartum anxiety related to medical experiences, and the complex emotions around pregnancy after previous medical trauma. We understand how birth experiences can impact your relationship with your body, your baby, and future family planning decisions.

Our Process

1. Initial Trauma Assessment and Safety Planning

Your healing journey begins with a comprehensive assessment of your medical trauma history and current symptoms. We'll explore which medical experiences continue to impact you and identify your specific triggers around healthcare settings. Together, we'll develop a safety plan that includes grounding techniques and coping strategies you can use both in session and when facing medical situations in daily life. This foundation ensures you feel secure throughout the EMDR process.

2. EMDR Preparation and Resource Building

Before processing traumatic memories, we'll strengthen your internal resources and coping skills. This preparation phase includes learning bilateral stimulation techniques, identifying your support systems, and practicing grounding exercises. We'll also explore your cultural background and how it relates to medical care, ensuring our approach honors your values and identity. This phase typically takes 2-3 sessions and sets you up for successful trauma processing.

3. Targeted Memory Processing

During the active EMDR phase, we'll process specific medical memories that continue to cause distress. Using bilateral stimulation, your brain will naturally reprocess these experiences, reducing their emotional intensity. You'll remain in control throughout, and we'll work at a pace that feels safe for your nervous system. Sessions focus on one memory at a time, allowing for complete integration before moving to the next.

4. Integration and Future Planning

The final phase focuses on integrating your healing and preparing for future medical interactions. We'll develop personalized strategies for medical appointments, practice advocating for your needs, and address any remaining anxiety about healthcare. You'll leave with concrete tools for maintaining your progress and approaching medical care with confidence and self-advocacy skills.

Our Approach

At Nabi Family Therapy, our approach to medical trauma is rooted in the understanding that your healing journey is as unique as your traumatic experience.

We recognize that medical trauma often involves a loss of bodily autonomy and voice, so our therapeutic relationship prioritizes your choice, control, and pacing throughout the process.

Linda and Soo Jin both bring extensive training in trauma-informed care, ensuring that every aspect of your treatment honors your need for safety and empowerment.

Our EMDR approach is enhanced by somatic awareness, recognizing that medical trauma lives in the body as much as the mind. We integrate mindfulness practices, breathing techniques, and body awareness exercises to help you reconnect with your physical self in a healing way. This is particularly important for clients who have learned to disconnect from their bodies as a protective response to medical trauma. Both therapists understand how cultural background can influence medical experiences, especially for immigrant families who may face language barriers, cultural misunderstandings, or discrimination in healthcare settings.

The Manhattan Beach location provides a serene environment where healing can unfold naturally. We believe in the gentle transformation symbolized by the butterfly (nabi), understanding that trauma recovery happens in stages and cannot be rushed. Our approach balances evidence-based EMDR techniques with cultural humility, recognizing that healing happens within the context of your whole identity, not just your trauma. We work collaboratively to ensure that your voice, which may have been silenced in medical settings, becomes central to your healing process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nabi Family Therapy was founded by Linda Yoon, LCSW, and Soo Jin Lee, LMFT, to create inclusive, culturally-sensitive therapy in Manhattan Beach. Specializing in trauma therapy and EMDR, our practice serves the South Bay community with evidence-based treatments that honor each client's unique background and healing journey.

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Medical trauma isn't determined by the severity of the procedure, but by your emotional and psychological response to it. If you experience flashbacks, nightmares, panic around medical settings, avoidance of healthcare, or persistent anxiety about your body after medical treatment, you may have medical trauma. Birth experiences, surgical complications, feeling unheard by providers, or having your autonomy violated can all create traumatic responses that deserve professional support.
Absolutely. Birth trauma is about your experience during labor and delivery, regardless of the outcome. Many parents feel guilty seeking help when their baby is healthy, but your emotional well-being matters too. EMDR can help you process difficult birth memories, feelings of powerlessness, emergency interventions, or simply feeling that your birth didn't go as planned. Healing your birth trauma often improves your ability to bond with your child and feel confident as a parent.
The goal of EMDR is the opposite, to help you engage with medical care from a place of empowerment rather than fear. By processing traumatic memories, you'll be better able to distinguish between past harmful experiences and current healthcare needs. Many clients report feeling more confident advocating for themselves and building better relationships with healthcare providers after EMDR treatment.
The length of treatment varies based on your specific trauma history and symptoms. Some clients see significant improvement in 6-12 sessions, while others with complex medical trauma may benefit from longer treatment. We work at your pace and regularly check in about your progress. The goal is thorough healing rather than quick fixes, ensuring you feel genuinely prepared to engage with medical care confidently.
Yes, both Linda and Soo Jin have extensive experience working with immigrant families and understand how cultural background can impact medical experiences. We recognize that medical trauma can be compounded by language barriers, cultural misunderstandings, discrimination, or feeling caught between family expectations and individual needs. Our approach honors your cultural identity while helping you heal from traumatic medical experiences.

EVERYONE DESERVES TO FEEL THEY BELONG

Begin Medical Trauma Healing Today

Rebuild trust in your body and reclaim your voice in medical settings