Complex Trauma
Therapy
Therapist Nancy Willinger, PsyD, LMFT
With nearly 30 years of therapy experience, I help people understand and heal the long lasting impact of complex trauma.
Are you overwhelmed or emotionally dysregulated without knowing why?
Do you notice patterns repeating in your relationships?
Complex trauma shows up quietly but persistently. Clients feel constantly uncomfortable in your own body or mind, searching for something that will finally bring relief. Relationships may feel unstable or confusing. Work can feel harder than it should. Sometimes there are health issues with no clear explanation.
Over time this can lead to anxiety, exhaustion, and a deep sense of hopelessness.
Clients Come To Me Experiencing
Emotional dysregulation
Constant anxiety
Crying or overwhelm
Trouble sleeping
Relationship challenges
Work struggles
Hopeless
Lack of joy
Many people arrive in therapy after years of trying to manage things on their own. Seeking help is the first step.
How I Treat Complex Trauma
My work focuses on relieving the pain of psychological trauma while helping you strengthen your sense of self and build healthier relationships.
Therapy is collaborative and thoughtful. We slow things down, explore the patterns that developed over time, and help your nervous system learn new ways to respond. Insight is important, but so is learning practical ways to feel more grounded in your everyday life.
Together we look at how past experiences shaped your beliefs, emotional responses, and relationships. From there we begin building new patterns that support stability, connection, and trust in yourself.
Modalities I Use
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Focuses on how early relationships shape the way we connect with others today. This helps identify repeating relationship patterns and build healthier connections.
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Explores the deeper roots of emotional pain and patterns. By understanding where these experiences began, lasting change becomes possible.
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Helps identify unhelpful thought patterns that reinforce anxiety, self doubt, or hopelessness, and replace them with more balanced thinking.
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Teaches practical skills for emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and managing overwhelming feelings.
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Encourages awareness of thoughts and emotions without becoming overwhelmed by them, creating more calm and clarity.
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Looks at how trauma patterns can pass through families and helps break cycles that no longer serve you.
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Helps understand how early attachment experiences shape relationships, trust, and emotional safety.
Go From Survival To Stability
Reshape how you feel, think, and relate to others.
After Therapy With Me, Clients Report
More stability throughout life
Healthier relationships
Better emotional patterns
Stronger sense of self
Trusting intuition
Renewed interests + hobbies
Joy returning
About Nancy Willinger, PsyD, LMFT
My therapy is grounded in both clinical experience and personal understanding of trauma recovery. I have spent 29 years helping people work through complex trauma and relationship patterns that often grow from it.
Our work together is open, thoughtful, and collaborative. Clients often describe me as easy to talk to and not intimidating. I am direct when something isn’t working, but also deeply supportive. This work can be challenging, but there is often room for laughter along the way.
Before becoming a therapist, I moved from Chicago to New York City to work in theater. During that time I witnessed the profound impact of the AIDS crisis, losing several close friends and colleagues. Those experiences shaped how I understand loss, resilience, and human connection. Later I moved to Los Angeles and transitioned into my career as a therapist.
Outside of therapy I enjoy hiking around Los Angeles, playing pickleball, going to the theater, and spending time with my husband, my adult twin children, and our dogs.
Availability: I work with clients in person in Studio City and via Telehealth across California.
Education, Credentials,
& Trainings
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (PsyD)
29 Years Clinical Experience Treating Complex Trauma
Advanced Training In Relational And Psychodynamic Therapy
Training In CBT And DBT
Attachment and Intergenerational Trauma Therapy Training
Mindfulness and Buddhist Psychology Studies
3 Steps To Get Started
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Fill out the contact form to reach out. If I am not the right fit, I will help connect you with someone who may be.
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We will schedule a short consultation to talk about what you are experiencing and see if working together feels like the right next step.
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In our first session we begin understanding your history, patterns, and goals so we can create a thoughtful plan for therapy.