Dr. Shira Olsen

Dr. Olsen has extensive expertise in treating trauma from intimate betrayal (betrayal trauma) and infidelity, as well as healing sexuality. She has a passion for helping clients work through the devastating pain and difficult repercussions of sexual betrayal, affairs, and other relational breaches of trust. She knows that clients can often feel overwhelmed after discovering intimate betrayal and are often not sure what their next steps should be for themselves or their relationship. It can be exhausting to put on a good face each day and pretend everything is fine, when inside you know you're not okay. Dr. Olsen will guide you on a path forward that supports your healing and helps you reclaim your life. Her approach is trauma-informed and uses evidenced based techniques to encourage healing by addressing the burdensome thoughts, overwhelming feelings, and physical symptoms that naturally follow betrayal. She will show you how to set healthy boundaries, navigate trauma triggers, honor your emotions (including anger), move through the grieving process, find your inner voice, and learn to trust your gut again. She will help you tame any thoughts of not being good enough or blaming yourself—both common beliefs after relational trauma, yet completely untrue, and make moving beyond the hurt difficult to do. She will help you work through the confusion, mix of emotions, and life disruptions that follow relational trauma. You can begin to believe in your self-worth and value once again and rediscover the most beautiful version of who you are, filled with purpose, joy, and meaning.

Dr. Olsen believes in a reconciliation process where wounds are healed through deeper understanding and empathy. If you are feeling stuck and hopeless that things will never get better, Dr. Olsen can help you see a path forward and will instill hope under the most painful circumstances. Dr. Olsen has extensive clinical and research training in trauma and sexual betrayal. She co-developed the innovative Posttraumatic Growth Model for Intimate Betrayal (PTG-IB), a trauma treatment designed to help clients heal after betrayal trauma. She has received her certification as a Sexual and Relational Trauma therapist (CSRTT) through the Society of Sexual Health (SASH) and is a Certified Clinical Partner Specialist (CCPS) through the Association of Partners of Sex Addicts and Trauma Specialists (APSATS).