Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Kate Truitt.
Kate, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Sometimes we choose to fly into the darkness, isn’t that what therapy is all about? Seeking to learn and grow and expand with intention. But sometimes the darkness shows up and swallows us whole. On June 13, 2009 I was supposed to be preparing to marry my partner of 10 years in just one week. Instead, in the wee hours of that morning I found my fiancé on the floor – silent, cold and I could not make him breathe.
As I sat alone in that apartment listening to the distant wails of the ambulances rushing to our home to save a being whose spirit had already left our temporal world, I found myself paralyzed by my breath. You see, breath is a representation of life and what happens when the purpose of life ebbs and flows away in the blink of an eye?
At that point in my life I was well on my way to building a successful career around the complex interplay of how fear and trauma impact human resilience. But that morning all of my years of study and research were rendered useless as I was crippled by PTSD in the throes of my fiance’s death. In the face of trauma, our survival brain has the capacity to overwhelm our thinking brain and all the “things we know” are rendered useless. My brain was now a case study in the powerful powerlessness of trauma. In a universal anteing up – just nine months after that a woman ran a light while texting barreled into me head on. Thus began an 18 month battle of chronic illness and pain. At times, breath literally felt impossible.
I found refuge in the neurobiology of brain functioning and fear – returning to my earlier life studies. What stories was my brain telling me every day that belonged to the Trauma and the Illness? How were these stories defining not only my life but also my body’s sense of safety within my world? This began the birth of my treatment model – a triad for overarching healing founded on neuroscience based, trauma-informed, and resiliency focused care. I remade my life, putting structure in place to avoid the grenades of trauma triggers that still had the ability to explode my world in panic while finding new ways to bring healing to humanity. Eventually, patient care was no longer an option as the PTSD, despite years of psychotherapy, still had the ability to rip me helplessly back into the past at a moment’s notice.
Five years later, a colleague mentioned something called the Amygdala Depotentiation Techniques (aka the Havening Techniques) to me. Depotentiate, as in to deactivate an active neuron. I was intrigued. My fear brain had so many active neurons that I was designing my life around them. On a wing and prayer, I flew to New York to attend a training in these Techniques. What transpired at that training would effectively change the course of my life forever. In less than 15 minutes, the permanent memory of the trauma of 2009 was depotentiated. Despite tens of thousands of dollars of psychotherapy – it took this unique neuroscience-based approach to give me my brain back. Suddenly, my continued breath made sense.
This solidified my purpose. I relaunched my private practice and started integrated trainings in the Havening Techniques into my training company, Viva Excellence, program offerings. As a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist, and from my own recovery journey from PTSD, I know we all have the capacity for self-healing in our own hands.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was definitely not an easy path and there were challenges much earlier on as well. As an adolescent, teen, and young 20-something I was gripped by debilitating anxiety and self-doubt. Through introspection and self-examination, I noticed a core underlying connection amongst the woes and doubts plaguing my sense of self – fear. I sought out and obtained a position in a research lab investigating fear paradigms in learning and memory. Thus began my life long journey into the exploration of the role of stress, anxiety, and fear on the human capacity for resiliency and connection.
Through the years my studies and personal journey have left an indelible imprint on my brain. I know resilience and healing is possible for everyone. I knew I could find a way to rise into the light from the darkness that had swallowed my mind, body, and life. While fear is both innate and learned, I knew that the fear that was running my life could be released and turned into resiliency. For five years, I participated in treatments for both my mind besieged by PTSD and my body wracked with the impact of the car accident and a resulting life-threatening brain virus known as encephalitis. Where there is darkness, there is also light. My purpose was to focus on finding my light such that I could one day inspire others to do the same.
Alright – so let’s talk business. What else should we know about you and your career so far?
Today, my teams at my flagship organization Dr. Kate Truitt & Associates and our sister company Trauma Counseling Center of Los Angeles set the standard for providing neuropsychotherapy – a new treatment approach that incorporates neuroscience, neuroplasticity, and resiliency into traditional psychotherapy in order to create the most effective, gentle, and efficient treatment outcomes. We pride ourselves on being guides for our patient’s healing journeys and empowering everyone we walk alongside to learn how to create their own healing.
Additionally, I lead a wonderful team of expert trainers, many of which are also practicing clinicians in my clinics, for my organization Viva Excellence. At Viva Excellence we provide workshops, training, and seminars for both the community as well as other healthcare practitioners. Our goal is to bring neuropsychotherapy, resiliency, and the opportunities for self-healing not only to the treatment space but also to the world at large. Humanity inherently holds the capacity for deep healing and resilience development within ourselves.
My teams and I believe in and embody the opportunities of the Phoenix process. We know that within the darkness, there are the hidden gems of wisdom and strength. The phoenix chooses to fly into the fire – to burn up- trusting it will arise stronger and more powerful than ever before. The human spirit has the same capacity. Through flying into the flames, the fear, the possibilities and opportunities of resiliency and strength are possible.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I grew up with an older sister who was always impossibly cool in my eyes. I was definitely the tag along little sister who wanted to do everything my older sister did. One particularly snowy day when I was about five years old, my sister and her friends were building snow forts in the yard. They tolerated my presence until the third or fourth time when my young body stumbled and knocked down yet another diligently built snow wall. My sister’s holler to our mother, filled with annoyance and frustration, brought my mom running as my tears started to pool in my young eyes. Braving the snow, my mom dashed across the yard to sweep me into her arms – taking note of the newly crumbled snow fort and my sister’s look of abject frustration. A gentle hand on my sister’s head and much praise to the other 7 and 8 years old for their hard work building their snow village and they were quickly pacified. I, on the other hand, was ramping up for a full-blown tantrum when it became clear I would quickly be removed for the exciting big girl activity.
Ah, but my mom was clever. A promise of hot cocoa with not one but two(!) marshmallows appeased me long enough for her to carry me into the house. Snow clothes removed, she settled me on the sofa with a blanket and my beloved My Little Pony movie on the TV. Bringing me my cocoa she asked me if I wanted to learn a superpower. My eyes grew big as I took in her words, a superpower? Like She-Ra!? I wiggled in my seat, nodding eagerly. She told me that if I sat quietly for long enough, I would find I would be rewarded by something special.
Now, two weeks ago, we had adopted two kittens who were understandably terrified their new high energy kiddo roommates. We had seen the kittens sleeping peacefully on my mom’s lap from time to time but could never manage for both my sister and I to be quiet enough at the same time for the same miracle to happen to us.
With a gentle kiss to my brow, my Mother taught me that miracles happen in the quiet moments and that we all carry superpowers within. Twenty-five minutes later, as the My Little Pony’s saved the world from the smooze – two kittens curled up beside me delicately snoring and purring.
Contact Info:
- ● Address: 200 E Del Mar Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91105
- ● Website: www.drtruitt.com
- ● Phone: 626-524-5525
- ● Email: [email protected]
- ● Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drkatetruitt/
- ● Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrKateTruitt
- ● Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dr-kate-truitt-and-associates-pasadena-3?osq=dr.+truitt
- ● Other: YouTube Channel: Dr. Kate Truitt : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChijPorSvDq4gio4Su1uu7Q
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