Rewriting the Story of Trauma: How Neuroplasticity Empowers Healing by Iris Queen, MSW, LSWAIC

For a long time, the dominant narrative around trauma was one of permanence:

“You’ll never be the same.”

“You’re broken now.”

“You just have to learn to live with it.”

But science—and lived experience—tell a different story. One that’s far more hopeful, empowering, and true.

Trauma Doesn’t Have to Define You

Trauma is real. It leaves marks—on our minds, our bodies, and our lives. It can feel like a prison, keeping us frozen in time. When we’re stuck and unable to move forward, it’s often because a part of us is still the emotional age we were when the trauma occurred.

And yet, as impossible as it may seem to move beyond that place, trauma was never meant to be permanent. Yes, it wounds. Yes, it steals time. But it doesn’t have to steal your future.

With self-awareness, intention, and consistent effort, healing isn’t just possible—it’s transformative. You can grow through what you’ve been through. You can learn new ways of thinking, feeling, and responding. You can carry wisdom instead of wounds.

This isn’t just wishful thinking. It’s grounded in science.

The Brain’s Ability to Change: Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s remarkable ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural pathways throughout life. In simple terms: your brain can change. And when your brain changes, so do your thoughts, behaviors, and emotional responses.

This is the foundation of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy—with a powerful, neuroscience-backed twist. And it’s one of the core pillars of my clinical work.

Even if trauma shaped your early experiences or default reactions, those patterns aren’t permanent. They can be rewired. They can be softened. They can be reshaped.

And that means hope lives in the very structure of your brain.

Through intentional practices like therapy, mindfulness, movement, journaling, connection, and even learning something new, you can reshape your inner world. You can train your brain to respond to life with greater calm, clarity, and resilience.

Healing Is a Practice—Not a Destination

Let’s be honest: healing isn’t linear. It’s not a straight path. There will be setbacks. There will be days when the old story echoes louder than the new one.

But healing is a practice. A daily act of showing up for yourself with compassion, courage, and commitment. And with the right support, that practice becomes more grounded—and more sustainable.

You’re not going back to who you were before the trauma. You’re becoming someone new. Someone stronger. Someone who knows their capacity to heal, grow, and thrive.

Your Brain Can Change. So Can Your Life.

You are not broken.

You are becoming.

Becoming someone, your past self couldn’t yet imagine. Someone your trauma may have told you could never be.

And thanks to neuroplasticity, the story you write from here forward can look very different from the one that brought you here.

Healing is an invitation to begin again—not by forgetting what happened, but by honoring your strength, reclaiming your voice, and creating a new path rooted in possibility.

Because healing is possible.

Because transformation is real.

And because it’s already beginning—right there in your beautiful, adaptable brain.

Hello, I’m Iris Queen, a licensed psychotherapist and owner of Root-based Healing, PLLC. With nearly 30 years in human services and behavioral health, I’m dedicated to supporting the Bainbridge Island community. Whether you’re just beginning or continuing your healing journey, I meet you with compassion, clarity, and care. I offer Telehealth and mobile sessions, meeting outdoors or, if preferred, in-home on Bainbridge Island.

Contact

(206) 595-6223

iris@rootbasedhealing.com

www.rootbasedhealing.com