Trauma-Informed Therapy in Hawaii
Counseling for adults who are ready to go deeper.
You want change you can feel, not just understand.
You may think deeply and understand your patterns, yet still find yourself repeating them. You might overthink, overfunction, or carry too much responsibility in relationships, often putting others first while losing sight of your own needs.
Insight can help us understand our patterns, but many of the reactions that shape our lives live deeper in the nervous system and emotional body.
By working with these layers directly, therapy supports change that is not only understood intellectually but felt and integrated in the body.
How I Approach Therapy
In this work, therapy often moves between three core areas of growth. Depending on what you’re experiencing, we may focus on insight, emotional and somatic processing, or meaning-making especially when working through the effects of difficult life experiences and trauma.
01 CONNECTION & INSIGHT
Being seen and understanding the patterns beneath the surface
Studies consistently show that the quality of the therapeutic relationship is one of the most important factors in meaningful change. In therapy, we pay close attention to what happens between us in the present moment, including your thoughts, feelings, and reactions as they arise.
I often notice subtle emotional shifts, relational patterns, and protective strategies that operate just beneath the surface. Bringing these into awareness can create the safety needed to explore difficult emotions and understand how certain patterns formed.
For some people, this clarity alone creates meaningful change. For others, it opens the door to exploring emotions and nervous system responses more deeply.
02 EMOTIONAL & SOMATIC PROCESSING
Allowing the body and nervous system to process what the mind already understands.
As patterns become clearer, some people find that understanding alone isn’t enough. Instead of analyzing the experience further, we may slow down and begin noticing what is happening in the body and nervous system in the present moment. Using somatic therapy and Hakomi-based mindfulness, we gently observe sensations, emotions, and protective responses as they unfold in real time. This allows the nervous system to process patterns of tension, shutdown, or overdrive that can keep trauma responses stuck.
03 INTEGRATION & MEANING
Making sense of suffering and integrating experience into identity
As insight deepens and emotional experiences are processed, many people begin to see their lives with greater perspective and compassion. Difficult experiences, including trauma, can become integrated rather than avoided or relived.
Part of this process involves recognizing the different ways we learned to protect ourselves, carry pain, and survive. Over time, these patterns begin to make more sense, and people often see their struggles as part of a larger human story rather than something uniquely broken in them. This shift can bring a deeper understanding of oneself and the ability to move forward with greater clarity and self-trust.
“The healing process is like a spiral. You come back to things, again and again, but each time with a deeper understanding.”
Marion Woodman
You may recognize yourself in some of these experiences.
You’re not alone and you’re not broken.
These are patterns your body learned to survive.
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You’re navigating loyalty, identity, and the pressure of trying to belong in different worlds.
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You feel deeply and often notice things others miss. You want support that respects your sensitivity while helping you feel more grounded in it.
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You’re not looking for quick fixes. You want change that is thoughtful, embodied, and lasting.
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You’re not looking for just insight or affirmation. You want to understand the deeper patterns, emotions, and meaning underneath.
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You’ve journaled, meditated, and read the right books, yet certain situations still trigger reactions that feel bigger than you expected.
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You want to respond more honestly in the moment instead of getting pulled into the same reactions.
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You want to understand yourself more clearly rather than constantly adapting to who others expect you to be.
What people often begin to notice through this work
Therapy is a process. It often involves reflection, emotional honesty, and sometimes moving through difficult or unfamiliar feelings. As the work unfolds, many people begin to notice shifts such as:
understanding patterns shaping their reactions in relationships, stress, or self-doubt
feeling more grounded in their bodies and less driven by automatic survival responses
recognizing relational patterns in real time and experimenting with different responses
developing greater compassion for themselves and the parts of them that learned to survive
leaving sessions feeling clearer or more able to face difficult moments
experiencing connection without losing themselves
gradually building trust in their instincts and inner experience
"Therapy is a sacred space where we come to encounter ourselves in a deeper way. It’s not about fixing what’s broken, but about embracing our humanity in all its complexity."
David Richo
About Triseugeny Kononelos, LMHC, LPC
I’m a licensed mental health counselor providing psychotherapy for adults in Hawaiʻi and Illinois.
Before entering clinical work, I spent years in corporate settings while quietly pursuing what held my attention: Jungian depth psychology, somatic practice, and the question of how people change, heal, and make sense of tragic experiences. A two-year Jungian training program and several years of Iyengar yoga deepened my understanding of the relationship between body, awareness, and the deeper layers of the psyche.
Growing up first-generation Greek American, navigating cultural identity, family expectations, and belonging between different worlds, shaped me in ways that live in this work.
When I'm not with clients, you can usually find me surfing, dancing tango, writing a novel, or wandering through nature.
Depth-oriented and somatic therapy provided within licensed clinical care and ethical standards.
Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Hawai’i
Insurance accepted with select plans
Online sessions available across Hawaiʻi