A Psychiatrist's Approach to Trauma: Ego States, Acupuncture, and Hypnosis
Most of the trauma-focused clinicians who've come on this show work primarily through talk-based or somatic modalities. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Amie Sharrits, MD, a psychiatrist in Raleigh, North Carolina, who takes a different route; combining medication management with acupuncture, hypnosis and a form of parts work she calls ego-state therapy.
What We Talk About
Her session structure. Most sessions follow the same shape: setting a goal, then setting it aside to move into a deep relaxation state using mindfulness, breathwork, hypnosis and acupuncture before any trauma processing begins.
Ego-state parts work, not IFS. Amie draws her approach from Dr. Sandra Paulsen's writing on dissociation and severe trauma. She's candid that it's a different model from Internal Family Systems, even though the language ("connecting to a part," "finding out what it needs") can sound similar on the surface.
Big-T vs. little-t trauma. We talk through why the smaller, harder-to-name traumas, the ones that show up as an outsized reaction to something a boss or partner said, can be some of the hardest to identify and work with.
Where clinicians can get trauma work wrong. Amie talks about fawning and high-functioning dissociation going unnoticed in session, and why she thinks pop culture's portrayal of catharsis (the dramatic "shake it out of them" scene) has done real damage to how people understand what trauma work actually looks like.
Ear acupuncture and where it comes from. A quick history of the NADA protocol, which originated as a response to the heroin epidemic in the Bronx in the 1970s, and how she uses it today for pain, injury recovery, and as part of her trauma work.
A simple mindfulness tool. Amie closes with a grounding exercise using focal points in the room, and a "mud puddle" metaphor for letting thoughts and feelings settle without forcing them.
Meet the Guest
Dr. Amie Sharrits, MD is a psychiatrist based in Raleigh, North Carolina. She works clinically with trauma, including complex/C-PTSD, alongside medication management, and incorporates ear acupuncture, hypnosis, and ego-state parts work into her practice.
Kealy Spring, LMFT is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist based in San Francisco, working with individuals and couples on perfectionism, imposter syndrome, anxiety, and communication. She also hosts Therapeutically Aligned, a podcast dedicated to demystifying therapy and helping people find the right clinician and approach for them.
Watch or Listen
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This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for therapy. If you are in crisis, please call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
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