Best Trauma Therapist for Guilt, Shame, Envy, and Jealousy – Gina Totino, LCSW

If you’re quietly struggling with guilt, shame, envy, or jealousy, you’re not alone — and you don’t have to keep managing these emotions on your own. Gina Totino, LCSW, is a licensed trauma-informed therapist at Light Street Psychotherapy in Short Hills, NJ, specializing in helping individuals understand, process, and heal from difficult emotions rooted in trauma and life experience.

Serving clients in Short Hills, Millburn, Summit, Livingston, Chatham, Morristown, Westfield, and throughout New Jersey via telehealth, Gina provides compassionate, evidence-based therapy for adults navigating emotional pain, relationship struggles, and self-worth challenges.

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Why These Emotions Feel So Overwhelming

Guilt, shame, envy, and jealousy are part of being human — but when they’re tied to unresolved trauma, they can take over your inner world. You may find yourself:

• Constantly criticizing yourself or replaying past mistakes
• Feeling like you’re never “good enough” no matter what you do
• Withdrawing from relationships out of fear of rejection
• Struggling with insecurity, resentment, or fear of abandonment
• Feeling emotionally exhausted from trying to keep it all together

These aren’t character flaws. They’re signals that something deeper needs attention — and therapy can help.

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Understanding the Difference: Guilt vs. Shame

Guilt — “I Did Something Wrong”

Guilt focuses on a specific behavior. In healthy amounts, it encourages accountability and growth. But excessive guilt can lead to:

• Chronic anxiety and overthinking
• People-pleasing and difficulty setting boundaries
• Emotional exhaustion and burnout

Shame — “I Am Wrong”

Shame cuts deeper. It’s not about what you did — it’s about who you believe you are. Shame often develops from childhood trauma, emotional neglect, criticism, or abuse, and over time it can cause:

• Low self-esteem and persistent self-doubt
• Anxiety and depression
• Difficulty trusting others or forming close relationships
• Emotional withdrawal and fear of vulnerability

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Understanding the Difference: Envy vs. Jealousy

Envy — Wanting What Others Have

Envy arises when we see others with things we deeply want — success, confidence, love, opportunity. Left unaddressed, it can turn into resentment, inadequacy, and feelings of being stuck or left behind.

Jealousy — Fear of Losing What You Have

Jealousy is rooted in fear — fear of losing someone important, fear of abandonment, or fear of not being enough. It often intensifies when past attachment wounds or relationship trauma haven’t been fully healed.

Both emotions, when overwhelming, are usually pointing to something deeper that deserves care and attention.

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How Gina Totino, LCSW Helps

Gina Totino is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) at Light Street Psychotherapy in Short Hills, NJ. She specializes in helping adults who are struggling with difficult emotions, relationship challenges, and trauma — including those that have never been fully addressed.

Gina specializes in:

• Guilt, shame, and chronic self-criticism
• Envy, jealousy, and relationship insecurity
• Childhood and developmental trauma
• Attachment trauma and abandonment wounds
• Medical trauma
• Trauma from car accidents
• Emotional overwhelm and relationship conflict

Her approach is non-judgmental, trauma-informed, and rooted in evidence-based treatment.

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Gina’s Therapy Approaches

🔹 Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Helps you manage overwhelming emotions, set healthy boundaries, reduce conflict, and build practical coping strategies for daily life.

🔹 EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)

A powerful, research-backed approach for processing traumatic memories and reducing the emotional triggers connected to past painful experiences — including shame, guilt, and relationship wounds.

🔹 Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)

Helps individuals and couples deepen emotional connection, improve communication, and break cycles of conflict rooted in unprocessed emotion.

🔹 IFS-Informed Couples Therapy (Internal Family Systems)

Helps partners understand their emotional triggers, develop greater compassion for themselves and each other, and build a foundation of emotional safety and intimacy.

🔹 Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT Tapping)

A body-based technique that combines emotional processing with calming physical cues to reduce anxiety, stress, and emotional overwhelm.

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Who Gina Works With

Gina works with adults, individuals, and couples in:

In-Person (Short Hills, NJ): Short Hills · Millburn · Springfield · Maplewood · South Orange · Summit · Madison · Chatham · Livingston · Florham Park · Westfield · Cranford · Whippany · Berkeley Heights · Union · Scotch Plains · Morristown · New Providence · Mountainside

Telehealth: All of New Jersey + Florida

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Ready to Start Healing?

You don’t have to keep carrying guilt, shame, or emotional pain alone. With the right support, healing is possible — and it often starts with one conversation.

Gina Totino, LCSW at Light Street Psychotherapy is Confidential support starts with one call for both in-person sessions in Short Hills, NJ and telehealth appointments across New Jersey and Florida.

📞 Call or text: (973) 544-8617

Confidential. Compassionate. Evidence-based.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does Gina Totino work with shame from childhood trauma? Yes. Gina specializes in helping adults process shame and emotional wounds that developed in childhood, including experiences of neglect, criticism, and abuse.

Does Gina offer telehealth therapy in New Jersey? Yes. Gina offers secure telehealth sessions for clients throughout New Jersey and Florida.

What is the difference between guilt and shame in therapy? Guilt focuses on behavior (“I did something wrong”) while shame attacks identity (“I am wrong”). Both can be healed through trauma-informed therapy, and Gina works with both in her practice.

Does Gina Totino accept new clients? Yes — Light Street Psychotherapy is currently welcoming new clients. Call (973) 544-8617 to schedule your first appointment.

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