About Me

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Master NARM Practitioner based in St. Petersburg, Florida. I specialize in trauma therapy for high-functioning women navigating anxiety, childhood trauma, attachment wounds, and relationship patterns. I offer in-person therapy in St. Petersburg and online therapy throughout Florida.

A Little About Me

I’m Ruth Trujillo Pertew, LCSW, a bilingual (English/Spanish) psychotherapist with 16 years of clinical experience. As a Latin American immigrant and first-generation professional, I understand what it means to carry responsibility early—to be the strong one, the dependable one, the one who holds everything together.

My work is grounded in the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM), an advanced approach to healing developmental and attachment trauma. As a Master NARM Practitioner, I help women understand the survival patterns that once kept them safe—and gently outgrow them.

My own healing journey has shown me the power of being witnessed without judgment, pressure, or performance. That is the presence I bring into therapy: warm, steady, and deeply attuned.

You Are In The Right Place

If you’ve ever wondered why you keep falling into the same patterns—overthinking, people-pleasing, pulling away in relationships—you’re not alone. These struggles don’t appear out of nowhere. They’re often rooted in the ways we learned to cope as children.

• If you weren’t consistently seen or validated, you may have learned to doubt yourself or work harder to prove your worth.

• If closeness once felt unsafe, you may now protect yourself by pulling back just when you most want connection.

• If you carried too much responsibility early on, you may still find it hard to put your own needs first without guilt.

These strategies were wise and protective at the time. They helped you survive. But now, as an adult, they may leave you feeling anxious, disconnected, or like no matter what you do, it’s never enough.

How I Can Help

This is where therapy comes in. My role isn’t to tell you who you should be, but to create a space where you can explore who you already are—beyond the patterns that keep you stuck.

My approach is relational and somatically informed, grounded in the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM). This means we look not only at what’s happening now but at why those patterns took hold in the first place—and how they can begin to loosen. Together, we work at the root, not just at the surface, so that you can feel more free, connected, and alive.

Clients often tell me they feel both deeply understood and gently challenged in our work. That combination—warm presence with a clear focus—allows healing to unfold in a way that feels safe and sustainable. Set up a free consultation today.

What I Want You to Know

• Your struggles make sense. They are not signs of weakness, but of how hard you’ve worked to get by.

• These patterns can change. With the right support, new possibilities open up.

• You don’t have to do this alone. Therapy offers a space where all parts of you are welcome—and where you can begin to feel more grounded, more alive, and more true to yourself.