Trauma Therapy
Is trauma keeping you from living your best life?
- Have you been the victim of trauma, but feel too ashamed to admit it to anyone?
- Has what you experienced made it difficult to trust others and maintain healthy relationships?
- Do you suspect that you may suffer from the effects of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), including anxiety, flashbacks, persistent nightmares, and hyper-vigilance?
The consequences of experiencing trauma can cause your mind and your body to be in chronic overdrive -a constant state of fight or flight, resulting in physical symptoms like adrenal fatigue, exhaustion, migraines, and ulcers just to name a few.
You are not defined by the worst you have experienced
The Symptoms of Trauma Can Keep You Disconnected From Life
You may not have realized that you have compartmentalized your trauma, burying it deep within your psyche where it remains fragmented and unhealed. This “disassociation” may result in you living in a state of automatic pilot – going through the motions of living without really feeling connected to what’s happening. Trauma can be experienced as numbness, and even apathy, preventing you from being able to fully show up for your life.
You may not be aware that you blocked out the trauma until one day, something triggers the memory and then it seems like the world suddenly comes crashing down around you.
When you suffer from trauma, you might perceive everyday activities as a threat,causing you to feel like you are living in a perpetual war zone. As a result, you may turn to alcohol or drugs to ward off the pain inside. Unfortunately, numbing yourself by self-medicating only leads to more issues and lessens your ability to feel the full range of emotions,
including joy and fulfillment.
Be kinder than necessary, because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
-J.M. Barrie
Trauma occurs more frequently than you think
Anyone can experience trauma at any time in their life. Trauma doesn’t discriminate – it can result from child abuse, neglect, or abandonment by a parent or guardian, bullying from peers, sexual abuse or incest, random acts of violence, domestic violence, war, natural disasters or trauma related to the loss of a love done. Since Covid hit, many of us have experienced some form of loss or an abrupt shift in routine, causing us to internalize our distress.
Abuse and assault often go unreported
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center, reports that one in five women experience completed or attempted rape at some point in their lifetime… Furthermore, it’s estimated that as many as 80 percent of sexual assaults go unreported, according to a 2016 Justice Department report. Society can be partly to blame for this when you consider the instances where victims of abuse or trauma are further humiliated when they come forward and are blamed for their own victimization. Victims then feel violated twice, once by the perpetrator and then again by society. Fortunately, the #MeToo movement has been influential in helping victims of abuse to come forward and tell their stories without shame. Thankfully, trauma therapy can teach you how to reintegrate the fragmented parts of yourself. Through the safety and support a trauma counselor provides, you can begin to heal in a deep and lasting way.
One in five women experience completed or attempted rape at some point in their lifetime.
Reported by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Trauma therapy can help you process the painful emotions that are keeping you stuck
Traumatic experiences are normal reactions to abnormal situations. And yet when we experience trauma, we often feel overwhelmed by the difficult emotions stirred up within us.
My goal is to provide a safe space to foster an environment where healing can occur. While the trauma that you have experienced may make it difficult for you to trust others, as a trauma-informed therapist, I will bear witness to your pain and help you build back that trust.
Healing is embracing what is most feared
~ Jean Achterberg
EMDR is an effective tool for healing trauma
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a technique that is used to process trauma stored within the body. Trauma treatment using EMDR has been demonstrated to be an effective therapy to help mitigate the symptoms caused by trauma. Through the use of bi-lateral stimulation, I will guide you to recall the painful experience in the safety of a therapeutic environment.
As you focus on the painful experience, you will process the experience, enabling you to unlock the fragmented pieces of the traumatic event that have been stored in your mind and body. This technique will allow you to fully process your traumatic experiences so that they become integrated, allowing complete healing to occur.
Even though it can be painful to realize that what has happened cannot be undone,
healing is still possible. You can free yourself from the past once you seek out
trauma-informed treatment, whether it’s for sexual abuse, PTSD symptoms, or any other form of trauma. As a trauma-informed therapist, I can help you get in touch with painful memories, thoughts, and feelings so that you can explore – and eventually resolve – past trauma, making strides in your personal growth.
What to expect in sessions with me
In our initial session together, I prefer to obtain information about you in a less formal manner. Although you will fill out intake forms prior to our first session, I want to learn about you in a more organic way as we work together and trust is built. I don’t have a one-size-fits-all approach to working with clients – I assess each client’s needs individually.
During our initial assessment, we will decide whether you may be a good candidate to receive EMDR treatment. If your trauma is related to a single event, like witnessing a car accident and needing help to get the disturbing images out of your head, it may require fewer sessions than if you experienced chronic or complex trauma, where it may have occurred repeatedly over a period of years or you were exposed to multiple or varied traumatic events. In that instance, we will explore the deeper issues that have resulted from your experience.
During our initial assessment, we will decide whether you may be a good candidate to receive EMDR treatment. If your trauma is related to a single event, like witnessing a car accident and needing help to get the disturbing images out of your head, it may require fewer sessions than if you experienced chronic or complex trauma, where it may have occurred repeatedly over a period of years or you were exposed to multiple or varied traumatic events. In that instance, we will explore the deeper issues that have resulted from your experience.
Trauma resulting from some form of abuse or violence may have created distortions in your thinking which can lead to deep feelings of guilt, shame, and inadequacy.
These false beliefs about yourself may now hinder you from forming healthy relationships and making positive choices.
Together, we can work to help change destructive thought patterns so that you heal from what has happened to you.
In ongoing trauma counseling sessions, you will gain insight as to how your experiences have played a part in shaping who you are and how you feel about yourself. You will better understand how your past trauma is getting in the way of your present-day life and learn the steps you can take to heal and grow.
The wound
is the place
where the light
enters you
Rumi~
But you may still be wondering if trauma therapy is right for you.........
If you are a victim of sexual abuse, the perpetrator will often try to make you feel as if you are the one to blame for their bad behavior, causing you deep shame and guilt. When you receive therapy for the trauma caused by sexual abuse, you will realize that you are not to blame and learn how to trust again—both yourself and others. You will get the opportunity to heal your painful wounds with the help of someone who understands what you have gone through and has compassion for your suffering.
As humans, we are adaptable and have the ability to shift our perspectives to overcome our painful experiences. It is never too late to heal—I have seen those who have suffered the grimmest of experiences recover from trauma and go on to have successful relationships, careers, and lives. By working with an experienced trauma counselor, you can learn how to encounter and integrate your painful experiences in a way that fosters healing and growth.
Avoiding the issues that cause us pain will not aid in making them go away. At best, not addressing them is a temporary fix that will only postpone the inevitable. When we don’t deal with the issues that are keeping us from living our lives fully, our painful experiences zap our vital life force. However, if we can find the courage to confront our demons in the safe setting that trauma treatment provides, we can begin the journey back to ourselves and our wholeness. The way out is through.
Beyond trauma lies hope
You are not defined by the worst you have experienced. Hope and healing are possible with trauma therapy.
Joie De Vivre!
