Trauma Therapy
Do You Feel Like Your Past Keeps Following You Into The Present?
Are there painful experiences that you’re unable to move beyond? Do you think there might be trauma in your life, but you’re not sure? No matter how much you try to reach out for help, does it seem like no one understands you or relates to your pain? Perhaps you start blaming yourself, ‘there must be something wrong with me for feeling this way.’
Maybe it looks like you’ve got it all together on the outside, but inside you feel disconnected from yourself and others. Perhaps you feel numb, listless and indifferent to everything, as if you’re going through the motions of life automatically. Or maybe you feel overwhelmed and unable to relax, like something terrible is about to happen. Past hurt may make you feel unsafe in your own body and unable to trust others. You may ask yourself: Is this what trauma feels like? Have I really been traumatized, or am I just overreacting?
Your Trauma Symptoms May Be Both Physical And Emotional
Trauma doesn’t just impact the mind—it impacts the body, too. In addition to causing depression, anxiety and other mental health issues, trauma can cause physical symptoms such as exhaustion, headaches, digestive problems, chronic pain, or sleep troubles. You may find that you tense up or “freeze” in situations that remind you of your traumatic experience. As a result, you might withdraw from social situations and keep to yourself more.
While this isolation may temporarily make you feel better, it can also add to your loneliness. If you want to learn how to heal from your trauma and experience more balance and harmony in your life, I encourage you to connect with me. Trauma therapy can empower you to safely work through and resolve the pain of the past.
Most People Don’t Realize How Many Experiences Can Be Traumatic
Trauma is more universal than people think. Virtually everyone has gone through a traumatic experience at some point in life, even if they didn’t know it at the time. Some traumas may be inherited, so-called legacy traumas. The problem is that people aren’t properly educated on what trauma really is.
While most people know that suffering from physical child abuse and neglect or domestic violence is traumatic, many may not realize that situations such as personal or generational exposure to racism and oppression, being a victim of bullying, cumulative grief and loss, or chronic stress can be traumatizing, too. Mental abuse including growing up with overly critical, emotionally unavailable, or verbally abusive parents can also be traumatizing. Most of these experiences don’t fall into the “single event” category of trauma—they build up slowly over long periods of time and can contribute to the development of complex trauma
Our Planet Is Going Through A Time Of Collective Trauma
In the wake of COVID-19, the whole world is reeling from a collective trauma. The pandemic has brought old emotional wounds to the surface, exacerbating the vulnerabilities that trauma survivors already deal with. People who struggle with anxiety are forced to confront new stressors about health and safety. Those who need the support of a wider community have had to isolate and stay at home. Put simply, trauma survivors need help now more than ever.
I would be honored to help you work through your struggles. With my support, I believe it’s possible to relate to yourself differently, achieve an increased sense of safety, and learn new ways to live a more fulfilling and meaningful life.
Trauma Therapy Is A Chance To Experience Deep Healing In The Mind And Body
It’s tempting to minimize trauma, to tell yourself that “other people suffered more” or that your experience “wasn’t that bad.” In many ways, this attitude is a way of coping with trauma itself—downplaying what you went through helps you disconnect from your emotional pain. In therapy, you have a chance to connect with your emotional pain in a way that is safe and follows a pace that is comfortable for you.
When it comes to trauma and PTSD therapy, I believe that talk therapy is not enough to elicit deep healing, as emotional imbalances often manifest in both the body and the mind. This is why counseling with me is so much more than having a conversation. Together, you and I will explore how your trauma shows up on both an emotional and physical level.
What To Expect In Sessions
No one grows up in a vacuum. We all have family history and cultural conditioning that affects how we deal with trauma. For example, if you suffered from a severe illness as a child, your struggles may have been exacerbated if you didn’t have an emotionally supportive family around you. Or if you grew up in a culture that taught you not to share your feelings, you might have trouble processing how you feel about your trauma. Furthermore, some traumas may be inherited, so-called Legacy Traumas. That’s why I want to help you explore the context of your struggles, looking at how your environment, upbringing, and family history affected you.
Learning more about trauma’s effects can also help you better recognize your stressors and triggers. You can become more aware of your trauma reactions and the people and situations that trigger them. This way, you can avoid reacting automatically to traumatic memories and respond more calmly and deliberately.
Tailoring Your Treatment Plan
Trauma therapy looks different for every client, but the main approach I use in my practice is an evidence-based transpersonal practice called Internal Family Systems (IFS). The goal of IFS is to help you explore and heal those parts of yourself impacted by trauma. For example, if you grew up with an overly critical parent, you may have a harsh inner self-critic. Or if someone in your family had anger issues, you may tend to people-please for fear that others will lash out at you.
Rather than shy away from these “parts,” IFS shows you how to befriend them and understand how they developed and why. This knowledge helps increase self-compassion and acceptance toward all of your parts—as extreme or abnormal as some of them may seem at first.
I am here to support you in discovering new strengths and inner resources as you move toward a life that is fulfilling and aligns with your values and goals. You may not be able to undo the past, but you can undo its effects on you today.
You May Have Some Questions And Concerns About Trauma Treatment…
I’ve had bad experiences with therapists before. How will this be different?
The relationship between a therapist and client is the greatest predictor of success in therapy. Creating a therapeutic relationship where you feel safe, heard, and supported is the most important aspect of my approach. If you’ve had bad experiences with therapy before, I want to know: what didn’t work for you? What do you want to do differently this time? You have control of the treatment process, so I want you to decide what to work on.
I don’t want to revisit my trauma.
Talking about trauma can be stressful. That’s why my approach is so much more than just talk. I want to explore how trauma affects your embodied experience and manifests on both a conscious and subconscious level. What’s more, trauma counseling happens at your own comfort level. My goal is to support you in exploring your trauma in a safe manner and without extreme overwhelm. While it’s not uncommon to experience uncomfortable emotions, you are in charge of the pace of the healing process and we won’t go further than you’re ready to go.
I’m not mentally ill, so why should I pursue therapy?
There’s nothing wrong with mental illness—millions of people struggle with one and still lead successful lives. That said, you don’t need to suffer from a mental illness to pursue therapy. There are many reasons for seeking help and all of them are equally valid. Life is messy and complicated and sometimes we all need additional support, regardless of how small we think our problems are.
Your Past Does Not Have To Define Your Future
If you’re tired of the past following you in the present, I would be honored to help you heal old emotional wounds and embrace a brighter future. To get started, visit the Contact page to fill out a contact form, or call or text me at: (831) 759-5055.
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