Trauma Therapy
Do You Feel Unsafe In The World?
Do you move through each day with a sense that what happened in the past is never too far away?
Are you frequently flooded with fear, anxiety, shame, or guilt?
Is your body also impacted by uncomfortable symptoms like muscle tension, chronic pain, or digestive issues?
Perhaps you rarely feel grounded in the present moment and experience flashbacks whenever you are triggered by something that reminds you of painful memories. You might be ever-hypervigilant to potential threats and constantly fear for your safety. Whether your body responds with anxiety or emotional numbness, living this way keeps part of you stuck in the past and disconnected from the world around you.
You Might Struggle To Cope Day-To-Day
To keep yourself safe, you might try to avoid people or situations that cause distress, which prevents you from trying new things or engaging in the community. If your fight-or-flight response is easily activated, coping with even run-of-the-mill stressors becomes harder to manage. Even if you recognize that your emotional response isn’t proportionate to the current circumstances, perhaps you feel unable to control it.
Living in fear can make it hard to develop and maintain healthy relationships. You might withdraw from loved ones, fear intimacy, or struggle to set healthy boundaries. Feeling alone, you may convince yourself you’re broken, unlovable, and undeserving of happiness.
But you’re not broken. This is what living with the effects of trauma looks like. Fortunately, trauma therapy can help you recognize the signs and symptoms and help you develop an effective treatment plan to heal.
Reach out today!
Complex Trauma Can Have A Long-Lasting Impact On Our Well-Being
When we consider the causes of trauma, we often only think about significant one-time events that are life-changing and cause harm. Many of us were taught that only “Big T” events—such as natural disasters, sexual assault, accidents, or experiencing acts of violence or warfare—constitute trauma.
Fewer people are aware that complex, or “Little T,” trauma is far more common but just as emotionally damaging as “Big T” trauma. We experience “Little T” trauma when we’re exposed to chronic circumstances, especially early in life, that deprive us of security and safety. This subtler form of trauma is experienced as neglect, unmet emotional needs, bullying, criticism, or betrayal.
Our Survival Mechanisms Can Sometimes Work Against Us
Humans are equipped with survival instincts dating back to when we had to remain alert to avoid danger. When we experience trauma, we may try to protect ourselves by avoiding thinking about what happened or trying to downplay how much we were impacted. Although it’s a survival mechanism designed to keep us alive, it can also hinder us from addressing trauma on our own.
Working with a therapist who understands the intricacies of trauma can help you come to terms with your experience. By fostering self-compassion and self-awareness, trauma counseling allows you to let go of the past and focus on the future.
Trauma Recovery Therapy Offers Hope, Guidance, And Healing
As trauma specialists, we often work with clients who decide to therapy because they’re anxious, depressed, or struggling with relationships. They often wonder why they never feel good enough or question if they’re worthy of love. As we gradually peel back the layers in counseling, we discover that underlying childhood trauma has prevented them from embracing the best version of themselves.
Perhaps your first inclination is to downplay your childhood experiences. After all, you may rationalize that you didn’t have it as bad compared to others. In therapy, you will learn that diminishing what happened is a common symptom of residual trauma that may have caused you to put off seeking treatment longer than you needed to.
What To Expect In Sessions
For trauma therapy to be beneficial, you must build a trusting and supportive relationship with your counselor. As trauma-informed therapists, we offer a safe space for you to explore how your experiences informed your worldview and self-image. We will help you connect the dots about how physical and emotional symptoms that impact you presently are tied back to times in the past when you didn’t feel safe or taken care of.
Your therapist will provide psychoeducation about the physiological impact of trauma, helping you learn to identify and label what is happening so you can respond more effectively moving forward. Once a core issue is identified, such as an unhealthy relationship dynamic or nervous system dysregulation, you will collaborate on a targeted plan to address it. Throughout sessions, your therapist will check in with you to assess your progress, making whatever adjustments to treatment necessary to ensure progress.
The Modalities We Incorporate Into Trauma Treatment
We utilize evidence-based modalities to treat the symptoms of trauma, including trauma- focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EDMR), Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and mindfulness.
EMDR can help reprocess traumatic memories using bilateral stimulation, such as guided eye movements. With its gentle yet effective approach, EMDR has been shown to help reduce the emotional intensity of past experiences. [1] CBT focuses on helping you develop skills to identify and reframe negative thought patterns and behaviors related to trauma, helping you create better coping mechanisms.
IFS therapy explores the different internal “parts” of yourself that may hold trauma, fostering self-compassion and healing by integrating and unburdening wounded parts. ACT encourages you to accept painful emotions rather than avoid them, using values-based actions to cultivate resilience and psychological flexibility. Trauma-informed mindfulness strategies can support you in developing present-moment awareness, emotional regulation, and distress tolerance, allowing you to respond to trauma-related triggers with greater clarity and control.
Starting trauma work with a therapist can feel overwhelming at first, and that is entirely normal. Just remember that therapy can help you develop skills to overcome fears that hold you back from living the life you desire. When you’ve made peace with your past, you can cope with emotions as they arise more easily, develop healthier relationships, create a stronger sense of self, and find hope for the future.
But Maybe You’re Not Sure If Trauma Therapy Is Right For You…
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We commonly hear from clients, “I fear that discussing past experiences will make me feel worse or re-trigger painful emotions.” With trauma-informed care, your counselor will be mindful of moving at a pace you feel comfortable with to mitigate feelings from becoming too overwhelming or painful. With patience and gentle support, they will help you gradually expose yourself to past experiences in a safe environment where you are in control.
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Internalizing shame or blame is a common symptom of trauma. Many survivors struggle with feelings of guilt or embarrassment, believing their trauma was their fault or that they should have “moved on”. Working with a trauma therapist can help you confront these self-criticisms and work through what happened to you, so you can live more authentically and compassionately.
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Our counselors are dedicated to trauma work because they believe everyone deserves to live their best lives. A cornerstone in our role as therapists is to hold space without judgment. We are trained to support you in processing and letting go of the belief that shame should prevent you from sharing your experience. Whether you are overcoming complex trauma related to childhood abuse or neglect, betrayal, or religious trauma, therapy is a safe space to unburden yourself and find healing.
Trauma Doesn’t Have To Define The Rest Of Your Life
In therapy, you can discover new ways to think and feel about the world. If you would like to find out more about trauma therapy, please click here to schedule a free 15-minute call.
[1] https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/recent-research-about-emdr/
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