Trauma Therapy
Has Trauma Brought Life To A Standstill?
Does unresolved trauma keep you stuck in place? Are you struggling to cope with daily life and form loving, healthy relationships? As a result of trauma, do you feel like a vital part of you is broken and needs healing before you can move forward?
Perhaps the imprint left by trauma continues to haunt you. Whether you experienced a single catastrophic event or were impacted by ongoing abuse or neglect as a child, you may be living with trauma’s residual impact, both physically and mentally. Whenever you are triggered by something that reminds you of what happened, your nervous system may activate, causing your fight-flight-freeze response to kick in without warning. If anxiety, depression, and despair have taken hold, your emotional distress could negatively impact your relationships and ability to maintain a job.
You May Have Developed Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
If you suffer from the effects of trauma, some of these symptoms may sound familiar:
Flashbacks, nightmares, or hypervigilance
Feeling unsafe or fearful in unfamiliar situations
Social withdrawal or feeling disconnected from others
Difficulty with trust, vulnerability, and emotional and/or sexual intimacy
Trouble controlling emotions, leading to irritability or angry outbursts
Because the shame and emotional pain you experience can be intense, you might have developed an unhealthy reliance on substances, sex, food, or shopping as a way to escape. Despite a desire to break out of these habits, you may feel trapped.
The effects of trauma become magnified without the proper support. That’s why it’s important to find a therapist who can help you unpack your trauma in a safe, nurturing, and empathetic environment. Trauma therapy with a professional counselor allows you to manage the chronic stress you are under and overcome feeling misunderstood, isolated, or alone.
Many Of Us Suffer From “Little T” Trauma
According to PTSD United.org, 70 percent of adults in the United States have experienced some traumatic event at least once in their lives. This equates to approximately 223.4 million people. [1] However, misconceptions and confusion about what constitutes trauma persist.
Our idea of trauma is often only associated with “Big T” events like physical or sexual assault, warfare, car accidents, and natural disasters. However, the “little t” trauma we may experience in early childhood can be profoundly impactful on how we think and feel as adults.
Even though we may not be aware of its effect, ‘little t” traumas—such as having emotionally unavailable caregivers or feeling unseen or unheard as a child—can cause the same amount of psychological damage as “Big T” trauma. “Little t” trauma may make us feel unworthy or unlovable, increasing the chances that we enter into unhealthy relationships.
Many Of Us Don’t Feel Comfortable Seeking Support
Unfortunately, our fast-paced culture doesn’t always hold space for mental health. When we experience something traumatic, the expectation we may receive from others is to put it behind us and move on. What’s more, trauma can be closely associated with internalized shame, making it less likely that we will share our experiences with others. Sadly, we might suffer more heartache due to isolation and a lack of adequate support.
Remember that support is accessible, and you’re never alone. Psychotherapy for childhood trauma, PTSD, and complex trauma can help relieve the pain you’re in, allowing you to get your life back on track.
Trauma Therapy Allows You To Breathe Easier
Although you may try to convince yourself you are strong enough to handle life single-handedly, feelings of emptiness, disconnection, and shame could signal unresolved trauma. Perhaps you have never gotten over a catastrophic event from your past or downplay your childhood as being “normal” and “happy,” never acknowledging the emotional neglect you experienced. But it’s okay to admit you need help.
For trauma healing to be possible, you must schedule time for self-care. Allowing yourself to talk about, explore, and process your experience while being challenged by a professional with your best interest at heart can be life-changing. Therapy provides you with a safe and supportive space to work through trauma at your own pace so you can move beyond the pain and become the healthy, happy, and high-functioning version of yourself you want to be.
What To Expect In Sessions
Goals for trauma therapy will depend on your preferences and can be adjusted to reflect your most pressing needs. We may decide to focus on what is causing you the most stress first, and once you have the tools to regulate your nervous system and manage symptoms, we can move on to deeper work. Tailoring your treatment plan to address the effects of trauma, such as identifying triggers and gaining awareness of what brings them on, ensures therapy will be targeted and effective.
As we delve deeper, we can explore the underlying causes of trauma and how your thoughts and feelings were shaped by your experience. Understanding how your relationships may be impacted by your worldview can help you form closer, healthier connections with others. Therapy can also help you understand how your thoughts influence actions and vice versa.
Evidence-Based Treatments Can Help Resolve Unprocessed Trauma
I incorporate modalities into our counseling sessions that are shown to be effective in treating childhood trauma, including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Narrative Therapy, and solution-focused therapy. Each approach offers a way to zoom out of your day-to-day so you can see the whole picture, as we create an intentional roadmap of what to do next.
Additionally, I utilize trauma-informed mindfulness practices, trauma-release breathwork, and journaling to heal trauma. If your default is living in defense mode, it can feel scary to relax. You may fear that if you put your guard down, it will lead to a negative outcome. With somatic modalities like mindfulness and breathwork, you can create a new normal for yourself, both physically and emotionally. Mindfulness can help relax your body and mind and discover an inner calmness you may have forgotten was possible. Breathwork for trauma allows you to deescalate the stress response and regulate your nervous system.
When you carve out time to process events and feelings, you can move through challenging experiences and find ways to cope. Once you have the proper tools, techniques, and support, healing is possible. You are not alone and should never give up hope that can reclaim your happiness.
But You May Have Some Concerns About Trauma Therapy …
Will talking about my trauma in therapy make me feel worse?
Understandably, talking about childhood trauma with a therapist in counseling sounds daunting. The fear of feeling worse might even be the reason why you’ve resisted trying therapy sooner. But the truth is that trauma therapy can be a liberating experience. Talking to someone about what happened allows you to look at things from a different perspective, perhaps for the first time. By working with a trauma counselor, you may discover that things you had always assumed had been your fault never were to begin with. Counseling gives you the chance to process trauma and come out the other side feeling more like yourself.
How can I tell whether or not what I experienced was trauma and if counseling will benefit me?
It’s common to minimize what happened by comparing it to someone else’s experience and concluding you were “lucky” in comparison. However, this is a defense mechanism that shields you from the pain you experienced. If you are feeling stuck, chances are that underlying trauma is the root cause. Luckily, effective treatments such as CBT, ACT, and Narrative Therapy can help address trauma, both its symptoms and underlying causes.
Will trauma treatment be helpful if I don’t have clear memories of what happened?
As a trauma-informed specialist, I can tell you that remembering what happened is not your responsibility or a prerequisite for counseling to be effective. You are under no obligation to show up to therapy with anything to talk about or memories related to your trauma. We will move at a comfortable pace and explore whatever is coming up for you.
You Can Heal From Trauma And Get Your Life Back
If you are ready to take the first step, we’re ready to work with you. To get started, you can email me, use the contact form, or call 929-404-3002 for a free, 15-minute phone consultation.
[1] https://web.ptsdunited.org/ptsd-statistics-2/#:
Recent Posts
