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Trauma Therapy

Time doesn’t heal all wounds. It gives us opportunities to process them.

Trauma can result from stressful exposure to any type of single event or repetitive situation that leaves us feeling stuck with painful feelings and negative beliefs. Trauma affects us physically, mentally, and emotionally, and it affects how we see ourselves, other people and the world. It impacts our self-esteem, our personal identity, and our ability to trust ourselves and others. Trauma often shows up as anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues. These other issues are often symptoms of an unresolved trauma from the past.

You might need trauma therapy if you experience these symptoms:

 

Intrusive thoughts +

Thoughts such as repeated involuntary memories, beliefs, distressing dreams, or flashbacks

Avoidance of reminders +

Reminders that bring on the distressing memory, and a preference not to think about or talk about your past

Negative thoughts and feeling +

Thoughts such as distorted beliefs about yourself (“I’m bad”, “No one can be trusted”), or persistent feelings of fear, anger, guilt, shame, or detachment from others

Arousal and reactive symptoms +

Being easily startled, irritable, anger outbursts, self-destructive behavior, or difficulty concentrating or sleeping
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Treatment

We primarily use the therapeutic relationship, neuroscience & psychoeducation, mindfulness, EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), IFS (internal family systems), and DBT (dialectical behavior therapy) for helping our clients understand and heal from trauma.

 

What is mindfulness? +

Mindfulness is the practice of being fully aware of present thoughts, emotions, body sensations and our surrounding environment without reacting, judging, interpreting, or becoming overwhelmed by them. Research has shown that individuals who participate in mindfulness-based interventions show significantly lower symptoms of trauma and PTSD.

What is EMDR? +

EMDR has been extensively researched and proven to be effective for treating trauma. It gets to the root of the problem, and often works faster than regular talk therapy. EMDR will focus on your memories, feelings, body sensations, thoughts and beliefs. It was designed to alleviate the distress associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but has since been found to also be effective in treating anxiety, depression, phobias, addiction, grief, relationship issues, and physical pain. EMDR will focus on your past, present and prepare you for your future. Using Attachment-Focused EMDR will further help you with more subconscious forms of trauma.

What is IFS +

Internal Family Systems therapy is an evidence-based approach which works based on the belief that we all have a true Self as well as many "parts" or sub-personalities within us. These parts can become more intense and extreme if we are traumatized. IFS therapy helps us to understand our protective parts, heal our wounded parts, and repair the internal system of feelings, sensations, thoughts and beliefs within us. It has been found to be effective in treating trauma as well as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, addiction, and some physical health conditions.

What is DBT? +

Dialectical behavior therapy is an evidence-based therapy that improves personal skills in four main categories: distress tolerance, emotion regulation, mindfulness, and interpersonal effectiveness. It is effective in treating borderline personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, eating disorders, and addictions. DBT helps individuals to feel prepared, in control, and self-regulated when facing painful emotions, overwhelming stress, and reminders of past trauma.
 

If you are questioning whether you need therapy for trauma, or if you are interested in completing a trauma symptom assessment, please reach out.


More Resources

 

Trauma Support Group

This trauma skills group helps individuals to positively tolerate painful emotions, manage distress, regulate triggers and be mindfully present.

Men’s Recovery Group

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Infidelity Recovery

In treating infidelity, we provide a safe, non-judgmental atmosphere that balances acceptance, support, and accountability