How does trauma focused therapy work and how can it help?
It's important to work with a therapist who has years of experience in working with trauma. I'm a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (Level II) and have 25+ years of experience working with survivors of childhood abuse, sexual assault, relational violence, gun violence and the 9/11 terrorist attack. Experiencing a life threatening event (or an event that feels devastating) has an impact on how you think and feel. You might also feel the trauma response in your body: have you ever cringed, wanted to run away, felt nauseous or numb when you were reminded of a stressful event? You had to survive the event and use whatever skills were available to you. Trauma focused therapy works to decrease the negative emotions and bodily sensations. We also work on the negative beliefs you tell yourself because of what you went through. Often the brain generalizes to other situations such as a thought of "I'm not safe anywhere". That's not a very comfortable belief to have and only feels true. It also leads to avoidance of any situation going forward that could be frightening. Good trauma work focuses on all components: thoughts, emotions, the body and behaviors. You can do this with several types of therapy like Cognitive Processing Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and even Psychodynamic therapy.
It's important to know that you are not your trauma even though it has had an impact on your life. You won't forget what happened to you, but it will no longer hold you back and you will feel it less intensively. Post traumatic growth is the belief that you have many strengths and abilities, not because of the trauma you went through, but in spite of what you went through. You survived the adversity because you are a strong, worthy and an amazing person.
Are you ready to make some changes? I’m a therapist with 25+ years of experience. I help clients with anxiety and trauma develop new skills and insights to feel calmer, confident and in control. If you are struggling with feeling fearful, nervous, overwhelmed, irritable and physically ill, I can help. Therapy can provide you with the tools to be your authentic self, improve relationships and just feel better.
I’m Certified in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and am a Certified Clinical Anxiety Professional and a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (Level II). I would love to speak with you about any questions you have and what you’d like to accomplish in therapy. I offer a free 15 minute phone consultation to see if we’d work well together. Let’s chat today.