Trauma Therapy

Do you feel like you’re always on high alert, waiting for the other shoe to drop?  Are chunks of your life missing, leaving blank spots where memories should be?  Do you find yourself replaying certain experiences over and over again?  If so, you’re not alone.  Over 70% of adults have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime.  Trauma can leave you feeling like you’re fighting for your life, even when you’re perfectly safe.  

Unlike other mental health issues, trauma is triggered by an outside event that is so terrible, so intolerable that it leaves an imprint on the brain.  To better understand what trauma does to the brain, try this: look at a bright window or lamp, then close your eyes.  For a moment the image of that window or lamp is still visible, even with your eyes closed.  

Unlike the image of that bright light, which quickly fades, the imprint from trauma can remain long after the event itself is over.  As a result, the brain might perceive a threat where none exists. When the brain perceives a threat, it activates the body’s “fight or flight” system. This is why months or even years later, you might feel the same way you did when you were in the midst of trauma.

 

“Trauma is an event so horrendous that it overwhelms the nervous system and an individual’s ability to cope.”

— Stephanie Knipper

“There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”

- Leonard Cohen

 

I know first-hand the way trauma colors every aspect of your life because in addition to being a counselor, I have experienced trauma. This is how I know healing is possible.

Your past does not have to define you. Counseling can help you move forward. In a calm, safe, and trusting environment, we will work together to help you heal from the past and find the peace-of-mind you’ve been searching for.

Contact me when you’re ready to start.

 

Trauma symptoms:

(Symptoms appear after a traumatic event.)

  • Hypervigilance — the need to feel “on guard” or constantly aware of your surroundings. For example, needing to sit with your back to a wall, instead of a door.

  • Hyperarousal — feeling keyed up, tense, or on edge.

  • Feeling unsafe

  • Nightmares / Night terrors

  • Intrusive thoughts of the event(s)

  • Memory loss

  • Difficulty concentrating

  • Avoidance of people, places, or events that are reminders of the trauma

  • Social isolation

  • Lack of interest in previously enjoyed activities

  • Fatigue / exhaustion

  • Sleep difficulties

  • Guilt, shame, anger, fear, irritability

“At the root of all trauma is our biological imperative for safety and belonging.”

— Amy Rebekah Chavez.