Trauma Recovery

I specialize in helping people heal from trauma.

Many people have experienced some form of trauma during their life. Whether it was a painful childhood, a difficult relationship, a social rejection, humiliation, loss of control, physical or emotional injury, abuse or assault, and you can't seem to move forward, trauma counseling may help.

Just like a wound on our physical body can heal, our minds can heal from the wounds of trauma.

Unresolved issues of trauma my show up in the following symptoms:

• Anxiety/Fears or Phobias

• Distorted thinking

• Isolation or withdrawing from people, places & things

• Difficulty connecting/intimacy issues

• Getting "triggered" or over-reacting/difficulty controlling emotions 

• Avoidance

• Feeling outside of your body or emotionally numb

• Changes to sleep or appetite

• Getting "stuck" in the memory, or feeling as though it is happening all over again

But, I am hesitant to address the trauma I experienced.

This fear is very valid. Our practice owner, Martha, understands this fear both as a clinician and as a survivor of trauma. Addressing trauma can seem overwhelming and painful, however once you have processed through the event(s), it is likely that you will feel immense relief. It is crucial to create a space where you feel comfortable and safe and the relationship with your therapist is extremely important.

How do you work with trauma?

I a trauma specialist meaning she is a licensed mental health professional who has had explicit training, supervision, and clinical experience working directly, and perhaps almost exclusively, with trauma. I utilize a strength-based framework that is grounded in an understanding of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma, that emphasizes physical, psychological, and emotional safety. I utilize evidenced based trauma practices such as EMDR, IFS, and TF-CBT to help you heal from traumatic-wounds.

We focus on these key ingredients in trauma-informed mental health:

• Choice: informing you of your choices so you can choose options in treatment

• Empowerment: using your strengths to empower you

• Collaboration: maximizing collaboration between provider and you

• Safety: developing a setting and interventions that ensure physical & emotional safety

• Trustworthiness: creating clear expectations on proposed treatment and how care will be provided

But, my trauma isn’t ‘that bad’.

Everyone experiences trauma differently. The important thing to highlight is that trauma is not a type of event, but rather how event(s) impact us. Most of us will experience some trauma in our lifetime, but if we do not tend to the emotional wounds, the impact can last a lifetime and impact every part of our functioning. Some trauma survivors I’ve worked with have been in combat, but many more have experiences things like: bullying, community violence, early childhood trauma, chronic discrimination, intimate partner violence, medical trauma, sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect…just to name a few.

Whatever your story, it is valid and your story deserves to be heard.