Services
Trauma & Abuse Therapy
What is trauma?
Trauma can come from large or small events in our history. A large event such as abuse, natural disaster, witnessing violence, neglect, or betrayal is most associated with trauma. Trauma can, however, also start with those smaller more innocuous events that happen throughout our lifetimes such as bullying, a teacher or parent who may have said very damaging things as you were growing up, feeling rejected by peers or family, growing up in a consistently negative environment, even experiencing a humiliating situation.
Trauma is a very individual experience. What may be experienced as trauma by one individual may not be experienced as trauma by someone else. The severity of the event does not necessarily determine the trauma. It is things such as the strength of a person’s emotional reaction to the event or the amount of resilience and positive support that person has or the surrounding circumstances in a person’s life at the time of the event that determines the trauma. Trauma is a complex reaction.
Experiencing trauma can have lasting impacts in our lives that we may or may not even be aware of. Trauma counselors help you navigate the signs and symptoms which can include depression, withdrawal, anger, isolation, loneliness, hypervigilance and anxiety. Counseling will help you manage your emotional states working with tools such as EMDR, Brainspotting, and Somatic Experiencing to help your body and mind learn to regulate your states of arousal and integrate your thoughts and feelings into more adaptive states in your brain.
Signs of trauma and abuse:
- Pushing people and relationships away
- Difficulty trusting others
- Lack of self-empowerment
- Fear of forming connections
- Avoidance of sights, sounds, environments, people that trigger reactions
- Decreased performance in school or work
- Difficulty concentrating
- A sense of not feeling present
- Nightmares
- Substance Use
- Difficulty setting healthy boundaries
- Hesitate to express your emotions for fear of reaction or rejection
- Feeling on edge most of the time
- Problems sleeping
How will trauma and abuse counseling help me?
The benefits of trauma and abuse counseling are far-reaching. You will experience a sense of resolution around events or thoughts that have been plaguing you for years. Resolving trauma results in a healthier relationship with yourself and others. You will learn to set boundaries that encourage your growth without isolating yourself from your relationships. Many people experience a greater sense of empowerment as they learn to manage their emotions through healthy methods.
Please contact us to learn more about how trauma and abuse counseling can benefit you as well as the types of trauma therapies we use.
