Trauma
Traumatic stress is a normal reaction to an intensely abnormal experience. Experiencing traumatic events, and especially enduring long-term trauma, can completely change our minds, bodies, and souls. You might find yourself frantically searching for a sense of safety and relaxation that you’ve never had the opportunity to experience.
Relationships can feel like a mine field. Concentrating on anything feels impossible. One intrusive thought and your entire day is thrown off. Between nightmares and hypervigilance, even sleep doesn’t feel safe. and all you want so desperately is to just feel normal.
You aren’t alone. What I have described is a very common experience for those struggling with PTSD or C-PTSD. The good news is that healing is possible—there is even something called post-traumatic wisdom on the other side of learning to live after trauma.
I have experience working with those who have experienced acute or long-term trauma. The answer is often long-term therapy focused on building a safe, secure relationship with your therapist to support you learning a new way of living outside of the therapy room.
Some common benefits trauma survivors can gain from therapy is:
Developing a Sense of Safety
Our therapeutic relationship can become your safe anchor to increase your feelings of safety, acceptance, and confidence. Having someone who really gets what you’re going through and allows you to set the pace can be extremely healing.
Processing Memories
Therapy is a controlled space where we can process difficult memories and emotions while you have a mental health expert as your guide. I will help guide us into these memories to reduce their power and your levels of distress.
Rebuild Your Core
Trauma can shift our beliefs towards the world, others, relationships, and ourselves. It can often leave someone feeling empty, or that there is no identity under their coping mechanisms. Together, we can rediscover who you are before what happened to you, and integrate your experiences to create a new, stronger you.