Trauma Therapy
Are You Struggling To Overcome A Painful Past?
Is a traumatic event, a painful loss, or an upsetting life transition taking over your life, making it hard for you to move forward or function day to day?
Does your body feel tense and anxious most of the time, even when you intellectually “know” you are safe?
Perhaps you find yourself getting triggered easily because certain people and places that mirror old traumatic events make it difficult for you to stay regulated.
Or maybe you suffered childhood trauma that’s showing up in your life as an adult, and you’re hoping that therapy can end that complex cycle.
Trauma Can Overshadow Your Life In Powerful Ways
On the emotional side, Trauma and PTSD can cause irritability, anger issues, depression, and mistrust, which often create relationship problems and intimacy issues. The resulting pain and isolation can lead to feelings of shame, hopelessness, and low self-esteem.
Because you’re in your head so much fighting intrusive thoughts, you probably can’t focus or stay on track at work. Or maybe the constant stress and anxiety are causing sleep problems, back pain, digestive issues, and other unexplained ailments. I suppose it is true what they say about trauma—the body keeps score.
Trauma truly impacts every aspect of a person—body, mind, and soul—but there is a way to break free and start living again. Working with a skilled trauma/PTSD counselor can offer you the tools, insight, and support needed to heal and grow so you can function better, move forward, and live your best life.
Reach Out Today!
What Is Trauma And How Common Is The Issue?
Trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that overwhelms an individual’s ability to process and cope with it in healthy ways. Oftentimes, trauma causes lasting adverse effects on a person’s mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Trauma can result from a wide range of events, including but not limited to:
- Accidents
- Natural disasters
- Physical or sexual assault
- Childhood abuse or neglect
- Witnessing violence
- Loss of a loved one
- Medical trauma
Everyone’s Experience With Trauma Is Different But Valid
We all experience overwhelm and distress. And though some people’s trauma is more substantial than others’, the size and weight of your experience is not a competition—and it doesn’t determine the effect it has on your mind and body. We all cope differently. I like to remind my clients that tidal waves have a great impact, but so does the tiny trickle of a stream—just look at the Grand Canyon!
What I’m trying to say is that everyone’s trauma is significant. The way that we deal with these experiences on an unconscious level is how trauma manifests. That is, trauma is not the event that occurred (that is the traumatic experience), but rather the way your nervous system responded, and how the body is left to manage the aftermath.
Much of what we do in trauma treatment and PTSD counseling involves uncovering where the trauma is stored physically while unraveling and releasing the stored traumatic stress from the body. This enables you to feel safer in the present, allowing us to then work on managing overwhelming emotions, critical self-talk, or self-sabotaging behaviors that have been used as protection.
My Comprehensive, Mind-Body Approach To Trauma Therapy
It is my belief that every human being has trauma in their body. Some people experience shock trauma, which are short-lived or single-incident events that are catastrophic in size and nature like natural disasters, accidents, or one-time assault situations.
Trauma can also be “developmental,” which is to say, you can experience trauma that is more enduring, characterized by more of a repetitive inability to get your needs met (emotionally, physically, mentally, or spiritually). Oftentimes, this form of trauma leads you to develop defensive coping strategies as a way to survive (childhood trauma counseling frequently deals with developmental trauma).
Regardless of its nature, trauma and PTSD require an in-depth approach to counseling that goes beyond talk therapy—and that’s where I come in.
What Can You Expect From My Trauma Treatment Sessions?
I believe in a client-centered approach to healing that tailors trauma therapy sessions to meet your individual needs and goals for recovery. That means I can help you overcome a broad range of trauma-related challenges holding you back. Whether your struggles are external (toxic relationships, over-functioning, and people-pleasing) or internal (self-sabotage, limiting beliefs, and self-doubt), I am here to support and guide you throughout the healing process.
In counseling sessions, I will teach you about your mind/body connection and how old trauma lives in the body and prevents you from moving forward. I can help you rediscover your inner strength and hidden potential, guiding you to achieve lasting change. I’ll also work with you to overcome immediate obstacles while uncovering your innate capabilities—ones that can help you thrive in your new life.
Together, we will explore your true self, your desires, and how to attain them so that you can create a life that truly aligns with who you are and what makes you feel happy and whole. Though I’ll gently challenge you at times, my priority is to support you in developing a loving and healed relationship with yourself—because you’re the one person who can truly make a difference in your life.
Some Of The Specific Tools I Use In Trauma Therapy
My trauma counseling services offer a safe and confidential space for you to explore your experiences, process your emotions, and develop healthy coping strategies. To help you heal from the effects of trauma, I use evidence-based approaches, including:
- Trauma-Informed Polyvagal Nervous-System education—the more you know about your own body, and how it protects you during trauma, the less fear you have of your symptoms
- Brainspotting—a mind and body-based trauma treatment method that shares similarities with EMDR therapy and Hypnosis with the added benefit of being more flexible and client-led
- Somatic Exploration of Trauma—another mind-body approach to therapy that focuses on identifying and releasing stagnant energy stored in the body as a result of trauma
- Ego State & Parts Work Integration Work—two integrative therapy models that work with the collection of “parts” that make up the whole of a person
- Mindfulness-Based Techniques for Trauma—trauma-informed mindfulness practices, such as breathwork and meditation, that help clients stay calm, relaxed, and grounded
When I first started in the field, we often used talk therapy to address trauma. However, the body is not going to abandon protective strategies and truly heal without helping the mind and body find safety first.
Fast forward 20 years, and thankfully the field has advanced, and trauma specialists now know that effective trauma treatment involves working with each person as a whole. Regardless of your situation, I believe that with the support and guidance of a holistic, mind-body-based therapist like myself, trauma/PTSD therapy can help you finally heal, unlock your true potential, and live your best life.
Are You Still On The Fence About Trauma Counseling?
Is trauma/PTSD counseling really going to help me?
Trauma can make it hard to believe that you can heal and find peace, so it’s natural to be skeptical about therapy. However, I use proven trauma treatment methods that have been shown to reduce distress and improve clients’ lives. With a little effort and the right guidance, you can learn practical skills and develop self-awareness that allows you to move beyond your past, no matter what happened.
Do I have to talk about everything that happened right away?
Absolutely not! We’ll begin the healing process slowly. As a therapist, a foundational part of trauma-informed care is knowing how to “titrate” talking about issues that cause dysregulation in the nervous system. That’s why I’ll teach you emotional regulation skills to help you if and when you do begin to feel discomfort—and we’ll always move at a pace that feels comfortable for you.
Trauma took away your power. My goal is to help you get it back, and that includes giving you control over what you talk about and when you talk about it. You are always in control of what happens in your sessions.
I’m afraid that trauma/PTSD therapy will force me to face my worst fears.
Therapy does involve facing your past, but you won’t have to do it alone, and you won’t have to relive it over and over. Your brain can heal itself and put memories in their proper place, but that takes guidance and a little work. Rest assured, we won’t spend every session rehashing the past. After all, your therapy sessions are for addressing whatever challenges you’re facing, not just trauma.
Trauma Doesn’t Have To Overshadow Your Life Any Longer
To take the first step towards recovery and begin your healing journey, contact us to schedule an initial consultation. We are here to answer your questions and support you in any way we can.
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Trauma Therapy in
Kennebunk, ME
70 Twine Mill Rd, Kennebunk, ME 04043
Trauma Therapy in
Atlanta, GA
6 Lenox Pointe NE, Atlanta, GA 30324