Trauma Therapy for Adults
Trauma is not an event itself. It's an experience of physical sensations and psychological disruptions. Our brains assign meaning to the experience and the memory is labeled accordingly. This process is unique, which is why the same event may be more traumatic for some than others.
Your biological reactions may occur immediately or may be delayed, and the adverse effects of traumatic events can be short term or last long past the event. These adverse effects can include: attention problems, a lack of trust in relationships, the inability to cope with daily tasks and sleep disturbances.
Simply put: Trauma is anything that overloaded your capacity to cope and continues to be emotionally challenging.
If you're experiencing several of the following on a fairly consistent basis, trauma therapy is the right support system for you:
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Recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the traumatic event
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Reliving the traumatic event as if it were happening again (flashbacks)
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Upsetting dreams or nightmares about the traumatic event
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Severe emotional distress or physical reactions to something that reminds you of the traumatic event
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Avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event
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Avoid places, activities or people that remind you of the traumatic event
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Negative thoughts about yourself, other people or the world
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Hopelessness about the future
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Memory problems, including not remembering important aspects of the traumatic event
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Difficulty maintaining close relationships
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Feeling detached or estranged from family and friends
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Lack of interest in activities you once enjoyed
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Difficulty experiencing positive emotions
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Feeling emotionally numb
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Being easily startled or frightened
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Always being on guard for danger
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Constantly assessing potential threats around you
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Reckless or self-destructive behavior, such as drinking too much or driving too fast
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Trouble sleeping - difficulty falling or staying asleep or restless sleep
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Trouble concentrating
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Irritability, angry outbursts or aggressive behavior
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Overwhelming guilt or shame
Trauma can have a strong impact on your ability to function and your overall mood. It can be intense, persistent, invasive, all-consuming and even debilitating.
We specialize in counseling adults who are experiencing life challenges due trauma - little "t", big "T" and everything in-between.
Our therapists are integrative and incorporate several evidence-based treatment models into the therapeutic process. Here are the most common approaches we use in trauma treatment:
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Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
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Psycho-education
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Brainspotting
As Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors, we have received specialized training in treating every person as a whole, and we help clients heal by taking the entire human being and their life experiences into consideration for assessment and treatment purposes. Whether you have acute, chronic, complex or vicarious trauma, the goal of trauma therapy is to help you to heal from your traumatic life experiences and no longer feel bogged down emotionally.

Common types of big "T" traumatic experiences:
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Natural disaster
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Mugging
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Kidnapping
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Robbery
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Plane crash
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Car accident
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Torture
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Sexual violence
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Physical abuse
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Physical assault
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Childhood physical abuse
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Major accidents
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Medical diagnoses
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Serious illness
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Terrorist attacks
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Witnessing a death
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Life threatening events
Common types of little "t" traumatic experiences:
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non-life threatening injuries
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infidelity
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death of a pet
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bullying or harassment
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shame / humiliation
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interpersonal conflict
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emotional abuse
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divorce
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abrupt relocation
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loss of significant relationships
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legal trouble
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financial insecurities
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developmental trauma
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parent with a mental health diagnosis
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy is a therapeutic approach that is commonly used in trauma treatment. This evidenced-based approach enables you to weaken the effect of negative emotions and become more in control of your distressing thoughts.
We incorporate EMDR into our therapy sessions to assist you in activating your natural healing processes. Much like healing physical wounds, EMDR aids you in healing emotional wounds by removing blocks or imbalances caused by your traumatic life experiences.
EMDR therapy assists you in processing distressing memories safely to help resolve your acute stress response (fight, flight, freeze or fawn). The goal is to help your system no longer trigger an overactive response when you are in a nonthreatening situation, providing you with a peaceful resolution and the ability to feel more in control in a way that feels healthier for you.
If you are ready to take the next step, we invite you to connect with us. Our counselors offer a free 15-minute phone or video consultation so you can get a feel for whether we are a good fit for your unique needs.
If you’re interested in learning more, contact us. We'd love to help you get started!