Therapy for Trauma

Trauma includes events and situations that cause a person to feel helpless, or that their existence is threatened. When we speak of trauma, it not only relates to physical violence, but emotional violence, unsafety, neglect, abandonment and more. 

The goal in treating trauma is to help the client manage the effects of trauma - fears, anxiety, depression, hypervigilance, anger. It is also to help reduce the charge of the traumatic memory - so that the client's traumatic experience becomes part of their past, a memory rather than something that continues to negatively impact their wellbeing.

One of the ways I approach trauma is using Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, which uses mindful awareness of physical sensation to work through the effects of trauma not only on the body, but on emotions and thought patterns as well. It is a gentle and transformative way of working.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) uses bilateral stimulation to help the body and brain process and release traumas, both large and small. It is a widely studied tool known for its effectiveness in treating PTSD. It is also useful in treating negative beliefs, phobias, anxiety, and places that feel stuck. EMDR can be a very fast treatment, sometimes resolving issues in just a few sessions. 

I also use EMDr* to treat recent traumatic experiences that occurred within the last few months. This technique is effective in keeping an experience from developing into something that has long term effects.

 In working with trauma, we will always go at your pace. I will never push you to do something you don't want to do. It is also not necessary to recount the details of traumatic events in order to heal.