Learn to Put Trauma in Its Proper Place – the Past – So You Can Start Moving Forward Toward a Life You Truly Love
Trauma can be dramatic – an automobile accident, physical assault, or some form of natural or man-made disaster.
But trauma doesn’t always show up as one clear memory you can point to. It can be subtle, even sneaky …
The bullying, emotional abuse and neglect from childhood … the messages about who we are that we’ve internalized over the years … can lead us to believe that we’re not safe, that everything’s our fault, that we’re always too little or too much, and that no one can really be trusted, not even ourselves.
When it comes down to it, anything that leaves us feeling overwhelmed and isolated can be traumatic. And when that trauma isn’t processed – when it becomes “stuck” in our bodies and nervous systems, it can show up in any number of ways …
Sometimes it’s anxiety that seems to come out of nowhere – your chest tightens, your thoughts race, and your body reacts as if something is wrong even when everything “looks fine.”
Other times it feels like panic, hypervigilance, or the pervasive feeling that the next shoe is just about to drop.
Or, on the other end of the spectrum, you may feel numb, disconnected and detached from yourself, your relationships, and the things that once brought meaning and joy to your life.
If any of this resonates, I’m here to let you know:
You’re not alone. You’re not “weak” or “broken.” And you don’t have to keep living this way.
You don’t have to let trauma continue taking its toll on your relationships as it sucks all of the joy out of your life.
Trauma counseling and therapy can help you understand what’s happening underneath your symptoms, gently work through what your nervous system is still holding onto, and build the tools you need to feel calmer, clearer, and more in control – so you can start moving forward again, one step at a time, toward a life you truly love.
If you’re ready to finally put trauma in its proper place – the past – I invite you to contact me today, schedule a free 15-minute initial phone consultation, and explore how trauma counseling and therapy can help you.
How Trauma Counseling & Therapy Can Help
I know trauma can be a triggering word.
A lot of people hesitate to reach out for the help they need and deserve because they’re not sure their experiences really “qualify” as being traumatic.
But trauma isn’t defined by what happened to you. Trauma is defined by how your mind and body have learned to adapt in order to survive.
Whether you’ve experienced a big “T” trauma – such as a physical assault, sexual abuse, violence, serious accident, or other experience that creates intense feelings of overwhelm and fear …
Or you’ve suffered from what are often called little “t” traumas or complex PTSD – the slower, repeated experiences that shape you over time, such as emotional abuse, chronic criticism, neglect, or feeling unseen, unheard, or responsible for everyone else’s emotions …
Your nervous system comes up with ways to cope with the trauma that may work at the time, but increase your pain and suffering over the longer term.
The good news is: those patterns can be changed.
Trauma counseling and therapy aren’t about forcing you to relive the past or talk through every detail of what you’ve experienced from start to finish.
It’s about helping your system process what’s been stuck, so the past stops hijacking your present.
In our work together, we’ll focus on two big goals:
- Skills and immediate relief – Helping you acquire some tools you can start using right away to feel less triggered and more grounded and safe in your daily life.
- Healing and integration – Reprocessing the memories, triggers, beliefs, and emotions that keep pulling you back into survival mode, so you can experience true healing, growth, and transformation.
This is where my use of EMDR and CBT can be especially helpful – because you get both depth and practical tools.
Trauma-Informed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Trauma doesn’t just live in memories – it shapes your thought patterns, your assumptions about yourself and others, and the behaviors you use to cope.
And these are the things that tend to have a more immediate impact on our day-to-day lives.
This is why I often start trauma work with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
CBT is practical, structured, and focused on helping you learn skills and tools you can start putting to work right away to identify unhelpful thoughts and behaviors – and replace them with healthier, more constructive ones.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help you:
- Recognize the thoughts, beliefs, and emotions that show up when you’re triggered (“I’m not safe,” “I’m powerless,” “I can’t trust anyone”)
- Challenge distortions that keep you stuck in fear, shame, or self-blame
- Build coping strategies for anxiety, panic, overwhelm, and rumination
- Experience greater choice in how you respond to events – especially in the moments that matter most
In other words, CBT can help you learn practical tools to manage emotions, reduce stress, and break free from unhelpful habits, while also shining a light on the attitudes and assumptions you’re operating with – and understand when and why they show up.
And that awareness is a prerequisite for change.
EMDR Therapy for Trauma and PTSD
When it comes to trauma and PTSD, few psychotherapy techniques are as well-researched or widely used as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
EMDR is a set of powerful, science-backed techniques or protocols specifically designed to help people heal from trauma, PTSD, anxiety, and distressing memories and emotions – often in much less time than more traditional talk therapy.
By using gentle, bilateral stimulation while we “target” specific difficult past experiences or present-day triggers that keep you feeling trapped, EMDR therapy can help you stay connected and work through emotionally painful material without becoming overwhelmed by it.
But perhaps the real reason EMDR can be so effective is that it allows you to approach difficult experiences in a less linear, more piecemeal, non-threatening manner than recounting a traumatic story from beginning to end.
We’ll work piece by piece – one trigger, one image, one belief, one body sensation at a time – at a pace that respects your comfort and your “window of tolerance,” so your brain can do what it naturally wants to do:
Digest and resolve painful material so it no longer has the same emotional hold over you.
When all is said and done, EMDR is about much more than “reprocessing” your past – it’s about learning how to “rewrite” the story you tell yourself about who you are by transforming painful thoughts, experiences, and emotions into sources of empowerment.
I’ve found CBT and EMDR to be an incredibly powerful combination when it comes to working through and resolving trauma.
EMDR helps your nervous system and memory network heal, while CBT helps you learn the thinking patterns and skills that provide immediate relief and support long-term stability.
If you’re ready to try something different, finally break free of the past, and start moving forward again in your relationships and life, I invite you to reach out today, schedule a free 15-minute initial phone consultation, and discover how trauma-informed CBT and EMDR therapy can help you create a life you truly love.
Am I the Best Trauma Therapist for You?
While CBT and EMDR can be profoundly powerful healing techniques that often produce meaningful results in less time than more traditional talk therapy, the most important ingredient in effective counseling and therapy is the healing relationship you create with your therapist.
After all, if you don’t feel comfortable enough to be open and honest with me, you’ll find it next to impossible to do the deep work necessary to heal and grow.
So how do you know whether I’m the best trauma therapist for you?
The only way to really find out is to contact me today, schedule an initial consultation, ask any questions you have, and see if we feel like a good fit for working together.
What I can tell you is that I tend to take a more structured, directed, yet collaborative approach to this work.
My focus is on creating and tracking tangible progress from session to session, so you feel clearer, stronger, and more at ease in your life and relationships as quickly as possible.
Depending on what you’re navigating, I can help you:
- Learn skills to decrease anxiety and panic responses, reduce the intensity of distressing thoughts and memories, and feel calmer and more grounded
- Acquire cognitive tools to restructure your thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors
- Reprocess and heal past experiences and present triggers
- Achieve a greater sense of self-understanding and self-compassion
- Reconnect and improve your relationships with others, and with yourself
Perhaps most importantly: you’re the one in the driver’s seat. We’ll work toward your goals, and you’ll always be in control.
I’ll ask questions and share observations. And I’ll also encourage you to ask questions, too.
We’ll move at a pace that feels right for you, and we’ll adjust our work as we learn what helps you most.
Over time, trauma makes the world feel smaller and smaller. It can convince you to brace, avoid, shut down, or stay stuck in patterns that once helped you cope but are now making life miserable.
But you don’t have to stay trapped in the past.
Reach out today, schedule a free 15-minute initial phone consultation, and discover how trauma counseling and therapy can help you learn to finally put trauma in its proper place – the past – so you can start moving forward toward a life you truly love.