TRAUMA THERAPY
Is your past impacting your present?
Trauma can be defined as ANY experience (no matter how big or small) that has not been fully processed or integrated.
In human development, we know that before the age of ten years old, our brains are operating at a different level of consciousness. We are sponges, internalizing what is modeled to us; we pick up on what we are exposed to in our environments. We learn, in these formative years, core beliefs about ourselves and about the world. This storage of information happens on multiple levels and is imprinted in our unconscious mind. Some examples of what may be imprinted are: what intimate relationships look like, what emotions are acceptable to be expressed (and which ones aren’t,) what gender expressions are acceptable (which ones aren’t), certain religious beliefs, relationships to money and resources, and spoken and unspoken family rules. According to cognitive neurobiologists, about 95% of our brain activity is outside the realm of conscious awareness.
Therapy, the process of uncovering ourselves, is necessary, to help us understand ourselves on a deeper level and create choice for ourselves in our thoughts and actions.
Do you ever find yourself repeating the same destructive pattern over and over again only to end up with the same result? It is likely that the motivation underlying your behavior is unconscious. What does this have to do with trauma? Well, everything. If what was modeled to us was harmful, painful, or destructive then we may repeat these patterns in adulthood because they are familiar, despite the level of anguish they bring. Unconsciously, we recreate childhood patterns sometimes good, sometimes bad. Maybe you have even googled “EMDR near me” because you are ready to get started.
Find yourself thinking?
Everything would be great if only my partner/loved one would change.
Why do I have such strong reactions to certain life circumstances?
I can’t trust anyone.
I’m always alone.
Something is wrong with me.
I’m broken.
Thoughts that lead you to feel untrusting, fearful, overburdened, ashamed, and isolated. Experiencing trust issues is a common sign of trauma, or wanting to be in control, maybe you are really tracking whether or not you can count on the people in your life.
In therapy, we work to uncover underlying motivations, heal wounded parts of ourselves that may be driving certain behaviors we want to change, and integrate past experiences that cause pain in present time. We allow for new ways of being in the world and for better ways of getting what we truly want.
When it is appropriate and necessary, I facilitate deeper trauma healing to integrate experiences from the past. I utilize
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
to help move stuck trauma by igniting the brain’s innate ability to integrate experiences. Read more here.
Typically, traumas become stuck in our systems when we are too overwhelmed to process a traumatic event at the time it occurred. Healing old wounds, can be terrifying and maybe you’re thinking, “Why ever bother?” Healing traumas of the past can be deeply impactful to present day life. If you have a sense that you have experienced a trauma but don’t specifically remember it, know that, this is not uncommon. Absolutely, we can address and heal traumas in therapy without having a clear memory of them. Click here to read my blog about complex trauma.
Each particular person is different, and after working with me, my clients have said they experienced more connection with loved ones and more enjoyment in their intimate relationships, increased energy, increased self-worth, more fulfilling social networks, decrease in stress and tension, increased focus and productivity, the list goes on.