Trauma & PTSD
Offering In-Person Sessions
Complete this form and a therapist will contact you within 48 hours (Monday-Friday).
Treating trauma is our specialty!
Our treatment can often alleviate symptoms much quicker than talk therapy alone.
Receiving the right help can prevent other problems such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, relationship stress, or difficulties with anger.
What Is Trauma?
Trauma is a psychological, emotional response to an event or experience that is deeply distressing or disturbing. Trauma can refer to any stressful life event that is upsetting to an individual, such as being involved in or witnessing an accident, having an illness or injury, losing a loved one, being criticized, or going through a divorce. However, it can also encompass the far extreme and include experiences that are severely damaging, such as sexual or physical abuse.
Trauma therapy can help you restore life to its rightful place, even if you are forever changed by what you’ve experienced. EMDR Therapy is an effective and efficient form of treatment that helps clients heal from these traumatic and stressful life events.
Trauma Is in the Eye of the Beholder
Each person experiences and processes stressful life events differently because we see them through the lens of our prior experiences. For example, a person who experienced bullying as a child might have developed the negative belief of “I am not good enough”. Later in life, they will most likely continue to re-experience that same negative belief in everyday situations. EMDR Therapy helps by treating the source of our negative beliefs, assisting us to transform them into positive ones. Through this process we become more resilient and gain confidence in ourselves.
We also know that stressful life events often accumulate in our minds, sending our nervous systems into loverload. Most times this is the source of anxiety and depression. If you feel that things are piling up, be proactive and get treatment now. The sooner you receive treatment, the quicker you can start to feel better!
Trauma can have long-lasting effects on all aspects of your life, whether you remember the trauma or not. You might experience medical complications, physical symptoms such as tension or difficulty sleeping, and emotional symptoms such as anxiety, anger, fearfulness, depression, or shame.
When to Seek Help?
It is NEVER too early or late to seek help! However, if you have been experiencing symptoms for longer than one month, it’s a good idea to seek professional help. If symptoms are left untreated, they will often grow worse over time.
We Treat Single Incident and Complex Trauma
Single incident trauma (big “T” trauma) is an event that is often unexpected or occurs out of the blue and that only happened once. A few examples of single-incident trauma include an accident, the death of a loved one, or witnessing or being a victim of a violent crime.
Little “t” traumas can be very debilitating. They are repeated and prolonged stressful events which often occur over years of a person’s life. Examples of little “t” traumas include ongoing childhood abuse, domestic violence, bullying, or being in war. The psychological effects of trauma are more likely to be severe when the trauma is man-made (caused by humans), occurs in childhood, perpetrated by a caregiver, repeated, occurs without choice (as is often the case for children and combat veterans/active duty personnel).
Common Symptoms of Unprocessed Trauma
- Depression
- Attachment disorders
- Social anxiety
- Generalized anxiety
- Personality disorders
- Disturbing memories
- Addictions
- Eating disorders
- Panic attacks
- Complicated grief
- Performance anxiety
- Phobias
- Dissociative disorders
- Anger dyscontrol
- Body dysmorphic disorders
- Pain disorders