Have you or your teen experienced trauma? If you have, you are likely to struggle with guilt, shame, anxiety, difficulty forming healthy relationships, or other challenges. Trauma-Focused Therapy (TF-CBT) can effectively help you address the fundamental issues powering your challenges while developing lifelong coping skills for living a calmer, better, more balanced life.
In therapy we will focus on practical tools that make your everyday life better. My clinical experience includes working with people who have experienced physical and/or emotional abuse. I have helped teens and adults find healing and hope as they journey to recovery. If you have experienced abuse, you may not recognize your full value. I help change that.
Do you have a tendency to be nervous, uncomfortable, or unmotivated, or do you struggle with intimate relationships or getting along with people at work? Do you worry a lot? Does your teen seem withdrawn, engage in risky behaviors, or have difficulty at school or with friends?
The emotional anguish that you feel may result from a traumatic event or series of events. The challenges we confront as adults are frequently the outcome of trauma we suffered as children or adults. By addressing your underlying trauma, the visible above-ground issues that cause you pain can be diminished.
Psychological trauma (or emotional trauma) occurs when the psyche is damaged or injured as a result of severely frightening or disturbing circumstances. While traumatic occurrences can be life-threatening, any circumstance that leaves a person feeling alone, overwhelmed, or vulnerable can be traumatic.
Did you go through a catastrophic event or a series of painful events as a child? Experiencing sexual abuse, assault, violence, or making life choices that cause a rupture with your familys can create trauma. Physical harm is not a necessary component of trauma. The degree of danger does not determine whether or not an incident is traumatic. A traumatic event is defined by the subjective emotional sensation of panic and powerlessness.
Traumatic events have an impact on our self-perception and how we perceive the world. The long-term consequences can include difficulties functioning or coping with daily life. Months or years after a traumatic event, some people have panic episodes, sleeplessness, or other symptoms.
If untreated, the consequences of traumatic childhood experiences manifest in adulthood as feelings of shame, guilt, wrath, helplessness, and powerlessness. There is widespread agreement that traumatic childhood experiences influence the development of depression in adults. Adults who experienced traumatic events as children are more likely to suffer from depression, trouble managing stress, and sleep disturbances, and are more likely to self-medicate with alcohol or other substances.
While each person’s life story is different after a traumatic occurrence, competent trauma-informed treatment can often help people heal without long-term issues.
It’s quite normal for children and adults to have problems as a result of a traumatic event. We aren’t wired to just dismiss trauma. Trauma has terrible impacts on our minds and bodies, but they are entirely normal given what you have experienced. Reaching out for help is a sign that you are aware of what happened to you and are willing to take the steps needed to heal. Seeking treatment is a sign of strength.
You can expect to build healthy coping skills that can greatly improve quality of life. You can function better, have better relationships, be happier, meet your own goals, become more optimistic. Our goal in trauma-focused treatment is to help you thrive, and boost your self-esteem. As you heal from past trauma, you can move towards being whole.
If you are not sure if you experienced trauma in the past, or if you are not sure if trauma is fueling your current difficulties, we can start with an assessment. A clinical assessment can help you get a handle on your current situation and help map out a path forward.
I am so looking forward to meeting you and hearing your story! Call today to make an appointment, or fill out the contact form. Trauma informed-treatment can help you find more resilience and strength than you ever imagined.
