Who Is Trauma-Focused Therapy For?
If you find yourself feeling nervous around other people, detached, being wary of who you open up to, or thinking bad thoughts about yourself, there is hope. Just because you had hard things happen in the past, does not mean you need to feel uncomfortable or “gross” the rest of your life. Trauma-focused and trauma-informed therapy can help.
Learning to be intentional with how we cope can retrain our bodies and leave us feeling back in control of our own lives. Post-traumatic events can often leave us feeling out of control or disassociated. These are all potential symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Let us help you get back in control of your life. It is yours, after all.
The type of therapy we offer can help you start to feel more comfortable, less on edge, more positive, and like you are more actively participating in life. You are here, that is probably because you are acknowledging that you want a better life for yourself and that you are worth the effort. Therapy for trauma or past trauma can help. We would be honored to be a part of your journey.
What Will Therapy for Trauma and PTSD Be Like?
Does all of this is sound like something you want for yourself? Well, this is what you can expect from working with us.
The First Session:
During the first session, you can expect us to take the time to make sure you understand what therapy for trauma will look like for you, and what you can expect moving forward. Our goal here is to give you the chance to ask any and all of the questions you might have. We want to be as transparent as possible with you, that way we are both on the same page.
In your first session, I will tell you how I have helped other people with similar traumatic experiences and will take the time to answer any and all questions you have about the type of therapy for trauma I do. And I mean, we will answer ALL of your questions! You will start to get a sense of the type of therapist I am in that first session.
The Next Couple of Sessions:
The next couple of sessions of therapy for trauma we will talk about how you experience this “feeling detached and high strung” and anxious. Everyone experiences things differently, so we want to know what it is like for you. We will also take some time to understand how you have coped with these feelings in the past, and what ways did and did not work for you.
After we get to know each other, we will begin to come up with a plan for how we will use our time together. It is important to us that you have a say in how we proceed together. This is your journey, so we want you to have a say in how we work towards your goals. You have been living your life all this time; your experiences and insight are an important part of this plan!
During these first couple of sessions, we are also slowly getting to know each other. It is totally normal to still have your guard up with any new relationship. We get it—feeling comfortable with a stranger takes time!
At the same time, not every therapist will jive with you. Give us 2-3 months, and if something still feels off, we would be more than happy to refer you to someone else.
The Bulk of Our Work Together:
The bulk of our work together will be understanding the past ways of coping, how they are working for you currently, and helping you see that you can choose new ways of coping.
One of the things that we have found helps many people is something called somatic quieting. This is something that we will likely spend some time on together. Somatic quieting is a type of mindfulness that helps you find your ‘calm body’ as some people like to call it.
The most important part of working on trauma is making sure we get you feeling confident with your skills and feeling confident with using them intentionally. With us, there is no rush, you will not feel pushed. We want you to feel comfortable and ready, that is the most important part of working on trauma. Safety. We will not talk about traumatic events or traumatic memories until you are ready. That is my promise to you.
Despite all of this information, the number one thing you can expect from us is we will meet you where you are at. Our goal is to help you reach the goals you set for yourself, however big or lofty they are. With us, you are the one deciding where we go. We know you are worth the effort, we want you to see that too.
