Trauma

Have you been through an overwhelming, painful, or traumatic event and are having a difficult time coping? Have you tried dealing with things on you own but still feel stuck?

If so, you’ve come to the right place. I specialize in helping people heal and rebuild their lives after going through this very kind of experience.

See if any of the following are true for you:

• Do you find yourself feeling anxious much of the time, or easily triggered into worry or panic when something reminds you of what happened?
• Is your sleep disrupted or do you have nightmares frequently?
• Do you feel depressed, empty or disconnected from your life?
• Are you trying to get through, but finding your usual ways of coping aren’t helping?
• Have you begun to turn to medications or alcohol/drug use to cope with the distress?

What is Trauma?
Ultimately, a trauma can be any experience that was overwhelming to you that you are still struggling with.

It may be a relatively recent event, it may have happened months or years ago, or it may have been something that occurred when you were growing up.

Childhood physical and sexual abuse, neglect, or growing up in a family where one or both parents were unavailable emotionally or physically are examples of old traumas that often still carry an impact well into adult life.

If you’ve been through an overwhelming event or period in your life, you may find yourself saying things like:
“It just keeps running through my mind all the time”
“I just don’t feel like myself anymore”
“I’m just going through the motions”
“I should be better by now”
“Even little things are overwhelming”

If any of these struggles sound familiar, rest assured you are not alone.
After going through a painful or shocking event, many people find that although they try to get back to living as before, it just isn’t that easy. In some cases, long after the event or period of trauma ended, you may be feeling stuck.

In my experience, many people who have been through a traumatic experience are often very hard on themselves, frustrated and confused about what has happened.

On top of all that, maybe you’ve heard common (but unhelpful) advice from others like:

“Just get over it, it’s time to move forward.”
or
“Time heals all wounds”
or
“Everything happens for a reason, look for the silver lining”
or
“It could have been worse/you should be thankful”

Although usually well-meaning, these comments unfortunately just make you feel like you should be somewhere other than where you are with all this.

But the truth is, you are where you are—for now.
Let’s talk about how we can work together to get change happening for you. If you are ready to make some changes and get your feet back under you, let us get started on that path together.

The road to healing is easier when you don’t have to carry it all on your own.

How I Can Help:

I provide a safe, non-judgemental place to talk about your experiences and feelings. It’s important to be able to release emotions and talk them through with someone who understands what you are going through.

I will work with you to assess what strategies you are currently using to manage some of the symptoms of acute trauma, such as sleep difficulties, social isolation, or anxiety. Then together we can develop ideas to help you manage these issues better in the short term.

I may use EMDR (Eye Movement Desisitization and Reprocessing) to help you have some relief around stuck emotions related to the trauma. EMDR is a leading edge approach in trauma treatment that has received a great deal of clinical research support to attest to its effectiveness.

I help you with some of the big questions that may arise after going through something traumatic. Healing from trauma requires more than just alleviating symptoms. Many clients who have gone through trauma find themselves questioning themselves, others, and the world they live in. These questions and issues are very important to give room to, and having a skilled therapist can make all the difference in helping you to heal as fully as possible.

We can’t change what has happened in your life in the past, but with some energy and commitment, we can change how it is impacting the present.

If you are ready to take the next step in your healing and would like to work with me, I would be pleased to meet with you.

To schedule an appointment, click here.