Trauma Therapy

Trauma Therapy | EMDR Therapy | Couples | Play Therapy | child therapy | Family Therapy | Montgomery | Grand Junction | Texas | Colorado

Most people will experience trauma in their lifetime whether it’s a car accident, abuse or neglect, the sudden death of a loved one, a violent criminal act, exposure to the violence of war, or a natural disaster.

While many people can recover from trauma over time with the love and support of family and friends and bounce back with resiliency, others may discover effects of lasting trauma, which can cause a person to live with deep emotional pain, fear, confusion, or posttraumatic stress far after the event has passed.

In these circumstances, the support, guidance, and assistance of a therapist is fundamental to healing from trauma.

Trauma Symptoms

According to the four types of symptoms listed in the DSM-5

Avoidance Symptoms

  • Avoiding specific locations, sights, situations, and sounds that serve as reminders of the event

  • Anxiety, depression, numbness, or guilt

Re-experiencing Symptoms

  • Intrusive thoughts, nightmares or flashbacks

Hyperarousal Symptoms

  • Anger, irritability, and hypervigilance

  • Aggressive, reckless behavior, including self-harm

  • Sleep disturbances

Negative Mood and Cognition Symptoms

  • Loss of interest in activities that were once considered enjoyable

  • Difficulty remembering details of the distressing event

  • Change in habits or behavior since the trauma

Research has proven psychotherapy to be the most effective form of treatment for trauma. Most commonly, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) are used in treating trauma.

To learn more about how I approach trauma read more below.

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EMDR

EMDR is a psychotherapy approach developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro to help people heal from trauma or adversities such as issues of abuse, bullying, domestic violence, grief/loss, attachment wounds, abandonment, and many other complicated life issues.

 

Trauma and the Nervous System: A Polyvagal Perspective

 

“Working through trauma can teach us so much wisdom and reveal the beauty of existence, that because of trauma, we had lost sight of.”

– Gabor Maté