Trauma-Focused Therapy

Sometime Words Just Aren't Enough

Psychological trauma must be treated with a care and compassion. Creating a safe and trusting space is most important to me when helping clients work through the darker, more vulnerable parts of their history. By staying current on the research, reading the books, and pursuing many trauma-informed clinical trainings, I make every effort to bring this safety to our work together.

Research and experience has shown that traditional “talk therapy” is just not enough when it comes to healing from trauma. This is because trauma is not just stored in our thoughts, but also deep within our bodies and wired into our core belief systems.

Trauma-focused Therapies offered

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (or EMDR) is a therapy method that uses bilateral stimulation to help people “reprocess” traumatic or negative experiences. This is a simple method where the therapist guides the client through the process of updating the brain and nervous system so that one can let go of some of the parts of the memories that are causing the client to feel stuck or “triggered” all the time. By reprocessing, we are letting our entire system acknowledge that we do not need to respond to current problems as if we are still living in the past. EMDR also allows for the client to gain a deepened awareness of their own patterns and tendencies, and provides opportunities for growth and change around the tendencies that are no longer serving us.

    ***EMDR is sometimes still done using “eye movements,” however, I offer the use of Thera-tappers, which simply buzz back and forth between both hands to provide the bilateral stimulation necessary for reprocessing.

    To learn more about EMDR, you can check out the EMDRIA website here.

  • Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP) is a somatic therapy method that was created by Pat Ogden. SP tunes-in to the inherent wisdom within the individual to develop body-based resources as well as process negative past experiences in order to feel a deeper (more holistic) sense of healing. SP is a fluid and gentle approach to healing, and often client’s find that they become aware of themselves and their own patterns in a new way.

    You can learn more about Sensorimotor Psychotherapy here.

  • Art Therapy uses a combination of psychotherapy and a variety of creative processes to support clients in expressing and understanding both internal experiences and their relationship to the world around them. Art therapists combine their knowledge of human development and psychology with visual art techniques, providing unique opportunities for clients to grow in the following ways:

    Reduce stress and anxiety

    Improve insight and gain awareness

    Improve self regulation and anger management

    Art Therapy is especially helpful for those who have struggled with making progress in traditional talk-therapy settings. I have had a lot of success using Art Therapy with teens, however many adults enjoy and benefit from this work as well. Therapeutic art processes allow the client to access different parts of the brain and utilize non-verbal communication to unlock a deeper set of feelings and beliefs.

    You can learn more about art therapy here.