Trauma Recovery

If you have experienced trauma, you know how difficult it can be to get back to life as usual. The experience may have left you shaken and questioning the very idea of safety and security. 

Understanding the Symptoms

Symptoms of trauma live in the mind and the body. We can get tense, vacant, or numb. We can even “leave” our bodies if we get scared or stressed. We can re-experience memories of the incident through intrusive thoughts or distressing bodily sensations. 

Other symptoms are more emotionally based, such as having difficulty trusting others or not feeling safe in the world. 

You might also experience the need to avoid anything associated with the incident. You could feel the need to be on constant alert or feel the desire to protect yourself in ways that feel inflexible or rigid.

The Body Knows

When you experience a stressful or life-threatening incident, your body knows how to protect you. It moves quickly into instinctive responses. It can crouch; it can tense; it can “separate” you from your “self”; it can move you into swift action. These are normal reactions, adaptive within the context of the incident. 

With trauma, however, something in the body or mind might react as if the danger is ever-present. We can get locked in perpetual response. If we haven’t had the chance to process the experience, we can get stuck in a reactive coping. We can perceive danger too frequently, have difficulty discerning safety, feel wired and adrenalized, or too-frequently ruminate or re-experience the difficult sensations or memories. 

How my training can help

I specialize in a trauma-specific treatment called EMDR. This technique can help you process the difficult memories, emotions and sensations of trauma while offering you tools to help you find inner security and safety.  

I have also trained with Staci Haines at Generative Somatics and work with elements of Somatic Experiencing and Hakomi.

I work with panic attacks, PTSD, accidents and injuries, prenatal, postnatal or labor and delivery trauma, and sexual, physical and emotional abuse. 

I believe that, despite the severity of an injury, there are always ways to heal.

It is possible to find well-being and regain a sense of safety in the world.