Trauma can come in many forms, ranging from physical, emotional, sexual, and psychological abuse to natural disasters, accidents, and witnessing violence or death. Trauma can also arise from more invisible experiences such as neglect, abandonment, or discrimination. Traumatic events can be one-time incidents, or they can be chronic and ongoing, such as experiencing ongoing emotional abuse.

Here are some ways that my clients describe the effects of trauma:

• “It’s very difficult to trust that I can be safe or trust people.”

• “I lie awake at night and blame myself for what happened. I should have known better.”

• “This robbed me of my confidence and the person I was before.”

These are the ways that trauma changes us:

• It makes our worlds smaller.

• It haunts us with the many what-ifs around what happened.

• It turns our understanding of ourselves upside down.

If you do not have a way to understand the trauma, then:

• It can take away your confidence to pursue your dreams, ambitions, and goals.

• You may believe you can never move past it.

You can’t change what happened,
but it does not have to dictate your future.

There are two types of therapy which are extremely effective for processing what happened, reducing your symptoms and helping you acquire a sense of safety.

These therapies are:

• Cognitive Processing Therapy: Read about its effectiveness here, here, and here.

• Prolonged Exposure Therapy: Read about its effectiveness here, here, and here.

We will discuss and decide together which one(s) make the most sense for you.

Then, we’ll embark on helping you regain your sense of self and confidence, and putting the trauma where it belongs - in the past.