The body has warning systems to keep us safe
Trauma can make those systems go haywire
• Recovering from abuse (physical or mental), whether it happened recently or years/decades ago
• Coping with jobs that are constantly stressful (teachers, nurses, youth workers, lawyers)
• Suddenly losing a loved one
• “He’s patient and understanding, but sexual intimacy still makes me freeze up.”
• Witnessing violence as a child (or as an adult)
• “I can’t handle criticism at work because my father was verbally abusive.”
• Surviving a near-fatal accident
• Experiencing violence - veterans and first responders
• Being assaulted by a stranger
Changing “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?”
The effects of trauma exhibit themselves in strange and sudden ways - lashing out or shutting down. Your loved ones or your coworkers don’t know what’s going on - they only see/feel the disruption.
We find it useful to reframe the question - to ask “What happened to you?”
We identify the sources the trauma and then work to reprocess those memories - to reset your defense mechanisms - to let your body know that it doesn’t have to be on high-alert anymore.
We find that “EMDR” is a very effective tool for treating trauma
EMDR involves reprocessing traumatic memories within the safety of therapy. To involve your body in the process, we add either a side-to-side eye movement or paddles that tap your hands. We’ve found EMDR to be an extremely helpful technique when treating trauma.
We don’t use EMDR with all clients, and we don’t use it until we’ve established trust within our therapy relationship and until you approve.
* EMDR stands for “eye movement desensitization and reprocessing”.
Frankly, we think it’s an awful acronym because it leaves out that reprocessing happens within the safe space of a therapy.
