Counseling for Trauma Related Conditions
It is very good news that the fields related to mental health; counseling, psychology, and social work, for instance, have seen a tremendous amount of research and new information about the effects to traumatic experiences in our lives, and about ways to reduce these effects.
So what is trauma? We define two kinds.
Acute Trauma
It is easy to identify acute, horrific events that have occurred that have shaken our internal world. These events could be related to military action, sudden accidents, terrorism, tragic deaths of loved ones, or rape and sexual abuse. That’s just to name a few types of acute trauma that could be too overwhelming for our minds and bodies to process because the shock came from a dangerous or life threatening event. Without release, the shock of those events can get stuck in our brain and bodies, leaving us with sensitivities that trigger tan intense emotional response,; anxiety, panic, rage, or depression. The great news of today – there is help.
There are helpful strategies that can reduce the impact of trauma events to our bodies. And more is being learned daily, largely due to the research and findings in NeuroScience. We are learning how the brain has kept the overwhelming shock in our physical system, and how we night help the brain to no longer be frozen in fear. These are tremendous advances. We know that a traumatized brain can be changed.
Developmental Trauma and Chronic Trauma
There is another kind of trauma, developmental trauma. that usually occurs in childhood. This kind of trauma is generally chronic, ongoing, sometimes beginning in early childhood. Perhaps resulting from abuse and severe neglect, and likely related to an attachment injury in early life. An attachment injury occurs when a parent or primary caregiver does not, for whatever reason, provide the continuous bond of emotional safety for a child. The parent or parents cannot be present and attuned to the child at important times when the child needs consistent security. A sense of an insecure world can develop as the child grows and cause relational issues in adulthood.
Another kind of trauma, Relational Trauma, occurs when a person has experienced mistreatment in a relationship. Experiencing abuse, as an adult or child, being the victim of narcissism, or betrayal in a relationship can leave a person with a great deal of mistrust and emotional triggers in the relationships to follow. Even great relationships are impacted when one of the partners has been abused in the past.
And this must be mentioned: the experience of sexual abuse generally leaves emotional scars that develop defensive, protective patterns that sometimes overworks or causes over reaction.
We Can Help
WrenSong clinicians have stayed in the front of the findings coming from Trauma Informed Experts, and Neuroscience Brain Work.
Donna is working toward her clinical board certification in Neurofeedback and will soon be able to use this very effective strategy. It will be announced when everything is onboard.
And Donna has long time experience in using other methods like EMDR and Bilateral Stimulation, Somatic Exercises,Parts Work IFS, and approaches that were born from trauma research..
If you believe you have experienced trauma in your life that may be interfering with your current relationships or functioning, we are certainly equipped and ready to help you. You do not have to live with the results of either acute or chronic trauma. You can start right away to turn it around.
Feel Free to Schedule here.