Trauma Therapy in Phoenix, AZ
Trauma Therapy: the ONLY way out is through.
Is trauma therapy right for you?
Those who struggle with an underlying trauma are often unaware of its full scope and its toll on your mind and body. Not only does trauma tend to manifest in the form of depression, anxiety, substance use, or numbing behaviors [*], it changes who you think you are and how you present yourself to the world. The scary part? You may not even know that you have ANY trauma, and it will still affect the way you think, feel, and behave.
What makes matters worse is that trauma is so ubiquitous that it has been the norm in society to delegate trauma therapy, mainly for those who’ve experienced harrowing events like war, natural disaster, or any situation with an objective physical threat of death or extreme violence. These are the types of events that make you undeniably terrified or paralyzed and are commonly associated with PTSD. While PTSD treatment can be highly effective for post-traumatic stress disorder, trauma work is not exclusively reserved for PTSD.
Trauma is in the nervous system, not in the event.
Trauma happens when any experience overwhelms you, making you want to crawl out of your skin and escape yourself. However, it is not always about the magnitude of the event; it is about the meaning ascribed to it by your nervous system. As such, vulnerability differs from individual to individual, and the younger you are, the greater your susceptibility to trauma. In general, you can think of trauma as being disempowered, which you physiologically perceive as threatening to your survival on some level at the time of the event.
Trauma counseling can be right for you if you have:
Childhood Trauma in adults
- Fear of abandonment
- Stuffing emotions
- Feeling not good enough
- Feeling unheard or unseen
- Trust issues
- Creating walls to keep you safe
PTSD
- Panic attacks
- Intrusive images
- Nightmares
- Flashbacks
- Insomnia/trouble sleeping
- Feeling on edge
- Difficulty concentrating
Relational Trauma
- Anxiety
- Poor self-esteem
- Anger and rage
- Shame
- Feeling numb
- Obsessive thoughts
- Trauma bonds
It is important to know that typically negative experiences become traumatic long-term only when the mobilized energy does not get discharged after you have a trauma response. In simple terms, whatever you resist persists and grows in size, as cheesy as it sounds. Yes, you may suppress the sensations on a surface level, but the untended wounds and body recollections will still be stored in your unconscious.
If you are tired of walking through life with a sad smile of quiet desperation, then evidence-based trauma therapy could be what you need.
You see, what makes trauma counseling so effective is that it addresses the root causes, unlike just about everything else you may have tried. We have all kinds of defense mechanisms that protect you from acute emotional pain: blurring the memories of trauma so you don’t remember it the way you remember ordinary events. As such, we tend to minimize it or normalize it (“Ah, it wasn’t that bad!”), or simply not recognize its presence.
Most often, we tend to banish the things that we deem unacceptable into the darkest shadow part of ourselves at the time of the event or shortly after. Indeed, it is natural to want to fit in, to be accepted, or to want “earn” praise or approval in the family, school, or among peers, but not at the expense of disowning parts of yourself. However, this is what we tend to do. As such, if you’ve gone through a traumatic experience, you are likely to minimize it or deny it and send it into the very pit of your unconscious, where it poisons you without your awareness.
My approach to trauma-focused therapy
No two persons are alike when it comes to trauma therapy in my office in Phoenix. Trauma can affect people in different ways, and what works for one individual may not be effective for another. This means that my approach is customized to your specific needs and experiences you’ve had.
It is important to note that I do not view my clients as broken. In fact, therapy is NOT about changing who you are. Trauma therapy is about helping you remove the poorly-fitted roles that were hastily designed in times of distress. Just like the removal of the clouds will illuminate the sky, so will letting go of your trauma will allow your true Self illuminate various areas of your life.
There are lots of factors that may influence the way trauma counseling is conducted in my office in Phoenix or via online therapy: the severity of the trauma, the type of trauma, your personal history, your own preferences, and your goals.
After getting to know you, I will make appropriate recommendations and a treatment plan designed specifically for you. The plan will include the best combination of psychotherapeutic modalities that will be most beneficial for your recovery and facilitate trauma recovery, as well as letting go of the symptoms associated with it.
Types of trauma therapy
I use tried-and-true evidence-based modalities as well as the latest trauma therapy techniques developed in the field of neuroscience and psychotherapy to help my clients not just cope with their traumas but, most importantly, resolve them.
SAFE EMDR Therapy:
Somatic and attachment-focused EMDR Therapy is the improved version of one of the most novel, well-researched modalities for PTSD treatment and trauma therapy. This is an 8-phased psychotherapeutic approach that works with your neurobiology and memory with the help of bilateral stimulation such as eye movement. It has been proven to be highly effective in treating trauma and PTSD. In addition, EMDR is also used to help individuals cope with various of mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression, and grief.
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)
This modality was specifically designed to work in the shortest amount of time for people who have experienced trauma and PTSD. Similar to EMDR, Accelerated Resolution Therapy utilizes bilateral stimulation, but ART helps you replace the distressing images in a more guided manner. In addition, it allows you not to talk about the trauma that you want to let go of.
Internal Family Systems (IFS Therapy)
IFS Therapy is a highly sought-after evidence-based psychotherapy that focuses on how trauma makes you lose touch with your true Self and what it truly means to be YOU. You see, no matter who you are, at some point, trauma, attachment injuries, and the desire to be accepted and not to be judged make us repress our true Self. This pushes our internal family system or “parts” of you out of balance, forcing them to take on the roles they were never meant to take. This results in certain “side effects” such as depression, anxiety, anger, fear, shame, apathy, and more. The goal of IFS in trauma counseling is to unburden your internal family and reconnect with your true Self.
Post-Induction Therapy (PIT)
PIT is a modality designed to treat the effects of childhood trauma and issues that result from less-than-nurturing family dynamics. The premise of PIT is that even though your parents did the best they could, at some point, your emotional needs weren’t met. Due to the nature of a child, this is viewed as traumatic, and it tends to result in self-esteem issues, not having healthy boundaries, inadequate self-care, maintaining an image of something you are not, and living in extremes. PIT is about reparenting yourself and bringing balance to these core issues, healing secondary symptoms, and resolving relational problems.
There is a way to get past your traumas
EMDR Therapy
Dim the intensity of traumatic memories
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- Reduce reactivity and hypervigilance
- Learn to ground yourself to feel safe
- Eliminate somatic symptoms
- Re-learn to be in the moment
Accelerated Resolution Therapy
Erase negative core images and beliefs
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- Heal childhood trauma
- Build resilience
- Regulate your nervous system or emotions
- Stand up for yourself with love and respect
- Create boundaries, not walls
IFS Therapy
Bring harmony into your internal world
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- Find the underlying issues
- Foster self-compassion
- Get in touch with your true Self
- Remove unnecessary burdens
- Stop pulling in different directions
Post-Induction Therapy
Retire old family roles
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- Learn to be a functional adult
- Learn to grow yourself back up and take responsibility
- Set boundaries without guilt, fear, or pain
- Learn to ask for your needs and wants
- End unhealthy family patterns
- Feel better about yourself
You do not have to be alone with your past
It takes courage to admit that you have trauma and to do something about it. Serving the people of Phoenix, Glendale and Arizona as a whole, I help individuals, couples and families, who are feeling stuck, find healing and recover from trauma and associated symptoms. During trauma therapy we will identify and address the underlying sources of your trauma. Let me help you with rewiring your brain to get it on your side. You keep the facts of what happened, but we remove the suffering.