Trauma Therapy / EMDR / CBT

Has Trauma Made It Impossible To Find Peace In Life? 

Do you ever wonder if there is trauma in your life, but you’re not entirely sure? Have you been feeling overwhelmed, easily aggravated, and unable to sleep well? Do you experience flashbacks to painful events in your past? 

If you’re dealing with trauma, you might suffer from uncomfortable body sensations that are becoming unbearable. Perhaps you struggle with insomnia, lethargy, tension, and irritability. There may be ruminating thoughts that you cannot get out of your mind. Your brain and body may be in a constant state of activation—every little thing gets under your skin and triggers negative memories. Because of your low window of tolerance, you may worry that your trauma is worse than you thought. 

Trauma Can Put Your Brain In A Constant State Of Activation 

Trauma isn’t just hard—it’s confusing. Perhaps you have physical, mental, and emotional reactions to stress that you don’t understand. Sometimes you may feel sad and angry, but other times you may feel numb—disconnected from yourself and your surroundings, like you’re not even present in your own life.

No one should have to wrestle with trauma alone. At Heart & Mind Counseling, we are here to help you achieve a deeper sense of peace and give you the skills to manage your trauma symptoms more effectively. 

Many People Suffer From Trauma Without Even Knowing It 

It’s very common to have a traumatic experience and not understand that your response is related to it. This is why many people suffer from trauma without knowing it. The body holds onto painful experiences and the effects often seep out in subtle ways, such as feelings of impending doom, stomach aches, or physical and emotional tension. But to you, it may not be obvious that these symptoms are a result of trauma.

For example, maybe your parents divorced when you were young. The memory of your parents fighting might have an impact on your relationships today, making you worry that your relationships will not work out. Or perhaps you were bullied as a kid. The way you relate to people is still being influenced by the feeling of terror and shame that you experienced. Logically, you know you’re not being bullied anymore, but the feeling is still there—the fear that others will ridicule you or turn on you. 

It’s Hard To Work Through Trauma On Your Own

A lot of people tell themselves that they can work through trauma alone. The problem is that this attitude isn’t realistic. Trauma blocks emotional pathways in the brain. These “blockages” prevent the brain from being able to process and resolve traumatic events. 

Thankfully, trauma therapy can help unblock these pathways so that you can safely process what happened to you. This is a chance to develop coping skills that actually serve you and experience relief from the pain of the past.

Trauma Therapy Can Help You Achieve A More Empowered Perspective 

Let’s face it: the idea of going to therapy and discussing trauma may seem intimidating. You might worry that talking about the problem will make it worse. The good news is that our approach does not require you to discuss your traumatic experience in detail. The main approach we use, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), helps your brain process the effects of trauma nonverbally. It gets to the root of your emotional wounds and focuses on reconciling the images and sensations attached to your traumatic memories. 

Therapy can help you understand how past trauma is impacting your current situation and feelings. You will learn coping skills for dealing with uncomfortable thoughts, emotions, and sensations. Eventually, the goal is for you to be able to look at your situation from a more empowered perspective. This way, you won’t feel as triggered and activated by the past. 

How EMDR Can Help You Remove The Emotional Pain Of Trauma

The first step of trauma counseling is instilling a calm, safe place that you can return to when you feel stressed. This “place” can be anything—a word, image, or person that endows your life with a sense of peace and relaxation. Next, we will create an imaginary container that you can store your traumatic memories in. When sessions are done, you can put the experience of the session in the container and access it again when you’re ready to. 

From there, we will begin EMDR treatment. Your therapist will use a set of bilateral stimulation exercises to help your brain process trauma. These techniques may include tapping or moving your eyes from side to side. Doing these exercises repeatedly can desensitize the pain of trauma, removing the emotional impact it has on your nervous system.

Using CBT To Challenge Negative Self-Talk

In addition to EMDR, our practice also draws from CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). This approach is all about helping you reframe harmful beliefs so that you can see your trauma from a different angle. Most importantly, it can help you challenge negative self-talk. You will learn to listen to the messages you tell yourself and question them. One thing we often like to ask is: would a good friend ever tell you the things you tell yourself (e.g., “I’m no good,” and, “I’m not unlovable”)? If not, maybe it’s worth challenging the way you talk about yourself.

Our trauma counselors, Dr. Corinne Smorra and Katie Dines, both completed their EMDR training through EMDRIA, which is the regimen created by Francine Shapiro, the founder of EMDR. Corinne and Katie have found EMDR to be life-changing for many of their clients. As long as you are committed to the healing process, we are confident that you will feel the same way!

You May Have Some Questions About Trauma Therapy…

Can EMDR make my trauma worse? 

In the right hands, EMDR is safe and goes at a pace that is comfortable for you. Because Corinne and Katie have had highly-advanced training, they know how to administer EMDR safely and effectively. They will make sure you are comfortable every step of the way. 

I really don’t want to relive my traumatic experiences.

Thankfully, there is very little talking in EMDR. You only need to share what you’re willing to share. The majority of sessions will focus on letting your brain and body somatically process your thoughts, feelings, and sensations through tapping or eye movements. If you ever feel uncomfortable, we can take a break and work on some grounding skills. This way, you do not move outside your window of tolerance. 

How long will trauma treatment last?

Some people get the relief they need after just a few sessions of EMDR. Others may have more buried trauma that takes longer to work through. Whether you come for short-term or long-term therapy, it’s important to be patient with yourself. Everyone heals at their own pace and some traumas simply take longer to recover from than others.

The Past Does Not Define Your Future

If you want to heal from the pain of the past and embrace a happier future, we would be honored to work with you. To begin the recovery process, you can email us by filling out the section below or call 707-815-0374 for a free, 15-minute phone consultation.

Blog Posts