Your past does not define who you are.
Therapy for Trauma in Vancouver, WA
You’re tired of the past haunting you. It’s time to let it go!
You are ashamed and embarrassed about what has happened to you. You feel that it is your fault. You don’t deserve to be treated well. It wasn’t that bad.
You are worthy of love, respect, and kindness. You have a right to emotional, physical, and sexual safety. You can be free from the past.
Let go of anger, hurt, and shame
Feel worthy
Be in control of your life
Experience profound effects in the shortest period of time
What is EMDR?
EMDR is:
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy is one of the most effective evidence-based therapy methods proven to help people recover from trauma and other distressing life experiences, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, and panic disorders.
designed to resolve unprocessed traumatic memories in the brain
involves communication between the amygdala (the alarm signal for stressful events), the hippocampus (which assists with learning, including memories about safety and danger), and the prefrontal cortex (which analyzes and controls behavior and emotion
EMDR can be a stand alone-therapy or be used in conjunction with other types of therapy.
EMDR is not:
hypnosis
reliving past trauma
Retelling your trauma story over and over
EMDR is demystified on this Internal Chatter podcast wherein I further discuss the benefits of EMDR.
Therapy for trauma can help you…
Heal from past traumas
Live in the present moment without being triggered
View yourself in a more positive light
Feel safer
Let go of the past
Frequently asked questions about trauma therapy
FAQs
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Any experience that has a profound impact on a person is considered trauma.
This can be being laughed at, excluded, or made fun of.
Bitten by a dog.
Experiencing a medical trauma.
Losing a loved one.
Witnessing violence.
Being sexually, physically, or emotionally abused.
Experiencing neglect.
The list is endless. If it felt traumatic, it was traumatic.
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Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can result from experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. After the event, some may develop symptoms significant enough to meet the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis. Not everyone who experiences trauma will develop PTSD.
Symptoms of PTSD include intrusive symptoms, avoidance, negative changes in mood and thoughts, and changes in reactivity.
Intrusive symptoms include
-recurrent upsetting memories
-recurring nightmares
-vivid flashbacks that feel as if the -trauma is recurring
Avoidant symptoms include:
-Avoidance of upsetting memories of thoughts of the trauma
-Avoidance of distressing external reminders of the trauma, like people, places, conversations, and activities
Negative changes in mood and thoughts may include:
-Exaggerated negative beliefs about oneself, others, or the world
-Persistence negative emotions like fear, horror, anger, guilt, or shame
-Feelings of detachment or estrangement from others
-Inability to experience positive emotionsChanges in reactivity may include:
-Irritability and angry outbursts with little or no reason
-Reckless and self-destructive behavior
-Hyperawareness of surroundings and potential danger
-Easily startled
People may also experience dissociative symptoms such as depersonalization (Experience of being detached from one’s self or body, as if one were in a dream) and derealization (Experience of unreality, like the world was unreal, dreamlike, distant, or distorted). -
Traumatic events and how they have impacted your beliefs about yourself, your emotions, and your body sensations are identified and reprocessed.
This leaves one with an increased positive view of themselves, a greater understanding of what happened, and allows the memory to be in the past.
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Schedule a consultation. We’ll talk about your situation and determine what type of treatment would be best for you. Learn more.