Trauma can leave us feeling shaken and uncertain, worried, on edge, and easily startled.  Or maybe we find ourselves zoning out and trying to tune the world out altogether. Trauma and extreme stress can cause us to feel angry and distrustful of the world, or to blame and distrust ourselves.  Symptoms of anxiety and depression often accompany trauma and stress-related symptoms. There is no one way to respond to trauma-- often times, any one of a number of symptoms are a "normal" response to the brain and body's efforts to protect us after something bad has happened. 

The good news is that our brains and bodies can heal and adapt after stressful and traumatic events. There are a variety of techniques and tools we can use in therapy to learn to care for ourselves when we experience triggers and reminders of what happened, and to even help our brains re-organize that information in a way that feels less overwhelming in the here and now. 

Some therapy techniques I use with clients who have experienced trauma and significant stress include EMDR, mindfulness, DBT skills, and Emotionally Focused Therapy.

The goals we set in therapy for how you would like to manage symptoms of trauma are up to you, and we will move at your pace. Please reach out for a free 15 minute consultation if you would like to explore whether we might be a good fit for therapy.