Trauma Treatment & Recovery
Healing is possible.
Cognitive Processing Therapy
For older teens & adults.
EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy
For children, teens, & adults
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
For children and kids in early adolescence
Trauma is a wound, and wounds can be healed.
I help women heal from traumatic experiences such as sexual assault, childhood abuse, emotional or physical neglect, verbal or physical abuse, domestic violence, dating violence, traumatic loss, betrayal trauma and abandonment. Symptoms of trauma can present in many different ways, but common ways it shows up is through intrusive thoughts that come out of nowhere; excessive worrying and fear that is difficult to control; avoidance of thinking about, or not wanting to talk about the traumatic experience; flashbacks, nightmares, sleep disturbances; difficulty controlling moods and anger; and negative judgements about yourself and the world. It is common for people with traumatic experiences to develop co-occurring eating disorders and substance abuse disorders which can be both a way to regulate emotions, as well as forms of dissociation – a way to sever the self from what would otherwise be too overwhelming to deal with.
The thing about trauma is your brain is wired to “get it right”, and so you will naturally attract what feels familiar because familiarity feels safe no matter how dangerous it might actually be. By attracting similar energy into your life, your unconscious mind is hoping to “get it right” and finally master the traumatic situation THIS time. Until the original wounds are healed, however, your brain cannot figure out how to master it for it is stuck in a state of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn. You will find yourself engaging in the same patterns again and again, with only names and faces changing. These patterns will leave you feeling baffled and frustrated as you wonder, “How could this have happened again?”
Causes of trauma…
While common causes of trauma include childhood sexual, emotional, or physical abuse; childhood neglect; domestic violence; sexual assault; exposure to community violence; interpersonal violence; accidents; or the sudden loss of a loved one, any experience can be traumatic if it results in your system being overwhelmed to the extent that it cannot process the experience in an adaptive way. The traumatic experience is instead processed maladaptively. The experience becomes paired with the intense emotions it conjured, and is then stored as a memory in a part of your brain not easily accessible through talk therapy. Specialized evidenced-based trauma therapies have been developed to tap into those unprocessed, stored memories. From there, the negative beliefs about oneself and the world that arose out of the trauma can be uncovered, reprocessed, and healed. This healing results in reduced emotional reactivity around triggers, reduced symptoms of trauma, and more helpful ways of thinking about self and the world.
There is Hope.
Trauma treatment will help you feel better. Specifically, treating past trauma will help you reduce:
Flashbacks
Intrusive Thoughts
Nightmares
Sleep Disturbances
Depressed Mood
Anxiety
Hypervigilance
Dissociation
Mood Dysregulation/Mood Swings
Irritability
Trauma Re-enactment
Cognitive Processing Therapy
This is a trauma therapy and is effective for treating PTSD and complex trauma. It was originally developed for treating adult victims of rape, and then became adopted to treat a wide range of both single occurrence and multiple complex traumas. The goal of CPT is emotional tolerance. Through gradual imaginal exposure to memories of distressful moments, maladaptive thought patterns are identified and reframed in order to promote an accurate, and helpful narrative. This therapy helps treat symptoms of PTSD such as avoidance, hypervigilance, intrusive thoughts, and negative, exaggerated beliefs about oneself and the world. Research has shown CPT to be effective at reducing depression, improving sleep, and improving relationships in people with PTSD or Other Trauma & Stressor-Related Disorders.
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing Therapy
I am currently in training for EMDR Therapy through the Institute of Creative Mindfulness and EMDRIA.ORG. This is a trauma therapy and is appropriate if you have deeper healing work you wish to pursue. You’ve tried talk therapies in the past but have not found relief in your symptoms. You’ve had “traumatic” experiences in your life consisting of childhood abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, interpersonal violence, betrayal trauma, or a traumatic birthing experience. Truthfully, any experience that overwhelms your system and your ability to cope can be traumatic. You may have gaps in your memory that make other forms of therapy ineffective because you simply do not remember the details. With EMDR Therapy, it is not necessary for you to share all the details of the traumatic event. Your brain does the work and heals in the way it needs. Through bilateral stimulation of the brain, memories are moved to the parts of your brain you can access, allowing you to process them and heal. You can read more about EMDR Therapy here: https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This therapy is best suited for children and teens in early adolescence. It is an evidence-based therapy consisting of 12-18 sessions that are divided up in modules: Psycho-education, Parenting Strategies, Affect Modulation, Relaxation, Cognitive Processing I, Trauma Narrative, Cognitive Processing II, In-vivo Exposure, Conjoint Parent-Child Sessions, Safety/Prevention. The treatment is designed to educate the child and parent about trauma; teach coping skills for managing symptoms; and allow a safe space for processing of the trauma. The therapist helps to gradually expose the child/parent to the traumatic memory through the creation and recounting of the trauma narrative, which also allows for maladaptive thought patterns to be uncovered and corrected.
Trauma Training & Certifications
- Completed advanced training in CPT through the Beck Institute
- EMDR Trained Therapist – Fully trained in EMDR therapy through the Institute for Creative Mindfulness. Currently accruing hours towards national certification through EMDRIA.ORG.
- Certified in TFCBT through the Medical University of South Carolina
- Certified in Perinatal Mental Health through Postpartum Support International (PMH-C)
Contact Carrie
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