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Is there something terrible that happened to you that still interferes with how you live today? Have you experienced a traumatic event and had difficulty letting go of it emotionally and mentally? Are you frequently reminded of a past traumatic incident? Is it  affecting your daily life?

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Symptoms of posttraumatic stress can be deeply disturbing and interfere with how you think, feel, and behave. It can interfere with your ability to trust other people, and can also lower your self-esteem. After this traumatic event, you might be:

  • reliving it in dreams, flashbacks, or intrusive thoughts;

  • sometimes feeling anxious and afraid to do new things;

  • feeling disconnected, or numb and detached;

  • questioning whether what is happening to you is real (derealization);

  • not feeling as though you really exist (depersonalization);

  • struggling with relationships or trust;

  • doubting yourself and experiencing lower self-worth.

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Your emotions might feel all over the place, sometimes being detached and sometimes getting upset over seemingly nothing. It might be hard for you to be around anything that reminds you of the trauma, which other people don’t really understand. Your body might feel strange; your sensitivity to sounds, light, and sudden movement might be heightened.

 

You might get sick more easily because of the constant stress of being on high alert. Your appetite and sleep might also be disrupted by the stress you’re under. It might be hard to be around a lot of other people, and you might be on guard much of the time, worrying that something bad will happen again. Unfortunately, your relationships with your loved ones might also be different now, and you might struggle to relax and enjoy their company.

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Trauma Therapy

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If you’re struggling with posttraumatic stress, you are not alone. According to the National Center for PTSD and the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R), you have a 6.8% chance of developing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during your life as an adult, or 5% chance as an adolescent. Girls and women are more likely to develop PTSD, but males are also negatively impacted by PTSD.

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PTSD used to be called shellshocked and was noticed in soldiers coming back from combat. Over time, more sources of PTSD were recognized in civilians, so that PTSD could gain more recognition and more people could receive treatment for it. A traumatic event is usually defined as any experience that threatens a person’s safety, physical integrity, or life, and results in intense fear, helplessness, or horror. As I noted above, not everyone who experiences a traumatic will develop PTSD.

 

However, these incidents can be emotionally and psychologically overwhelming. They include:

  • Interpersonal violence;

  • Natural disasters;

  • Sudden and unexpected loss of a loved one;

  • War and combat;

  • Childhood abuse and neglect;

  • Accidents;

  • Medical trauma; and

  • Terrorist attacks.

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Fortunately, if you are experiencing PTSD, trauma treatment can help you restore your sense of normalcy and help you regain a sense of safety and stability. You can learn to manage your emotions, resolve past traumatic events, and see your trauma as something that happened to you, not who you are. Trauma therapy can help you grow from the experience and improve your life.

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I offer individual and relationship therapy for adult and trauma survivors. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR therapy) is a very helpful, effective, and evidence-based trauma therapy that I’ve been doing for over 15 years. I also use flash technique and clinical hypnosis as ways to help you resolve the trauma that you experienced. The trauma therapy I offer you is tailored to your specific needs. I can help you find safety, calm, and confidence in facing life’s challenges.

 

​I also offer a self-help video program and workbook for adult trauma survivors to aid your healing.  You can

​You don’t have to let the past control your future. I’m here to help you move forward.

 

Frequently Asked Questions about Trauma Therapy

 

Q: Can I really get over trauma and have a better life?

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You may not think that you can move past such a traumatic incident, given how much it has disrupted your life. However, powerful therapeutic methods like EMDR therapy, combined with a safe, trustworthy environment in which to heal, can have a significantly positive effect in a relatively short amount of time. The U. S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs found that EMDR therapy has had a 78% symptom reduction in post-combat veterans, and a Kaiser Permanente-sponsored study showed similar results in people who had multiple traumatic incidents.

 

Other organizations such as American Psychiatric Association (APA), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United States Department of Defense consistently support EMDR therapy for PTSD.​

Clinical hypnosis can also help with many aspects of PTSD treatment. You can learn to reduce stress, reprocess traumatic memories, reduce negative thought patterns, nightmares, and flashbacks, and build positive coping mechanisms with the help of Ericksonian clinical hypnosis.

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More importantly than what these prominent organizations say about PTSD treatment, you can see how trauma therapy works for you. Journaling, regularly attending therapy, and willingness to stay with the process of getting better, you can see for yourself how much you can improve under the right care.

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Q: What are trauma therapy sessions like?
We start by addressing any immediate safety concerns (like suicidality, substance abuse or self-harm), and teaching coping skills as needed. This is necessary to address before moving into confronting the trauma. We then process the trauma using methods like hypnosis, EMDR, or the Flash Technique. Finally, we integrate the trauma into your life story and prepare you for future stress and triggers.

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Q: What can I expect from trauma therapy?


You’ll have a safe space to share openly and honestly at your own pace. We’ll use healthy coping tools and celebrate your progress, even small victories. I’ll check in with you regularly to ensure you’re comfortable and supported.

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Q: How do we get started?


Call me at 661-233-6771 to schedule a brief consultation. If we’re a good fit, we’ll arrange an intake session to establish a safe, supportive environment and begin working on your treatment goals.

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Read more about how trauma therapy can help you!

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