Healing After Trauma
Trauma Therapy in Madison WI
Understanding the Origins and Impact of Trauma
Trauma is the lasting emotional response after an experience that threatened or caused emotional or physical harm. Childhood abuse, natural disaster, intimate partner violence, war, rape, or first hand exposure to someone else experiencing an accident, abuse, or sudden death are among the many causes of this prolonged and distressing response. These events may be difficult to talk about or even to remember and feelings of safety in your day-to-day life may be hard to come by. When we begin therapy, there will be no expectation for you to follow any set time-line - I believe everyone starts to heal from a different place and healing looks different for everyone.
Creating a Foundation of Safety and Trust in Therapy
First we will establish safety. We will develop a therapeutic relationship based on trust and informed consent. Through conversation, I will get to know you, your strengths, and your goals. We will also identify strategies for avoiding or handling situations that may trigger traumatic memories or responses. As we move through this first step at a pace that prioritizes your feelings of safety and trust, we will begin to establish the therapeutic space as a controlled environment for you to confront the traumatic event.
Confronting Traumatic Events
Next we will talk about the traumatic event or events. This part can be difficult and we may need to revisit the stabilization and safety we created at the beginning. This process is not linear and it is okay to take a step back if it becomes too much. Together we will start to understand how trauma has affected your beliefs about yourself, others and the world around you. You will have the time and space you need to mourn pieces of yourself that you lost and rewrite your narrative in a way that is not marred by shame, guilt, or fear.
Embracing Post-Traumatic Growth and a New Beginning
Moving forward, our aim will be to help you reconnect and meet the person you are after the trauma with love, appreciation, and compassion. Our focus as we work on this, will be to let go of the trauma’s hold on your life and self-discovery. While traumatic events leave a lasting impact, the recovery process can also lead to positive change. I would be honored to help you take your first steps towards healing and eventually, post-traumatic growth.
Supporting Trauma Recovery in Couples Therapy
One of the common misconceptions about trauma therapy is that it is only addressed in individual therapy. I believe you deserve support beyond that. During relational work when one or both parties has a trauma history, my aim will be to develop insight into how this experience may be affecting attachment, safety, and connection within the relationship while providing psychoeducation about how you both can show up to support one another.
Recommended Trauma Therapy Resources
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma - Bessel Van Der Kolk
"The Body Keeps the Score" explores the profound impact of trauma on the human body and brain, emphasizing the importance of understanding and addressing trauma to promote healing and well-being. Through compelling research and real-life case studies, the book highlights how trauma can manifest physically, emotionally, and psychologically and provides insights into effective therapeutic approaches for recovery.
It Didn't Start with You - Mark Wolynn
"It Didn't Start With You" by Mark Wolynn explores the concept of inherited family trauma, detailing how unresolved emotional experiences from past generations can significantly impact our lives today, even if we weren't directly present during those events; the book provides practical tools, including the "Core Language Approach", to help individuals identify and heal these inherited traumas by tracing their family history and uncovering hidden patterns in language and behavior, effectively breaking the cycle of generational pain.
My Grandmothers Hands - Resmaa Menakem
"My Grandmother's Hands" by Resmaa Menakem is a book that explores the deep-seated impact of racial trauma on the body, particularly focusing on how white supremacy manifests physically within both Black and white Americans, urging readers to confront and heal these generational wounds through a body-centered approach to understanding racism; essentially arguing that racism is not just a mental concept but a physical experience embedded in our bodies due to historical trauma.
