Trauma Therapy

Trauma therapy looks in some way similar to normal therapy and in other ways very different. We think of trauma therapy in three different phases: 1. Safety Building, 2. Trauma Processing, 3. Integration. 

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In the initial intake session, we’ll talk a bit about some of the background information that might be helpful for us to know while working with you. We look at symptoms, family history, important relationships during childhood and other pertinent issues. 

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Phase 1: From the second session on we work on phase 1, creating safety. It's the kind of safety that comes from within yourself that we need to establish in order for the trauma processing to not be overwhelming. So your therapist will work with you on creating a sense of comfort in therapy but also in the therapeutic relationship, as well as lessening anxiety and widening the “Window of Tolerance”. 

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Phase 2 is the actual processing of the trauma in which we use several specific therapeutic approaches. All of us are trauma informed therapists and use a variety of techniques to help you process the trauma: OEI, Lifespan Integration Therapy, EMDR, Existential Analysis, etc.

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In phase 3 you will be working with your therapist to integrate those processed trauma memories into your daily life. Kind of like the “Now what?” phase. Most often this is the shortest phase of them all.