TRAUMA THERAPY
At Pecola Counseling Services, LLC I offer individual and group counseling to adults. I specialize in working with those who have experienced trauma, those struggling with interpersonal conflict, emotional dysregulation, issues regarding identity and self-esteem, and mood disturbances such as depression and anxiety.
I take a holistic, individualistic approach to meeting your counseling needs. I am an EMDR therapist who incorporates Expressive Arts, DBT Skills Training into my work with clients. This also includes psychoeducation and mindfulness.
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*I am currently working on becoming a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist.
What is trauma?
I can give you a clinical answer but I’d rather just answer this in simple terms. Trauma is any experience (one time experience or chronic states) that overwhelms your ability to cope and changes your worldview. People often come into my practice feeling as though their trauma isn’t “that” bad or significant or may come to see me not identifying as having trauma (which is okay!). Just because you know people who have experienced worse, doesn’t mean that your experiences haven’t impacted you negatively. Your pain matters.
Sometimes the best way to think of it is to ask yourself if you have any experiences in your life that you feel like you can’t let go of, impacting you present day (even if you don’t know why?) Also ask yourself if you experience any chronic symptoms you think may have patterns or be associated with something but you can’t necessarily remember or piece things together.
What is trauma therapy?
Trauma therapy is specific therapy that addresses your trauma with a therapist who is trained in interventions that are proven to help heal trauma and decrease symptoms of PTSD. There are many interventions that can help you process your experiences and help you lead a better life. Most trauma therapists will also focus on how trauma manifests in the form of PTSD, medical issues, interpersonal conflict, emotional dysregulation, substance abuse and other maladaptive ways of coping.
How Does Trauma Therapy Work with me?
At our first counseling session we would complete a gathering of information to understand your goals in therapy, ultimately creating a treatment plan. But the overall goal of therapy is to decrease emotional activation and arousal symptoms regarding your trauma and for you to feel as though your life experiences from the past have less impact on you now. I use EMDR, Expressive Arts Therapy, and DBT as main interventions in my work with clients.
