HOW EVOLVE COUNSELING ASSOCIATES HELP WITH TRAUMA

Trauma can develop due to large and small events in one’s life. Traumatic events can include physical, psychological, and sexual abuse; terrorism and war domestic violence; witnessing violence against others, and accidents and natural disasters. The result of surviving these events can be chronic stress and anxiety, which can lead to detrimental consequences for the survivors as well as their families. According to the American Psychological Association, “Research indicates that women are twice as likely to develop PTSD, experience a longer duration of posttraumatic symptoms and display more sensitivity to stimuli that remind them of the trauma. Although women are at greater risk for negative consequences following traumatic events, many often hesitate to seek mental health treatment. Survivors often wait years to receive help, while others never receive treatment at all.”

SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF TRAUMA IN WOMEN:

  • Feelings of distress, anxiety, and reliving the traumatic event.

  • Intrusive thoughts

  • Flashbacks

  • Avoidance

  • Startles easily

  • Self-destructive behavior

  • Loss of interest in activities, relationships, etc.

  • Guilt

WHAT TO EXPECT IN COUNSELING FOR TRAUMA

As you begin counseling for trauma, your therapist will want to learn more about your past as well as your present. This helps the therapist to identify patterns, significant relationships, and coping mechanisms that are being used. As the counseling relationship continues, your therapist will seek to identify distorted thinking, help you identify core beliefs and emotions, and help you to build a “toolbox” of skills you can use outside of counseling. With trauma, it is important for you to see your symptoms improve and restore your self-esteem. Therapists at Evolve Counseling Associates, LLC, use various methods to treat trauma. Some of these methods include Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Exposure Therapy.

JENNIFER ADAMS AND MADISON FISHER HAVE COMPLETED SPECIALIZED TRAINING IN EMDR

WHAT TO EXPECT IN EMDR (EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITIZATION & REPROCESSING) THERAPY

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and reprocessing) focuses on the individual's present concerns. The EMDR approach believes past emotionally-charged experiences are overly influencing your present emotions, sensations, and thoughts about yourself.EMDR processing helps you break through the emotional blocks that are keeping you from living an adaptive, emotionally healthy life. EMDR uses Bilateral Stimulation (BLS) through the use of tapping, auditory tones, or eye movements, in order to accelerate the brain's capacity to process and heal a troubling memory.

What does an EMDR session look like?

  • You will be asked a set of questions to access and activate the negative experience and the desired adaptive resolution

  • Sets of BLS will be applied

  • You will be encouraged to "free associate" and allow the brain to work through the experience

  • EMDR processing will continue until the past experience has been updated to an adaptive present perspective

  • Once the memory has been reprocessed and updated, you and your therapist will work together to integrate these new insights in

    your daily life.