Healing the effects of trauma, at the neurological and imaginal roots
Healing from the effects of trauma, at the neurological and imaginal roots
From acts of violence to emotional disregard from our parents, from difficult break-ups to attending schools based on coerced conformity...we all have been through trauma.
And because humans are resilient, for a while we can "suck it up" and carry on as if the effects of our various traumas don't effect us. But eventually...they catch up to us.
When we are feeling anxious or depressed or lost in life, what's usually going on is that the effects of our unresolved traumas have done just this, finally caught up to us. For whatever reasons, things don't work like they used to, and we feel stuck or just "off" somehow.
That's why, increasingly, therapists are treating most mental illnesses as deriving from resolved trauma. And thankfully, in the last 30 years, by understanding trauma better, therapy as an entire field has been upgraded.
We now have some incredibly effective tools for healing the unresolved traumas of not only our own experience, but even generational trauma that we carry as well.
It can feel like many things. Here's a few:
Trauma hurts us twice: it hurt us back then and hurts us now by continuing to negatively effect and limit our lives.
The good news is that change is possible. A therapist that you feel safe with, and who has the right tools, can help.
EMDR and IFS therapy are two amazing forms of modern therapy that can cause radical shifts in our inner and outer lives.
From acts of violence to emotional disregard from our parents, from difficult break-ups to attending schools based on coerced conformity...we all have been through trauma.
And because humans are resilient, for a while we can "suck it up" and carry on as if the effects of our various traumas don't effect us. But eventually...they catch up to us.
When we are feeling anxious or depressed or lost in life, what's usually going on is that the effects of our unresolved traumas have done just this, finally caught up to us. For whatever reasons, our resiliency doesn't work like it used to, and we feel stuck or just "off" somehow.
That's why, increasingly, therapists and psychologists are treating most mental illnesses as deriving from resolved trauma. And thankfully, in the last 30 years, by understanding trauma better, therapy as an entire field has been upgraded.
We now have some incredibly effective tools for healing the unresolved traumas of not only our own experience, but even generational trauma that we carry as well.
It can feel like many things. Here's a few:
Trauma hurts us twice: it hurt us back then and hurts us now by continuing to negatively effect and limit our lives.
The good news is that change is possible. A therapist that you feel safe with, and who has the right tools, can help.
EMDR and IFS therapy are two amazing forms of modern therapy that can cause radical shifts in our inner and outer lives.
EMDR, "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing," is one of the most well-researched and proven methods for healing psychological problems at their roots, changing how the brain and nervous system remember our traumas.
By intentionally targeting disturbing memories and associated feelings and beliefs while activating the right and left sides of your brain, EMDR frees your brain and nervous system from the dysfunctional ways that it has "held onto" things from the past, drastically rewiring how you feel and act, inside and out. EMDR is effective because it systematically addresses the entanglement of 1) thoughts, 2) emotions and 3) bodily sensations.
Many clients report that it's the absence of disturbing feelings that is the most noticeable effect of EMDR: where there used to be anxiety or rage, there's now a sense of calm. People report no longer being “hung up” on things. Through EMDR, you can come to see things simply for what they are, with rational and peaceful acceptance.
Unlike typical "talk therapy," EMDR doesn't even require that you talk much about what happened. By working at the core level of the body's nervous system, EMDR can free you up so you can get on with living the life you want.
IFS (Internal Family Systems) is a form of therapy that works with the "parts" of ourselves: different "ego-states" that feature certain moods or behaviors that develop as adaptations in response to the traumas of everyday life.
IFS is highly effective for honoring all parts of ourselves - including the really "crazy" parts of us (and we all have them!) - without shaming them, bypassing them, or trying to get rid of them. This is essential in trauma therapy, because until we respect and welcome the defense-tactics that we've developed to survive, they won't relax and let us alone...in fact, they'll just whiplash back even harder.
IFS is a very intelligent and evidence-based method of questioning that also, like EMDR, uses the imagination and our felt, somatic sense in our bodies to shift how we remember traumas and frame our realities. I have seen it powerfully transform psychosomatic symptoms for certain clients in even one session.
After study many traditions of Western and non-Western healing, I practice EMDR and IFS because of how they work well together to integrate insights and techniques from cognitive science, somatic therapy, emotionally-focused therapy and imaginal psychology (Jungian and depth-work) in simple and methodical ways.
In short, they just work.
By intelligently and respectfully re-working the neurological and imaginal roots of emotional and mental disturbance, EMDR and IFS can radically transform how life feels.
EMDR, "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing," is one of the most well-researched and proven methods for healing psychological problems at their roots, changing how the brain and nervous system remember our traumas.
By intentionally targeting disturbing memories and associated feelings and beliefs while activating the right and left sides of your brain, EMDR frees your brain and nervous system from the dysfunctional ways that it has "held onto" things from the past, drastically rewiring how you feel and act, inside and out.
EMDR is effective because it systematically addresses the entanglement of 1) thoughts, 2) emotions and 3) bodily sensations.
Many clients report that it's the absence of disturbing feelings that is the most noticeable effect of EMDR: where there used to be anxiety or rage, there's now a sense of calm. People report no longer being “hung up” on things. Through EMDR, you can come to see things simply for what they are, with clear rationality and peaceful acceptance.
Unlike typical "talk therapy," EMDR doesn't even require that you talk much about what happened. By working at the core level of the body's nervous system, EMDR can free you up so you can get on with living the life you want.
IFS (Internal Family Systems) is a form of therapy that works with the "parts" of ourselves: different "ego-states" that feature certain moods or behaviors that develop as adaptations in response to the traumas of everyday life.
IFS is highly effective for honoring all parts of ourselves - including the really "crazy" parts of us (and we all have them!) - without shaming them, bypassing them, or trying to get rid of them. This is essential in trauma therapy, because until we respect and welcome the defense-tactics that we've developed to survive, they won't relax and let us alone...in fact, they'll just whiplash back even harder.
IFS is a very intelligent and evidence-based method of questioning that also, like EMDR, uses the imagination and our felt, somatic sense in our bodies to shift how we remember traumas and frame our realities. I have seen it powerfully transform psychosomatic symptoms for certain clients in even one session.
After study many traditions of Western and non-Western healing, I practice EMDR and IFS because of how they work well together to integrate insights and techniques from cognitive science, somatic therapy, emotionally-focused therapy and imaginal psychology (Jungian and depth-work) in simple and methodical ways.
In short, they just work.
By intelligently and respectfully re-working the neurological and imaginal roots of emotional and mental disturbance, EMDR and IFS can radically transform how life feels.
You don’t have to let unresolved traumas continue to limit your well-being. If you are ready to for some real change, I'm here to help.
I know it can feel difficult to reach out for help...there's probably a part of you that doesn't want to. I get it. That's just what I'm talking about.
But if you've read this far, then there's probably also a part of you that wants help. If you think we'd be a good match for therapy, why not go with this part and reach out?
I look forward to hearing from you!
You don’t have to let unresolved traumas continue to limit your well-being. If you are ready to for some real change, I'm here to help.
I know it can feel difficult to reach out for help...there's probably a part of you that doesn't want to. I get it. That's just what I'm talking about.
But if you've read this far, then there's probably also a part of you that wants help. If you think we'd be a good match for therapy, why not go with this part and reach out?
I look forward to hearing from you!
To connect, just fill out the contact form below,
or call me at (424) 248-9115.
Let's Talk:
California - Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor
LPCC #8282
Florida - Telehealth Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist TPMF #181
