Trauma Therapy
“The wound is where the Light enters you.” -Rumi
Is Trauma Impacting Your Life In Too Many Ways To Count?
Lately, have you struggled with feeling any sense of fulfillment or purpose? Does it often feel like your everyday life is too much to handle on your own? Is there a situation or painful experience that you can’t seem to shake, holding you back from moving forward, both mentally and physically?
You may have suffered through a traumatic event that has brought chronic pain to your body and emotional distress to your mind. You’ve probably noticed a change in your overall mood—feelings of anxiety, helplessness, and dysregulation are causing you to withdraw or even isolate yourself from the people in your life and the things that you love.
Symptoms, like headaches, sleep deprivation, as well as neck and back pain that derive from trauma, can rob you of your sense of joy, causing you to feel stuck without a clear path forward. And if you were physically injured, you may wonder if you’ll ever feel at ease in your body again.
The Physical And Mental Toll Of Trauma
Our bodies store experiences in ways that we don’t always understand. If the experience was sudden, unpleasant, painful, or traumatic, you probably feel drained of your energy from constantly suppressing the sorrow, tension, and distress that’s associated with it.
Or maybe your trauma doesn’t derive from one, specific event—instead having grown over time, with symptoms becoming more prominent as of late. Chronic pains, panic attacks, fatigue, and anxiety could make it easy to believe that any sense of relief is out of your reach.
But I’m here to say that, with Somatic Trauma Therapy, finding a sense of joy, peace, and ease within your body, mind, and spirit is possible. As your therapist, I aim to provide you with the opportunity to transform your inner experience and better understand the situations that have caused trauma, so that you can build resilience. As you release and sift through these layers, you will find a more sustained sense of freedom in your life.
None Of Us Are Immune To Trauma
No matter who you are, you’ve probably gone through or will go through some sort of trauma. Studies show that about fifty percent of women and sixty percent of men have reported at least one traumatic experience in their lives. These numbers don’t represent the most accurate picture either, as many people either don’t acknowledge or talk about past traumas, for many reasons, including shame and denial.
Trauma can be defined as any instance where you have felt overwhelmed by an event or events in your life. And while trauma can happen at any age, without proper treatment, its effects can be long-lasting.
Abuse and neglect are issues that often get repressed due to the shame and judgment that can result when we don’t feel safe enough to open up to others for the support we need at the time.
The thing about unresolved trauma is that it builds up and gets stored in our bodies and subconscious mind, which takes a toll over time. And if our personal feelings related to the distress that we’ve endured get ignored or shoved aside, our bodies will eventually try to cope with the trauma in ways that may be confusing. Dysregulated moods and behaviors, such as isolating or lashing out at others, are signs that you may have bottled up strong emotions.
Your Body Needs Time To Release The Trauma Stored Within
The way that we go about dealing with trauma is essential to our overall well-being. While we live in a culture where we are encouraged to be self-sufficient, oftentimes we aren’t taught healthy ways of coping or given the tools or support we truly need to heal. Typically, we’re encouraged to move forward too quickly—including after a severe injury—rather than allowing our nervous systems to pause long enough to discharge the stress caused by trauma.
Think of it like Spring cleaning the garage. If you keep storing all of your baggage there, eventually, there won’t be any room to move around. But by allowing yourself the chance to open up within the safe space of therapy, you can sort and clear through some of the distress brought on by trauma, to keep what is valuable, giving yourself the freedom to have more space and feel at ease.
Somatic Trauma Therapy Can Help You Find The Relief You’ve Been Longing For
Both personally and professionally, I know firsthand how challenging the road to recovery can be. That’s why, no matter what caused the trauma that’s impacting your life—whether it’s PTSD from long-standing abuse that stems from childhood, injuries to the body or brain, constant high-pressure situations, or a single, life-altering event—somatic therapy can provide the support you need to release the patterns that keep you stuck and hold you back from finding a clear path forward.
As a somatic therapist, I’ll make sure to individualize your trauma treatment sessions to best suit your needs. I can attest to the profound impact that somatic therapy can have in the process of healing trauma, and I have seen how effective it can be in transforming my clients’ lives.
You will learn new ways to cope and be more self-aware. But, more importantly, you will undergo a “felt experience,” of being more joyful and at ease, from the inside out.
What To Expect In Somatic Trauma Therapy
Somatic Experiencing® (SE™) is a therapeutic model that works with the body to help release the tension caused by trauma. The goal of SE™ is to help you expand your awareness by using sensation, images, behavior and emotions to provide you with clues and meaning behind what is being stored in your body. With this newfound awareness, you will have a better understanding of the root causes for your triggers, so that you can ground yourself when you feel that you’re unraveling.
Craniosacral Therapy (CST) uses light touch to balance the nervous system and release physical tightness, tension, or compressions in the body that may have been caused by illness, injury, surgery, or emotional events. This gentle treatment method relieves distress that’s stored within you and helps your body function with more ease and find a proper state of balance.
Dynamic Attachment Repatterning experience® (DARe™) draws from attachment theory to help you repair relational issues and self-limiting beliefs that arose in childhood or early relationships with caregivers. Attachment issues relating to trauma typically respond best when you have a supportive, empathetic witness to provide a different perspective. This support will help you challenge and repattern the negative beliefs or relational patterns that you may have grown accustomed to or learned over time.
I’ve seen how powerful and transformative somatic therapy can be. It allows insights and internal shifts that may elude those who participate in talk therapy or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). But the key to therapy is a sense of safety, trust, and communication. So if you ever feel like we’re moving too fast, or if anything feels uncomfortable, please let me know. I will always support and encourage you when setting healthy boundaries, so that you feel more of a sense of agency and safety. While I make adjustments based on your feedback, I will help you gather important insights about your internal experience, to gently work through difficult emotions and allow uncomfortable situations to gradually dissipate.
We will also make space for what feels good. I will help you learn how to move from the good, “comforting” sensations and to touch briefly into more uncomfortable sensations, as well. When we allow ourselves the time and space to sit with and feel the elements of our trauma, true progress and healing are possible.
Maybe You’re Thinking About Trying Trauma Therapy, But Still Have Some Questions…
Will it feel like opening Pandora’s Box? I don’t want to feel overwhelmed or retraumatized?
Distressing emotions can feel uncomfortable and sometimes even scary. I always encourage feedback because it helps gauge what’s working and what isn’t. But as your somatic therapist, it is my job to protect your nervous system and help you stay grounded and calm as you safely process your trauma.
I intend to provide you a safe space, to monitor your pace by watching your reactions so that you can stay present in the process. This is how transformation happens–having one foot in the past and one foot in the present.
My trauma occurred during childhood, so long ago. How will I be able to heal from something I don’t remember?
Trauma can be any event that has occurred in your life that leads you to feelings of distress or overwhelm. Sometimes these feelings are so disheartening that we choose to block out or ignore what caused them, altogether.
But your body remembers what you’ve gone through, even if your conscious mind does everything it can to block out the bad memories. No matter your trauma, whether you experienced it during your childhood or as an adult–in somatic counseling, your feelings will always be honored and respected.
How long will it take for therapy to heal my trauma?
Everyone is different, and timeframes can be difficult to predict. In general, more long-standing and complex trauma will take longer to work through than a single event.
I tell most of my clients that I expect them to feel a sense of relief, and to feel more hopeful after six sessions, if not sooner. Of course, progress is never a straight line–there will be ups and downs, as well as layers to sift through. Symptoms may arise, but if you’re truly open to change, then your mood, sleep, energy, and relationships will gradually improve as you begin to feel more stability in your life.
Somatic Therapy Can Help You Break Free Of Trauma
If trauma has caused you to feel physically and mentally depleted, somatic therapy will give you the chance to find more fulfillment, joy, and peace within your life. To schedule a phone consultation or to learn more about my practice, please visit my contact page or call (303) 819 - 8839. I look forward to supporting you on your healing journey!
Testimonial
“A few months ago I broke my leg in a skiing accident requiring surgery, a plate and screws. During my session with Margaret I felt a release of tension throughout the leg that had been broken, accompanied by a deep sense of rest.
My leg felt longer and I slept well after the session. Margaret's caring presence and skilled touch helped me release the trauma of my accident in ways that previous physical therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic, and other bodywork had not reached.” -J.D.
Recent Posts
