Trauma Therapy
in Denver
IN-PERSON IN DENVER
AND ONLINE ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Trauma Is A Part of Your Life - Not Who You Are
We are all informed by our past. However, we are also more than the worst things that have happened to us. But what is the balance of validating and honoring your past without letting it dictate who you are going forward?
Past painful experiences can lead you to live a life based on what you want to avoid instead of what you want. This makes sense! When really bad things happen, our brains and bodies want to protect us. However, sometimes it goes too far. Reactions that served you in the past might no longer fit your life today. This can lead you to miss out on things that are now safe and lose sight of what is meaningful to you.
Trauma can shape your sense of self and relationships and change how you view the world. You may feel like reactions show up unexpectedly and you’re unsure whether they are based on the past or what’s right in front of you. Emotional intimacy and trust can feel intimidating, which can leave you feeling disconnected from others - even the people you love. You can feel on guard - just waiting for the other shoe to drop when you’ll be hurt again. You may even carry feelings of responsibility over things that have happened to you or believe that you just don’t deserve good things.
Trauma Therapy Won’t Erase Your Past, But it Can Help it Take Up Less Space in Your Present
I respect that people who have experienced trauma have often been pushed past what feels comfortable for them. I’m not here to do that. I also know that there is another way for you to live with greater peace and relief and want to help you get there. This doesn’t mean that difficulties won’t show up. But let’s use therapy as a place to explore those difficulties rather than running away from them in order to bring you to a place of healing and growth.
The impacts of trauma can look different for each of us. I spend our first session together learning about you and what has influenced where you are now. We will then discuss various trauma-focused approaches that are based in research to help you decide which approach makes sense for you. As a certified sex therapist, I also know that trauma can impact your sexual relationship (regardless of the type of trauma you have experienced) and can integrate sex therapy interventions as needed. We will spend time developing coping skills and then move into exploring the impacts of your past as well as how you want to live going forward. You are deserving of compassion, awareness, confidence, and peace. I’m here to support you and provide stability as you navigate your path towards healing.
Therapy for Trauma Can Help You:
Learn skills to respond rather than react
Better understand yourself from a place of compassion
Connect what you know logically to what you feel inside
Let your past inform your present, but not be in the driver’s seat
Be able to approach life with renewed hope and resilience
Frequently Asked Questions About Trauma Therapy
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Trauma is not what happens to us, but how those events have an impact INSIDE of us. Traumatizing events can be a lot of different things. For some it is a single event that happened in their lives, like a car accident or sexual assault. Or it can be a persistent harm or lack of safety in your household or past relationships. We also know that there can be traumatic impacts from a lack of love and support in foundational relationships - even if physical abuse wasn’t present. Many people do not consider what they have experienced to be trauma, because it’s all that they know or they feel that others had it worse. We can discuss if you are unsure if trauma therapy is the right fit for you.
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Talking about your trauma in therapy is not meant to re-live it or create more unhelpful suffering. It’s about looking at how you felt about what happened and its impact on you. Discussing traumatic experiences can be difficult and can also be an important part of the therapy process. This doesn’t mean we have to go into the details of what happened. However, talking about your trauma can help you confront avoidance that often keeps you stuck. It can also help you gain insights and incorporate new perspectives to allow you to move forward more effectively. I work to establish a safe environment in which you can share information in a way that feels supportive and productive.
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I have been trained in a variety of evidence-based treatments for PTSD, including:
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
Prolonged Exposure (PE)
Cognitive Behavioral Conjoint Therapy (CBCT) - a couples-based treatment for PTSD
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
I work with you to help determine which approach makes the most sense for you.
Below are helpful links that describe some of these approaches.
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand_tx/emdr.asp
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand_tx/cognitive_processing.asp
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand_tx/prolonged_exposure.asp
