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trauma therapy in santa monica, ca
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Have the lingering effects of trauma brought life for you or your teen to a standstill?
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Do you struggle to remain focused and be present in your body?
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When intrusive thoughts and physical sensations become too overwhelming, do you act out, feel numb, or turn to substances to cope?
Is Trauma Preventing You From Stepping Fully Into Your Life?
Trauma can take many forms. Perhaps what happened has led to depression, anxiety, and withdrawal from daily activities. In addition, you may suffer from nightmares, insomnia, flashbacks, or hypervigilance. When you’re triggered, nowhere and no one feels safe. You may feel broken inside and blame yourself for not being able to get over it on your own.
Trauma Can Make Connecting With Others Difficult
In addition to warping the lens through which you experience the world, trauma can also affect how you relate to others. When you feel unsafe, it’s hard to let your guard down and allow others in. As a result, you may notice you struggle to maintain close relationships or experience unhealthy dynamics that contribute to feelings of shame.
When something bad has happened to you, whether it’s a one-time incident or events experienced in childhood, there’s no right or wrong way for your body to react. We all respond to trauma differently, and some of us could benefit greatly from therapy. In counseling, you can process trauma utilizing body-based approaches that help foster healing.
The Conversation Around Trauma Has Changed
In recent decades, the consequences of trauma have become better understood in our society. We now have a better grasp of how trauma gets stored in the body via the nervous system. We also understand that trauma is often cumulative.
Known as complex trauma, its impact on us is compounded by ongoing circumstances rather than a one-time event. Yet despite these advancements in acknowledging trauma’s impact, stigmas persist.
Many of us from older generations were taught to “suck it up” and sweep bad memories under the rug. It was drilled into us never to air our dirty laundry in public.
Conversely, the pendulum has swung the other way for younger generations. Although they tend to be more open and honest about their mental health challenges, our social media-driven culture pushes quick fixes on TikTok over long-term solutions to trauma healing.
Keeping Trauma Trapped Inside Can Make Symptoms Worse
Trauma creates a sense of isolation that prevents us from talking about what happened or how we feel. Instead, we bottle up our emotions, leading to mental distress and physical ailments we can’t shake. We may feel stuck, alone, and that help is unattainable.
But the truth is you’re not alone. Working closely with a trauma therapist allows you to share your story in a safe setting and unpack what’s happened rather than blame yourself.
Trauma Therapy Can Help You Heal Wounds And Find Peace
The effects of trauma can expand beyond your own first-hand experience. Intergenerational trauma can cast a long shadow in families, causing a cycle that’s difficult to break free from. But ultimately, you get to decide how to move forward. As Caroline Myss writes, "We are not meant to stay wounded. We are supposed to move through our tragedies and challenges and to help each other move through the many painful episodes of our lives. By remaining stuck in the power of our wounds, we block our own transformation." [1]
When it comes to trauma, everyone experiences and processes it differently. As such, therapy must adapt accordingly. At Healista, we offer a holistic approach to trauma and PTSD therapy that is never cookie-cutter. We like to look at the whole picture, providing comprehensive, trauma-informed treatment customized to suit your needs.
What To Expect In Sessions
As therapists who specialize in trauma and PTSD, our goal is to ensure clients feel safe and comfortable discussing their challenges with us. From the moment we begin working together, you will be the one guiding the process. You get to set the pace for therapy and establish goals that resonate with you and align with your values.
Initially, we may focus on your most pressing symptoms, paying attention to how they affect your mood, thoughts, and habits. For chronic symptoms, such as disrupted sleep, emotional dysregulation, and intrusive thoughts, we can teach you hands-on coping skills that provide immediate relief.
From there, we will explore how past events impact you now. Taking a deep dive into childhood experiences and relationships helps us identify any old patterns you’ve clung to that no longer serve you. With better tools for managing symptoms and insights into what triggers you, therapy can help you process trauma so it no longer weighs you down.
Somatic Practices And Psychoeducation That Foster Healing
To treat trauma successfully requires addressing both body and mind. At Healista, we blend talk therapy with somatic-based modalities to ensure long-term healing. For body-based work, we often draw from somatic experiencing, mindfulness, breathwork, and the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM)®.
Therapy may also include Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), brainspotting, and Internal Family Systems (IFS) to process unresolved trauma effectively. And to encourage mind-body connection, we like to incorporate qigong, tai chi, or yoga.
Another hallmark of trauma therapy with us includes psychoeducation about nervous system regulation, a way to interpret how your body speaks to you. When you learn to listen and decipher your body’s cues, you can cultivate a deeper awareness of what it’s telling you and give it what it needs to restore calmness.
If you’ve been living with trauma for a long time, you might have lost hope that you’ll ever get out from under its shadow. But we’re here to tell you that with therapy, trauma recovery is possible. Processing your trauma frees up space to live more freely and authentically.
But Maybe You’re Not Sure If Trauma Therapy Is Right For You…
Healing Your Wounds Can Help Restore Peace
We look forward to helping you uncover a freer, happier you. To find out more about online trauma and PTSD therapy with us and schedule a free 15-minute phone consultation, please call (310) 399-6670 or visit our contact page.
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