Complex Trauma Therapy
What would it mean to live a fuller life, unburdened by past traumas?
Do you feel as though you are held back by the way your past influences your present? Are you afraid of the same traumatic things happening again, whether it be abandonment, loss, or a feeling of inescapable fear?
Part of the human experience, unfortunately, is going through stressful, traumatic events that we can’t control. Living a full life means feeling all the bad along with all the good, but when our bad experiences become long-term stressors, it can have a massive impact on our mental and physical well being.
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What you are dealing with isn’t uncommon – and there’s nothing to feel shame about.
Trauma happens to everyone and can be detrimental to how we function, especially with complex trauma, in which traumas may happen repeatedly over longer stretches of time, making the individual feel scared and helpless in the face of the enduring harm. Experiencing repeated traumas can create feelings of hopelessness and keep the body and mind hypervigilant – preventing relaxation and present-moment living. Approximately 70% of people in the United States experience one form of trauma in their lifetime, and 8% meet the criteria for a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or complex PTSD (C-PTSD).
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Complex trauma leaves the body in permanent fight or flight – or freeze/ fawn – and can greatly impact our self image, our relationships with others, and our ability to unwind, relax, and enjoy the good parts of living. When we have experienced repeated trauma, it can feel nearly impossible to feel safe, even when things around us are calm. The good news is that there are ways to heal, and with the help of a trauma-informed therapist, you can live a life with less fear and anxiety.
Practical Therapy
Treating individuals with complex trauma requires building a safe relationship where the client can feel fully seen and heard – and our therapists at Valid Love are trained to do just that. Client-centered, compassionate, trauma-informed care is crucial to the healing process for those who have experienced inconsistent safety in their lives. Individuals can expect an array of interventions tailored to the challenges they face in interpersonal connection, self-assurance/ self-esteem, and emotional dysregulation.
Sessions with a therapist when focusing on complex trauma will center around the unique needs of the individual. This may include emotional regulation skills and exercises, building self esteem and tolerance for distressful discussions, a focus on building a trusting therapeutic relationship, and a variety of other aims that aid the client in building their self-esteem, creating healthy connections with others, and honoring mental, physical, and emotional needs. We aim to offer a relaxing atmosphere that creates a sense of safety and comfort. Healing from trauma can be a difficult process, but it is a worthwhile one. It is a process that involves recognizing what you have been through – building self-compassion – and also recognizing that healing itself is a possibility. Everyone deserves to live a full life, uninhibited by fear and dysfunction.
Working through complex trauma can, at times, feel overwhelming. Trauma work can bring up a lot of difficult feelings that seem unmanageable, and it can be like resetting an improperly-healed broken bone. Human beings’ capacity to survive and to heal, however, shouldn’t be underestimated, and with support from a trained professional, you can go from surviving to thriving.
FAQs
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Feeling is the way we process emotions. With emotions that feel too great to handle, having the support of a therapist trained to understand complex trauma can aid the client in slow, steady growth towards tolerating the distress of painful experiences.
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Complex trauma, experienced repeatedly or over long periods of time, may shape us in many ways, but change is not impossible. Healing can be arduous, but living a full, happy life is worth processing all that has happened to us. And it’s entirely possible! You deserve to break free of the chains that trauma wraps around us.
You can begin your healing journey and live a better life.
Anyone can heal and live a fuller, more secure life with the right support, in and out of therapy. We can guide you while you build self-assurance and esteem, foster a support network that creates a safety net, and learn how to live life without so much fear. At Valid Love, we aim to foster a space that is safe for everyone. If you are looking to begin your healing journey but are nervous about being accepted for who you are at your core, you don’t have to worry here. Our therapists are trauma informed and understand oppression’s intersections with complex trauma.
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