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Essentially, trauma any experience that has left you feeling
frightened, shaken, and powerless that you either can’t stop thinking about or go out of your
way to actively avoid. Basically it’s any even from your past that you just can’t get past.
Trauma can cause chronic nightmares, sleepless nights, panic attacks, being easily startled, or
feeling numb to yourself and/or others. Trauma can be but isn’t limited to natural disasters,
combat or active war zones, sexual assaults and child maltreatment. Psychotherapists often refer
to these as “Big T Traumas”. But there are “Little T Traumas” as well. These often look like
exposure to violence, witnessing the death of a loved one, school bullying, or workplace
mistreatment. If any of these sound like experiences in your life coming in to speak with a
therapist may be helpful.
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Well, the short answer is we all could use someone who will
genuinely listen to us every now and then. The long answer, you may be doing fine or maybe
telling yourself you’re doing fine is helping you fake it until you make it. It may also be that
you feel you’re doing fine but your friends or family often says that they’re “worried about
you”. Whatever the situation, therapy can help you sort things out and learn new ways to not
only react to situations but new ways to see yourself in general.
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No! Seeing a therapist does not mean you are crazy. It means
different things for everyone. For some it means you need a little help. For others it means you
want to see yourself in a new light. For still others going to therapy means learning new skills
to cope with the stress that life deals us all.
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Everyone has their stuff and for all of us its painful to one degree
or another. In order for your therapist to know and honor you, your therapist needs to know and
honor this. Therapy moves at your pace and at your comfort level. Your therapist will do
everything they can to not push you to discuss anything until you are ready.
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Absolutely not. The job of a good therapist is to work themselves
out of a job. Your therapist will want to establish a strong rapport in order for your work
together to be effective but they won’t want you to ever feel as though you can’t function
without them or the process. Through the treatment planning process your therapist will help you
come up with a treatment and timeline that works for you.
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Therapy isn’t a “one size fits all” process and no one therapist is
right for everyone. If you feel your therapist isn’t a good fit for you or that you’re just not
comfortable with the dynamic your therapist will gladly help you to find the right clinician for
you! If more care is needed, we will help you move in that direction also!
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At Excelsior Counseling we believe the therapeutic approach needs to
fit the client. We also recognize that sometimes a more specific approach is needed.
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What is CBT?
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What is EMDR?
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CBT stands for Cognitive Behavior Therapy. This means that your therapist will
help you identify the links between your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and
develop new skills to challenge unhelpful thoughts, reduce unhelpful behaviors,
and reduce your experiences of difficult emotions. CBT is a highly researched
treatment method and has proved effective in treating everything from depression
and anxiety to obsessive compulsive disorder.
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EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. This treatment
method, developed by the late Dr. Francine Shapiro, is designed to help clients
access the painful memories that are associated with both unhelpful personal
beliefs and problematic behaviors in order to help them see their past and
present in a new, more helpful way. EMDR is also highly researched and effective
in treating individual suffering from simple and complex traumas.
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