Trauma Therapy

Has Being A Survivor Of Trauma(s) Left You Feeling Alone And Disconnected From Yourself And In Relationships?

Have you experienced any of the following: childhood attachment wounds: ”insecure attachment” abuse(physical, emotional) neglect, abandonment, childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, physical assault, domestic violence, separation, divorce, betrayal, grief, loss of a loved one? Were you deeply wounded and felt “unwanted aloneness” when you most needed comfort and emotional attunement?

• Do you often experience sensations in your body(feelings of pressure and tightness aches, pain, frequent illnesses, difficulty breathing but have few or no memories?

• Do you experience situations and people that trigger overwhelming emotions? Do you often feel threatened and “on high alert”: unable to trust and to feel “safe” and “calm”in your body? Do you often feel confused and depressed and at times hopeless and alone?

• Are you easily frustrated, irritable, and do not understand why you feel this way? Do you shame and blame yourself as your “internal critic” has no mercy?

• Do you minimize, deny and avoid seeing the effects your trauma (s) have on you and your relationships?
  
  

When we experience physical, emotional, sexual abuse, we may feel numb as our mind and body respond to overwhelming emotions by fight flight freeze response in an attempt to protect us. Our bodies hold all of our memories and emotions.. And while this absence of emotion can last for a season or longer, it is a completely defensive survival response.. It’s our body and our mind’s way of trying to keep us from feeling overwhelmed. However, if this state of mind and body continues for more than a season and we do not seek to get help then it has the potential to create deeper issues such as PTSD. When a trauma wound is not given attention and care, it begins to fester and the effects can begin to control our lives. Untreated trauma wounds can cause you to blame and shame yourself, affect the choices you make in relationships as well as believe a lot of lies about yourself. When you are a trauma survivor or complex trauma survivor your trust/sense of “safeness”: has been ruptured and there has been no repair without seeking help. It then becomes difficult to trust yourself and others as well as the world around you, and over time this can contribute to anxiety and depression,isolation and disconnection with yourself and in relationships.

Even when you are not able to consciously remember the trauma, our bodies have recorded and are holding the memories. One of the effects of trauma can be distressing physical symptoms, including difficulty sleeping, digestive issues, body aches, feelings of tightness and pain, and an overall increase in physical discomfort. In post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), daily triggers can result in flashbacks where it feels like you’re reliving the traumatic experience

Feeling alone and isolated and like no one understands what you are going through or have been through you may put up “walls” to protect yourself. You may be easily frustrated, irritated, and overwhelmed. It is important to note how trauma has a way of shining a light on issues and wounds that you may have been avoiding, denying, and attempting to distract yourself from.  

Your first response may be to try to avoid your pain by not asking for or receiving the help and support that you need. This can leave you feeling isolated and closed off from yourself and your loved ones, and it can open the door to taking out your anger/rage on yourself as well as your family and friends, or you may “numb” your feelings and implode. Without a healthy way to experience and process your emotions, you may have tried to anesthetize and soothe yourself with drugs,, alcohol, sex, porn, food, or work, all attempts to soothe as well as distract and avoid what you are feeling. The root of all addictions is trauma and that root needs to be pulled up so that you can be fully alive and the grave clothes coming off! Time to no longer neglect yourself! Healing can only happen from the inside-out.

Giving yourself the attention you so desperately need is the first essential and courageous step in your restoration and recovery. Trauma Recovery is a gateway to healing, giving you a safe space where you can begin to “be” and experience as well as process your emotions and develop your own voice and true identity. You will experience calm, compassionate support and guidance, and emotional attunement in a safe, peaceful, private and comfortable setting, and we can begin this journey of your restoration and healing together and you will no longer be alone in your pain as I will be there with you.

As a trauma survivor, your memories are mainly “ implicit” which means they are not conscious but felt and experienced as sensations as your body is holding the memories…. as your body remembers what you were not able to process due to being traumatized. So often you may notice that you have no words to describe what you are feeling as your nervous system helps to defend you and protect you. The nervous system protects by Fight/Flight Responses: ”Don’t just sit there-do something!” or Freeze-Submit Responses: ”Don’t move it is not safe” These responses can often become reflexive responses in life as the nervous system feels threatened even when there is none and remains on ”high alert” in survivors lives. It is so amazing that during therapy your brain can begin to develop new ways of responding and healing rather than shutting down more but becoming more alive and feeling “safe” in your own body.

After experiencing trauma, you most likely have internalized guilt and shame as well as self-loathing as one the effects of being traumatized.

I work with clients in my home office rather than a clinical, medical setting. This soothing, comfortable, and completely private “safe” space is extremely beneficial for survivors because healing can only take place in the present and when we feel safe and calm. Compassion and truth and “undoing of aloneness” are essential elements needed for your healing and we will be in a collaborative relationship, where you experience compassion and self-compassion and patience, vulnerability as well as strength and courage and where you no longer feel “alone” as we go through this journey of hope and healing together..

As your NYC Trauma therapist, I aim to build a collaborative relationship under the umbrella of trust, emotional attunement, and safety and where you experience being heard, seen and felt.. We’ll explore and focus on what is going on in your life that has brought you to seek therapy, whether you’ve been to therapy before, and how your experience was. Although we will certainly address the roots of your trauma over time, our initial focus will be on the effects of your woundedness in your relationship with yourself and in your relationships as well as what is going “right” and feels “good”.. . We’ll move slowly as emotions are slow and so you can feel calm and safe as you develop insight and self-awareness and trust.. You can then begin to experience and to process your emotions in the present with curiosity, and compassion rather than with condemnation and guilt or just stuffing or exploding Over time you can become able to regulate your emotions rather than your emotions regulating you.

Trauma recovery is an investment….yes it is. It is an investment in your wellbeing: you are finally making a deposit into yourself and making your healing a priority. Years of denying and avoiding the effects of your trauma have kept you stuck rather than healed. Consider how much money as well as the time you may waste on shopping, comfort food, travel, or addictions in an unconscious attempt to escape your deep woundedness and disconnection with yourself..: Our sessions will be a far more valuable gift to give to yourself as well as a wise a use of your finances as well as your time..

“Am I really struggling with trauma, or do I have anxiety or depression?”

When you have experienced trauma or complex trauma(which is a pattern of repeated trauma) and have few memories but something just does not feel “right” inside. It is that part of you that does know what happened and there is a cry that no one heard so over time you stopped crying and gave up on the hope of ever being heard... Anxiety and depression can occur concurrently with trauma or PTSD. 

“What if I don’t have time to focus on trauma recovery?”

Prioritizing time for self-care rather than self-neglect and making therapy a priority in your life can feel like a major shift at first. Life is full of distractions, and you may already be juggling a busy schedule. Making the decision to start therapy might mean adjusting your calendar to find windows for sessions, but the time we spend together will be worth your effort, you no longer are overwhelmed by guilt , shame, depression, anxiety and painful memories. It will take time to identify and trust your true voice, and experience healing from the inside-out but but we will share a remarkable journey where you begin to flourish!

You Can Move Beyond Your Trauma: Trauma Does Not Have To Be A “Life Sentence”

If you are ready to take the first courageous step towards breaking the bondage of self-neglect and are ready to move forward toward your restoration, recovery, and healing then know that I am here to walk with you on this life-affirming journey where you can experience being” seen, heard, and felt”.. Coming out of darkness into the light! Call me so we can begin this amazing trauma recovery journey!!. 

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