Trauma Counseling
Do You Feel Stuck Inside A Painful Memory?
Are you having trouble reconciling an upsetting event from your past? Do you feel singled out for having endured a form of neglect, abuse, or other trauma that altered the course of your life? Have you felt stuck in a loop of anger, sadness, and shame following the event?
You may have been subjected to emotional, physical, sexual, or verbal abuse as a child. Or perhaps you were neglected by your parents or primary caregivers. It may also be that you experienced a traumatic event later in life, in the form of an assault, accident, or natural disaster. Or perhaps you’re currently in a career that regularly exposes you to critical situations, such as first response or the military.
If you’re struggling with unresolved trauma, you may experience uncomfortable emotional symptoms that impact your day-to-day life. Perhaps you’re prone to mood swings, flashbacks, irritability, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. Or it may be that an adverse reaction to trauma has impacted your relationships because you’re often angry or you feel too ashamed to share your experience with others.
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Trauma can cause you to feel as though you’ve been carrying a weight around with you for years that no one can seem to unburden. It’s likely that you have trouble feeling safe or trusting others and instead of confronting your experience head-on, you’d rather avoid the pain of remembering.
Perhaps you’re skeptical that recovery from trauma is possible or that you’ll ever be able to free yourself from the cycle of distress. However, therapy has proven highly effective in helping individuals to process and heal from trauma. Our team at Focus Counseling is specially trained in trauma-informed treatment methods.
Our Culture Creates Damaging Myths About Trauma
Though trauma causes the individuals who endure it to feel isolated, instances of trauma are actually widely pervasive in the US. In fact, the National Council for Behavioral Health estimates that 70 percent of our nation’s adults have experienced at least one traumatic event. To put this into perspective, that’s 223.4 million people.
Despite being so widespread, however, there remains a stigma attached to trauma. We, as a culture, tend to play the “Blame and Shame Game” when trying to make sense of a disturbing event. In instances of sexual assault, for example, many survivors are questioned about what they were wearing, if they were intoxicated, and what their relationship was with the perpetrator—as if they’re somehow at fault for inviting a violation of their bodies. These misconceptions about what constitutes trauma create a mythos that makes it extremely difficult for survivors of any trauma to open up about their experience.
Such myths are damaging, and when they’re internalized by traumatized individuals, treatment and recovery becomes even more complicated. Survivors of traumatic events may convince themselves that they’re at fault or that they are too broken to be worthy of relief. Moreover, traumatic experiences physically impact the brain in such a way that the nervous system’s mechanisms for emotional regulation are disrupted.
If you’ve been adversely impacted by a traumatic event, your thoughts and memories likely need to be reorganized in order for you to escape the cycle of pain that you’ve been stuck in for so long. While that may sound impossible, it’s easier and more painless than you think—and it all begins with trauma therapy at Focus Counseling.
Trauma Therapy in Columbus, oh Can Validate Your Experience And Help You Recover
Though individuals can adapt and find their own coping mechanisms for overcoming trauma, the guidance of a trained clinician can offer meaningful clarity on your experience. Between psychoeducation on the brain and cultural myth-busting, the supportive and unbiased perspective of a counselor can offer hope about recovering and truly finding peace in your life.
Upon being paired with one of our clinicians after an initial intake, your therapist will collaborate with you—at your pace—to understand the source of your trauma and how it has affected you on a physical, emotional, and mental level. Because we at Focus Counseling understand that every client is unique and every trauma story is different, we will offer solutions and a treatment method that are customized to fit your needs.
While each individual approach may look different, treatment at Focus Counseling usually includes some degree of psychoeducation about the brain’s response to trauma. In addition to behavioral and somatic techniques to calm the nervous system, and narrative therapy to help you gain a sense of agency and authorship over your trauma story. Along the way, we will challenge some of the cultural messaging that you may have internalized. Also while providing you with a toolbox for life that will help you alleviate symptoms during moments of distress.
Our Approach to Trauma Therapy
Our clinicians maintain a diverse background in therapeutic modalities and approaches, but we’ve all retained some degree of training in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TFCBT). This form of behavioral therapy—centered around the relationship between thoughts, feelings, emotions, and behaviors—takes a gentler approach and is very careful to not retraumatize clients throughout the therapeutic process.
In addition, we’re big believers in the power of narrative therapy and mindfulness. If you can become highly attuned with what you’re experiencing in mind and body during flashbacks or moments of distress, you’ll be better equipped to recreate your story. The trauma you endured may have taken away your sense of control and agency, but narrative therapy will empower you to assume the role of author as you begin to challenge the shame and cultural misconceptions you’ve internalized.
Recovery is Possible with Trauma Counseling
Trauma can trick you into believing that you’re destined for this pain and discomfort for life, but at Focus Counseling, we know that recovery is possible—we’ve witnessed it time and time again. Not only can therapy provide you with insight into your trauma and the impact it has had on your mind and body, but you can also learn to challenge the messages that have been hammered into you by a culture that fails to acknowledge or support trauma survivors in a meaningful way.
There is hope for your future, and it’s all possible with trauma treatment at Focus Counseling.
Maybe you’re ready to enlist the help of a trauma therapist or counselor, but you have some questions…
The trauma I experienced took place years ago during my childhood—why should I bother with counseling now?
Many people experience traumatic events at a young age. If you endured sexual, physical, emotional, or verbal abuse as a child, you likely developed adaptive behaviors over time to make yourself feel safe and secure. And while some of those adaptive behaviors (like avoidance or withdrawal) may have been helpful—vital, even—when you were a child, they may very well be negatively impacting your relationships today.
If you survived childhood trauma and are now struggling with relationship issues such as ongoing conflict or a tendency to shut down when confronted, it’s likely not a coincidence. Therapy can help you identify and understand your responses to trauma so that you and your relationships can function at their most optimal.
I am afraid of what will happen in trauma therapy when I confront the single worst thing that has happened to me.
We understand that it can be especially scary to confront your trauma in the context of therapy, especially if you’re not used to discussing your experience. However, treatment is meant to make you feel better—not worse. Trauma counseling is meant to provide you with a vocabulary for discussing your trauma. You will likely feel moments of discomfort and emotional pain during counseling, but that shouldn’t be the predominant feeling you experience. Moreover, we’re trained in a way to move at a pace that won’t re-traumatize you when discussing your experience.
Trauma therapy is hard work! However, it’s really important to fully process your trauma in a safe, supportive, and nonjudgmental space. This way, you can truly recover and find hope.
How long does trauma treatment take?
There is no one specific timeline for processing and overcoming your trauma. Many factors will determine how long it takes until you begin to feel relief. This includes when the traumatic event took place, how much it impacted you, and which adaptive behaviors you developed as a result. While we can’t guarantee that it will take a certain number of weeks or months until you feel better, we’re confident that you’ll begin to feel better as you open up to and feel supported by a trained mental health clinician.
You Can Find Peace With Your Traumatic Experience
If trauma has caused you to feel stuck in an endless loop of pain, frustration, and confusion, trauma therapy at Focus Counseling can help you escape the cycle. For more information about how we can help or to schedule an appointment, follow the steps below!
Contact us or call (614) 489-8759.
Read more about who we are.
Begin trauma therapy and find relief!
OTHER SERVICES OUR Trauma THERAPISTS OFFER:
At Focus Counseling, we offer a spectrum of specialized services aimed at addressing various facets of your well-being. Our services range from depression counseling, teen counseling, and couples therapy. Our team also provides therapy sessions tailored to your unique needs like family counseling, anger management, grief counseling, and child counseling. We’re committed to offering diverse and compassionate care to guide you on the path to a healthier and more fulfilling life.