Trauma is a person’s emotional and psychological reaction to an intense or overwhelming event. When thinking about psychological trauma, it necessary to first understand the symptoms for trauma. Some symptoms for psychological trauma include: Mood swings (anger, irritability, frustration) Anxiety and Fear Guilt and Shame Self-blame Feeling sad or hopeless Feeling disconnected or numb This…
The essence of healing is connection – first, to yourself. Then, to others. Your human nature directs you to seek bonding. You are, biologically and neurologically, wired for this. Unfortunately, when carrying unhealed trauma, you could seek harmful connections because you’re disconnected from yourself. Trauma is that very separation from the body and emotions.- Gabor…
Art therapy and Trauma informed art therapy Art therapy is a combination of psychological approaches and art to address psychological, psycho-social, emotional, and behavioral issues. The goal of art therapy sessions is often to improve the individual’s overall well-being and reduce the negative symptoms of disorders. According to the American Art Therapy Association, “art therapy…
What is art therapy? Art therapy is a modality, in which art and psychology are combine to address the presenting emotional and behavioral difficulties. The focus of art therapy sessions is often on exploring emotions, thoughts, and behaviors from a symbolic way, in which clients are not obliged to verbalize their thoughts or how they…
How to Check your Self Worth in Two Minutes: Complex Trauma, Safety, and Radical Empathy Complex trauma has earned its name for being just that: layered, invasive helplessness. It can feel like too much weight to bear or to survive. See if this helps: picture an ant carrying an elephant uphill. This type of struggle…
Psychedelics and drugs like ketamine are all the buzz these days showing promising results for some with symptom reduction for all kinds of mental health disorders. However, is the hype grounded in reality? It begs the question of who is a good fit for these treatments and what makes a doctor qualified to administer such…
I decided to support a friend at an AA meeting for the first time during COVID. I have to admit that it felt eerie when I first entered the room. Nothing like how it used to be before the pandemic. After all, all who were inside were desperately in need of psychological resuscitation. However, when…
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a result of having experienced acute, chronic, or complex trauma. Let’s dive in and deepen our understanding of trauma before we discuss therapy. Common Sources of Trauma Birth trauma Bullying Community violence Physical and emotional abuse Neglect Parental Separation Injury Medical trauma Substance Use Incarceration Natural disasters Terrorism…
One of the many things untreated trauma impacts is your ability to tolerate making mistakes. This reaction happens because past trauma can cloud you. So mistakes & failures FEEL scary, unsafe, & catastrophic (even when they FACTUALLY aren’t). Check out this week’s blog to learn more about how to tap into the wisdom of making…
Many clients come to me searching for help dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. Some realize they are suffering with it, while others may not be aware of the severity of it. PTSD occurs when someone has been the victim of or has witnessed a terrifying event where there was a threat of death, serious injury,…