Chelsea Smith Counseling

Trauma Services

What is trauma?

Historically, it was understood that trauma was an ‘event’ that occurred to an individual. Now, we further understand that trauma is not simply an ‘event’ that occurs to someone, but rather how an individual’s body/system interprets and responds to an event or set of events over time.

Trauma can include, but is not limited to, the following:

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Physical abuse
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Sexual abuse or assault
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Emotional and verbal abuse
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Serious injury or illness
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Medical trauma
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Bullying
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Neglect
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Divorce
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Spiritual Abuse
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Financial Abuse
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Natural Disasters
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Toxic Stress
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Common symptoms of trauma:

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Hyper vigilance (being easily startled)
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Intrusive thoughts about the event(s)
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Memory loss and concentration difficulties

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Increased agitation and irritability
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Anger outbursts
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Emotional numbing 
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Avoidance of reminders of the trauma
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Isolation and social withdrawal 
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Difficulty managing major life roles (parenting, career, etc.)

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Emotional Dysregulation 
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Sleep Disturbances (Nightmares, insomnia, etc.)

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Flashbacks 
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Increased substance use in order to regulate the symptoms

My Treatment Approach:

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based treatment modality used to treat the symptoms of trauma and PTSD. In a very small nutshell, EMDR encouraged individuals to briefly focus on the past event while simultaneously remaining in the present moment through bilateral stimulation to reprocess the events that are 'stuck' in the brain's memory networks without a 'time and date stamp.'

Trauma often occurs in tandem with other mental health disorders, as well as substance use disorders. For this reason, additional modalities are often utilized throughout the course of treatment including:

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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
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Motivational Interviewing (MI)
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Mindfulness-Based Interventions
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Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Skills

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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
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