You ARE NOT WHAT’S HAPPENED TO YOU
Therapy for trauma in Sandy Springs
Do you feel out of control?
You wish this wasn’t the case, but the trauma is in the driver’s seat instead of you. You feel on edge, unsafe, and exhausted. You’re triggered by something and like you are reliving what happened.
You may feel disconnected from your body or have difficulty being present. It’s hard to feel like you can trust your own judgement, so you question all of your decisions. You see how the effects of what happened are spilling into your relationships or your job.
Maybe it’s something that happened a long time ago, and you feel like you should be over it by now. Maybe you feel like what happened doesn’t “count” as trauma, so you’re also shaming yourself for how you’re responding to the trauma. Maybe it feels so heavy, or maybe you don’t feel anything at all. Whatever happened, you know you don’t want it to continue to have power over you.
How trauma therapy works
Even though it may not feel possible, you can feel like the weight has been lifted and you can breathe easier. You can feel connected and engaged, allowing you to be an active participant in your life again. You can gain confidence in your ability to make your own choices.
Together through EMDR and somatic therapy in addition to traditional talk therapy, we will process painful memories, reset your nervous system, and create safety both in your body and around you. We will work to replace false beliefs with healthier beliefs, including the belief that you are not defined by what happened. No matter how big or “small” it is, you deserve healing and your feelings are valid.
While we can’t undo what happened, we can help you get to a place where you no longer feel like the trauma is controlling you, your choices, or relationships.
you can regain control of your lifeTrauma therapy can help you…
Soothe your nervous system
Navigate triggers with a greater sense of calm
Find internal and external safety
Trust yourself
Reconnect to your body
Improve your self worth
Stay in the driver’s seat- and not the trauma
Frequently asked questions about trauma therapy
FAQs
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I get this question a lot, but unfortunately there is no straightforward answer. The length of therapy is different for everyone and depends on the goals you set in therapy and the severity of symptoms.
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While some trauma involves a single traumatic event, complex trauma is made up of many “smaller” traumatic experiences that produce the same traumatic response in the body. What actually happened is not as important as how the event(s) made you feel. No matter what you have been told, I want you to know your feelings and experiences matter. I believe you, and I do not think you are overreacting.
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That’s ok! You don’t have to remember everything to process or treat the impact of what happened. Trauma lives in the body. You feel the effect of it no matter how much or little you remember, and that is what we will treat in therapy together.
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How much or little you share is entirely up to you, and I will not pressure you to talk about anything. Sharing every little detail is not necessary for you to start experiencing relief. We can talk about and treat the impact the trauma had on you without getting into the weeds if that is what you want.
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I work with childhood, relational, sexual, and religious trauma. Learn more about religious trauma.
EMDR for Trauma
EMDR is one of the most effective tools I use to help you process trauma without having to relive or remember every detail of what happened. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an empirically based treatment that uses bilateral stimulation, like taps or guided eye movements, to help your brain do the healthy processing it got stuck on.
Negative experiences can create a 'block' that keeps your brain from processing them the way it naturally would. Think of it like a splinter: your body can't fully heal around it until it's removed. In our sessions together, I'll help you remove that block so you can move toward healthy, adaptive processing.
While it was developed for trauma, it is helpful in treating a variety of concerns including anxiety, depression, grief, phobias, etc. If you are interested in learning more about EMDR, please reach out to me.