Trauma Treatment

Maybe you have trouble regulating your emotions and your coping skills aren’t as effective as they used to be. Deep down, you might know that your mental health issues are the result of painful experiences you went through. In the past, perhaps you suffered from abuse, neglect, or other forms of unresolved trauma. Although you’ve pushed off getting support or haven’t found what works yet, perhaps you’re thinking that it’s finally time to see a therapist.

You Might Not Perceive Yourself As Someone Who Went Through Trauma

Maybe you’ve often wondered if there’s trauma in your life, but you constantly downplay what happened and tell yourself that your experience doesn’t count as traumatic. Messages like “It wasn’t that bad,” “I should get over this,” and “I’m just overreacting” may swirl through your head. Yet at the same time, you know something isn’t quite right. Painful experiences may have left you feeling vulnerable and unsafe. Perhaps you’re sensitive to criticism in the workplace because you were bullied when you were younger. Or maybe you’re constantly afraid that your partner will abandon you because that’s what happened in previous relationships. Whatever you experienced, you know that you’re not feeling good inside and you’re longing for meaningful change. No matter what happened to you or how “big” or “small” you think it was, you deserve to experience validation, compassion, and healing from the emotional scars of the past. At Four Corners Counseling & Well-Being, our therapists are here to help you normalize what you wentthrough, develop healthier outlets for stress, and process and resolve the effects of your trauma.

Unresolved Trauma Is Far More Common Than People Realize

Many people think of trauma as something that only happens if you’ve lived in a war zone or suffered extreme violence. In reality, however, trauma is far more all-encompassing than that. Many of us have experienced trauma without even knowing it. Divorce, abuse, chronic illness, alcoholism, and emotional neglect can all be traumatizing and have lasting effects on our lives. Oftentimes, the traumas we experience are directly tied to the environment we grew up in. The truth is that many of us didn’t receive the care and attention we needed as children. This is not to blame our parents, as many of them were doing the best they could with the resources they had. But some of our parents may have been too preoccupied with life—and perhaps their own childhood scars and traumas—to provide the safety that we deserved. As a result, we may have a tough time feeling safe and secure in our relationships today, or even feeling calm and comfortable on our own.

On Your Own, Overcoming Trauma Isn’t Always Possible

The impact of both developmental trauma (which usually involves ongoing issues like neglect, absent parents, or emotional invalidation) and specific traumatic experiences (such as sexual assault, car accidents, or serious medical crises) have lasting effects on our ability to regulate our mood, form healthy relationships, and adapt well to change. Untreated trauma can often lead to other problems like substance abuse, eating disorders, and avoidant behaviors. To properly cope with the emotional aftermath of trauma, sometimes we simply need extra support. There is no shame in not being able to function as well as we’d like, and there’s also no shame in getting help from a compassionate trauma specialist.

Therapy Can Help You Overcome Trauma And Open Yourself To A World of New Possibilities

When you’re wrestling with trauma, it’s easy to feel like you’re not living the life you were meant to live. You might feel alienated from those around you and disconnected from your own story, as if you don’t have a voice in your own decisions and relationships. A big piece of trauma therapy involves reconnecting with yourself and your story, allowing you to form a more empowering narrative where you’re in the driver’s seat of your own life. The idea is to help you move from a sense of helplessness to a belief in your own capacity for growth and transformation.

Therapy isn’t about denying what happened to you, but about feeling more capable of responding to life’s challenges and feeling better about the narrative you tell yourself about your life. We want to help you create a story that leads to more agency, giving you more choices over your responses and opening you to a future of greater possibilities. Whether you are already aware of your trauma history or merely wondering if your struggles are connected to trauma, you will be seen, heard, and understood here at Four Corners Counseling & Well-Being.

Our IFS-Informed Approach To Trauma Counseling

The main approach our practice uses is Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy, an evidence-based form of counseling that offers healing and transformation for trauma survivors. Our therapists have experienced the power of IFS in our own lives, so we’re offering a pathway to post-traumatic growth that we ourselves have walked. We believe in this model and its ability to positively impact the lives of our clients and those that they touch.

The beauty of IFS is that it does not pathologize, but seeks to understand the unique purpose behind your pain. In the wake of your traumatic experience, there may be “parts” of you that are holding onto negative memories, beliefs, and emotions. Some of these parts may be trying to protect you from the pain you experienced, but in doing so, they may be preventing you from living your best life. IFS can help you connect with and heal the parts of you that are holding onto pain so that they no longer control your decision-making and limit your choices.

Additionally, many of our therapists can utilize mindfulness skills to help you increase your self- awareness and respond to life from a more grounded place. We may also bring in Polyvagal exercises, which can help you understand how your body and nervous system have learned to adapt to trauma over time. Both of these approaches fit beautifully with IFS because of their focus on what’s happening in the body in the present moment as well as their focus on creating a strong self-connection.

We believe that it’s possible to stop suffering from past pain, feel comfortable in your own skin, and experience more flexibility in how you respond to life’s stressors. As our practice name implies, our goal is to help you grow in your mind, body, spirit, and relationships—the four corners of a thriving life.