trauma therapy
Maybe you’ve been through some terrible things in your life that have been hard to escape and you are tired of the toll this takes on your health and your relationships. Maybe you aren’t even sure you’d call your experiences “traumas” but you know that you are having difficulty feeling safe in your body and in your surroundings.
While the things you have been through may have had a major impact on your life, they do not have to define the rest of your story. I know that living with the pain of the past can be incredibly difficult. I’m Erin, a trauma therapist in Houston, and I’m here to help.
Healing is possible. There is life beyond trauma.
Trauma and PTSD therapy can help you understand and work through your traumas so that you can move beyond the past and find more freedom and peace in the here and now. I work with clients to create the trust and safety necessary for healing to take place.
If you are ready to explore how trauma therapy may help you, get in touch with me for a free consultation call and we can talk about it.
How Does Trauma Show UP for You?
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Are you triggered by painful memories of the past?
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Do you have upsetting nightmares or flashbacks?
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Do you find it difficult to fall asleep or to calm your body and mind?
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Is it difficult to trust others or yourself?
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Do you feel shame or blame yourself for what happened to you?
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Have you felt so angry, scared, confused, or overwhelmed that you go numb and shut down?
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Do you avoid things that are reminders of what you've been through?
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Have you noticed feeling disconnected in your body?
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Does it feel like you are always on edge and you wish you could just relax?
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Are you worried you'll never be able to escape your trauma and move forward?
Trauma therapy can help you step more fully into the life you desire.
Getting Started in Trauma and PTSD Treatment in Houston
I know that just the thought of starting therapy for trauma and PTSD can be really challenging. There can be many obstacles to taking that first step to reach out for help.
Sometimes it’s hard to acknowledge that the things you’ve been through were actually traumatic. This might be because you blame yourself for what happened or maybe you don’t think your experiences were all that bad compared to what others have been through.
Maybe you still care for or depend on the person or people who inflicted the harm. You might think you should be able to handle it on your own, get over it, let it go, or let it live in the past. Maybe you have been hoping that time will heal all wounds if you wait long enough or maybe it feels like it happened so long ago that it shouldn't still be bothering you. You could also be waiting to get help to avoid seeming needy, weak, dramatic, or broken.
Acknowledging your trauma and seeking help is also made enormously more difficult if others dismiss the severity of what has happened to you or have tried to convince you it didn’t even happen. Perhaps the idea of facing your trauma feels impossible to handle and it’s easier to just ignore it or “not go there.”
These are all very common reasons putting the brakes on going to therapy for trauma and PTSD, and yet, you still came to this page looking for something. Perhaps despite all of the obstacles, there is still a part of you that is curious about how therapy can help and is hoping that there is a way that life could be different.
Maybe you've known for a while that you could use some support healing from your traumas. Maybe you are tired of trying to outrun the past. Maybe something traumatic just happened recently and it’s freaking you out. Maybe your traumas seem to pop up out of nowhere and you are sick of it. Maybe you don’t know if it’s “trauma” but you are exhausted by feeling triggered. Maybe now you are ready to get the help you need to deal with all of this.
Understanding Trauma
types of traumatic events
Trauma can occur with a single specific event like a car accident or a hurricane. Trauma can also happen as a result of a series of recurring events such as the regular threat of danger in a warzone or in an abusive relationship. You can also experience developmental or childhood trauma if you are repeatedly exposed to violence, neglect, or abuse when you are growing up.
Many different types of experiences can become traumatic such as:
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Experiencing or witnessing serious accidents or tragic events
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Natural disasters (including pandemics ) and their aftermath
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Chronic marginalization, oppression, discrimination, or unequal treatment
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Bullying, harassment, humiliation, and shaming
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Violence and physical or sexual assaults
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Exposure to war and/or combat
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Chronic abuse (verbal, emotional, physical, sexual, financial) or manipulation/coercion
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Chronic neglect or abandonment
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Being the victim of a crime
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Scary medical procedures
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Loss of a loved one through death or separation
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Disabling or serious life-threatening illness
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Not having access to resources needed to survive and thrive
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And many other possible experiences
The type of events that turn out to be traumatic can vary from person to person. Something traumatic to you may not be to another person. Likewise, something traumatic for someone else might not have the same impact on you. That means you get to determine if something was traumatic for you. How your trauma measures up to other people’s traumas doesn’t really matter. Even if it seems like it should be too small to matter, if it was significant to you it counts! Ultimately, trauma is anything that overwhelms your ability to cope with something that is happening or has happened to you.
what makes it traumatic?
When our bodies notice something that it deems dangerous or threatening to our safety or survival, the body responds by preparing itself to handle the situation. When this response kicks in, there are changes that happen in our brain and throughout all of our body’s systems including the nervous system. These are adaptive responses that our bodies are designed to go through to help us deal with situations that can cause harm. Sometimes, though, the circumstances of the traumatic event or what happens after the event can overwhelm the system’s ability to cope or prevent the body from completing its protective response. When this happens the body’s protective response gets stuck in the “on” mode and the effects of the trauma can live on for days, months, or even years if there is never a resolution. Trauma therapy can help to give you the support and the tools necessary to allow this protective response to get unjammed and turn off.
how THerapy for Trauma and PTSD can help
There are many ways that trauma therapy can help you, and you get to define which goals will be most meaningful for you. Some changes you might notice when you participate in trauma therapy are:
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Improved relationships with others and with yourself
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Less emotional and physical reactivity to past trauma triggers
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Feeling more connected to your body and your surroundings
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Being more present in the moment with less agitation, numbing, or distracting yourself
What changes are possible with trauma therapy?
Ways therapy can help
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Giving you a judgement-free space where you have the option to tell your story and explore the impact your trauma has had on your life.
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Empowering you to tap into your existing strengths and resources and use them to support healing and growth.
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Developing gentle (re)connection to your body through mindful awareness, breathing, and/ or movement
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I’m Erin, a trauma and PTSD therapist in Houston
how I approach trauma therapy
Something about I know how hard it can be to ....that's why therapeutic relationship is so important, building trust and safety, taking the time to get to know your story and get a good picture of all the factors that are contributing to keeping your trauma alive in the present.
Maybe something about anti-opression?
I'm an experienced trauma therapist with training in many trauma-focused therapy approaches. We will work together to find the right combination of approaches suited to meet your needs and goals.
types of trauma therapies we might use
Through using trauma-specific therapies, you can begin to move beyond feeling tethered by painful experiences from your past. You can begin to feel more safety and ease in your body, mind, emotions, relationships, and your world.
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EMDR-Processing of stuck memories and strengthening of internal resources through use of eye movements or other left-right (bilateral) stimulation (like tapping or sound)
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CPT-Exploring how your traumas ifluenced your beliefs about yourself, others, and the world and giving you tools to challenge the beliefs that seem to keep you stuck
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Body-oriented strategies (yoga, breathing, somatic focus)
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Self-compassion and self-soothing-learning to treat yourself with kindness, knowing that you are not alone in your struggle, and building skills to help you feel more supported, stable, and balanced
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Mindfulness-practicing how to notice your experience with curiosity and without becoming overwhelmed by it, judging it, or trying to force it to change.
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Parts work- becoming familiar with all of the parts of you that developed to protect you and keep you safe. By working with these parts rather than against them you can find more balance and internal harmony
