My Approach
I strongly believe that a feeling of safety and trust are essential to the process of healing and growth. Most of my clients have experienced betrayal and no longer feel safe. Therefore, my priority is to provide a space that feels comfortable and safe, as well as to establish a sense of trust within our relationship.
We often develop beliefs from negative experiences that impact our sense of safety, trust, self-esteem, and control. These beliefs affect our relationship with others, ourselves, and the world.
What is a Trauma Specialist?
A Trauma Specialist has extensive training in helping clients process trauma. To safely process trauma, clients must be able to tolerate the distress of working through difficult experiences. Sometimes clients need to first learn coping skills through treatments such as Dialectical and Behavior Therapy (DBT) or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). In addition, I will not process trauma with those active in addiction and/or an eating disorder. Once these behaviors are stable, I require clients to continue to work with a specialist while we address the trauma(s).
As with any relationship, ultimately these beliefs enter the relationship between the client and therapist. However, in my experience, a core vehicle for change is to provide clients with a new and more satisfying experience, instead of reacting in a way that is expected or has been provided to them in the past. We call this a corrective emotional experience. Once a new response has been provided in therapy, it is hoped that clients will generalize these experiences and apply them to other areas of their lives (e.g., their family, friends, work).
Negative beliefs that impact our lives don’t always have to be a result of a serious trauma. Most of us have had negative experiences that shape how we expect others to respond to us.