Our online therapy team and therapists at our Parker, CO counseling office can help you process past events and situations that are keeping you stuck. Together, we can reduce your reactivity and put you back in control of your emotions. We strive to be very good at identifying trauma reactions so that we can help you to also identify, understand, and manage them. As we progress we want to help you reduce those feelings so that they not only feel manageable, but they are actually experienced in a totally different way or no longer there.
Trauma can include many different types of events or situations where you look back and say… “YES, that impacted me!”. Trauma might be an accident, an event, or an experience. It can include abuse, neglect, injury, or many other things. Sometimes trauma can be a community event, like a shooting or a natural disaster. And sometimes, trauma is connected to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). But, this is not always the case. In fact, trauma does not need to be huge or horrific for it to impact you. Sometimes, traumatic experiences have not been processed, and this results in a stress response. Often, this stress response create long lasting effects far after the initial response has passed. Trauma therapy can help process the trauma, in turn, changing this stress response so that you can live more fully and presently.
Reactions to trauma can look different for everyone, but often includes some of these:
Sometimes, we have memories that are so painfully sharp that when we are unexpectedly reminded of them, we lose our breath. We are thrown back in time so vividly that it seems like we are re-living the event. Not just noticing it as a memory.
Memories don’t have to have this impact on you forever. You can visit memories and leave them there, without re-living the pain over and over again. The trauma therapists at RAFT strive to partner with you to target trauma so that you can live your life fully and confidently. Sometimes, we hang on to painful things because we feel like we deserve to. Moreover, we feel guilty if we think about letting go. At RAFT Counseling, we believe you deserve to give up the heavy load of guilt and trauma. Processing hardship in trauma therapy doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen. Working with a trauma therapist can help you take the next steps in moving forward and taking control of your healing.
You can expect our clinicians to walk with you to process feelings and memories, increase your self-esteem, and offer strategies that help you move forward. Your symptoms will decrease while you gain tools to deal with painful memories and feel more confident in doing so.
We approach trauma therapy and PTSD treatment in different ways so that we can best support you. These might include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. EMDR therapy works by helping you process an event so that your brain correctly remembers it as a memory. This therapy stimulates healing and can help you gain traction toward your goals.
We like this video as a helpful way of explaining what EMDR can do for you: Watch Video
Virtual EMDR therapy can be just as effective as in-office PTSD treatment and EMDR therapy. EMDR works because it stimulates your brain using bi-lateral stimulation. Your therapist will help you create this bi-lateral stimulation in different ways, such as eye movements or tapping. This can be done with virtual EMDR therapy, in which you will use video call to connect with your counselor.
The important piece of EMDR therapy is including a therapist who has the experience and expertise to guide your processing to ensure it is done safely and effectively. Your therapist can talk with you about whether EMDR therapy online is a good fit for you. Sometimes, a trauma reaction might be so severe that it doesn’t make sense to meet online. Please schedule a first appointment with one of our therapists to determine what makes the most sense for you. Furthermore, our therapists aim to partner with you to take the next steps to reclaiming your peace and contentment. We want to offer a space for strategy building, processing, connection, and healing.
We are confident that the trauma therapists at our Parker-based counseling center can help you make this change using in-person or online therapy. Reach out today to get started.
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