Trauma Resolution, Integration and Recovery
We work with clients struggling with PTSD, developmental trauma, and complex trauma.
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We have natural attachment needs for resonance and moment to moment responsiveness, syncing up with each other, responsiveness with basic needs (food, water, sleep, rhythmic routines, emotion regulation/attunement, and being seen and heard. Repair after ruptures and reunion after exploration, guiding into the day and night. These natural rhythmic attachment cycles provide the basis for development of neurocircuitry for self regulation capacities, ability to sync up with others in relationships, trust and notice/set/respond to boundaries in relationships. When parents have challenges with their own self regulation, emotion regulation, dissociation, or overwhelm (syncing up in relationships, attunement etc), from their own challenges, upbringing, and trauma, this can impact these attachment/developmental cycles and needs in their relationship with their children, and lead to challenges in theses areas throughout the lifespan: emotion regulation, self-image/self-worth, pervasive negative or rigid beliefs about self, the world, relationships, or others, challenges noticing/setting/responding to boundaries, etc.
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Natural attachment needs in daily rhythmic routines with attunement, syncing up with caregiver and infant/child, co-regulation of emotions & states, boundaries, and responsiveness to these needs and daily routines around basic needs with food, water, sleep, play, etc are critical and instrumental in our neurobiological development as humans. These can get messed up through parents' deficits in ability to regulate, read cues, attune, set/respect boundaries, engage consistency, as well as neglect emotionally and physically, aggressiveness, abuse, chaotic structure, inconsistency, etc., the developing infant and child can experience chronic stress in navigating these family/relational structures while vulnerable and dependent on these relationships for their own development. Trauma symptoms may develop and pervasive challenges with self-regulation, developing and maintaining relationship, feeling a sense of security in relationships, trust, syncing up with others, regulating and organizing to tackle challenges and executive functioning due to chronic stress.
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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can develop when the body/nervous system goes through experience(s) that overwhelm the body's/nervous system's capacities to digest experience, and as a result the body/N.S. enters into a state of fight/flight/freeze/fawn to survive the experience(s), the memory system is compromised, nervous system encodes the experience in a fragmented way. When a traumatic memory is triggered, the brain & body are unable to differentiate between the past experience(s) and the present and the same sensations and feelings from these traumatic experiences are reexperienced as if they are happening now. This can be in the form of flashbacks, or pervasive feelings of self loathing, self doubt, distrust or vigilance with self and/or others in relationships, dissociation, derealization, extreme anxiety/fear states, rumination, intrusive thoughts/feelings, and experiences with addiction processes may develop as well.
Humans are mammals and are wired to move through challenges leaning into supportive relationships, and our supportive relationships, or experiences of supportive secure relationships, can be strengths in resiliently moving through Traumatic experiences. When there is a lack of supportive relationships needed, or there has been ongoing experiences of insecurity in our relationships, this can impact the nervous system's resilience through traumatic events, and can add complexity to the way the body encodes traumatic experiences as well.
Traumatic situations can be unresolved overwhelming experiences that still impact our daily lives in ways that are instinctual and unconscious. A few common examples that could be related to trauma:
High school bullying may have led to instinctual and intense fear of public speaking.
Chronic emotional misattunement in childhood may have lead to challenges in relationships, syncing up with others, and feeling a sense of trust and “okayness” within the self.
An unwanted experience or repeat experience causing difficulty sleeping.
Difficulty driving after witnessing or being in a motor vehicle accident.
Our therapists are trained with cutting edge modalities to help clients integrate and move through trauma be it developmental, adult onset, or chronic in nature.
Trauma Resolution/Integration and Recovery Therapies:
Trauma Resolution/Integration and Recovery Therapies: Cutting edge research over the last few decades has found that trauma recovery is possible and accessible, and neuroscience is showing strong and comprehensive methods for engaging trauma recovery and resolution through many different modalities and approaches. Our body has the natural capacity for surviving trauma, and our bodies have the natural capacity for resolving, integrating, resourcing, and moving resiliently through trauma recovery. We have a brilliant reserve of natural internal and external resources in the neurobiology of our own bodies, movement, and relationships with ourselves, others, community and the natural world.
Attachment, Somatic, PolyVagal Informed Approaches: Our bodies have the natural capacity and neurocuitry for healing, developing, building, integrating and restoring our natural capacities for secure attachment relationships with a sense of safety, trust, resonance, syncing up with each other, attunement, mutual respect and boundaries, and moving through challenges resilienty together. Attachment-informed approaches including Emotionally Focused Therapy, Polyvagal skills practice, Mindfulness-Based approaches, parts work and more help us actively cultivate our bodies natural capacities for healing in these areas and respond skillfully with awareness to our own needs and our relationships. In overwhelming states, our prefrontal cortex (executive functioning, critical/rational thinking, decision making part of our brain) is not adequately connected to our middle brain which is in a stress/threat response, which may be why calming down doesn't happen when we try to rationalize and tell ourselves there is nothing to be anxious, or that our fears/depression is irrational. Current trauma research has shown that during these states (that the prefrontal cortex goes offline), we can engage bottom-up regulation practices, and send cues to our brain from our body/movement/orienting of safety, to calm/soothe and regulate the brain and body. Further, we can activate the Social Engagement System of the Vegas nerve to activate a sense of security in the body through movement, music, rhythm, social connection, co-regulation, storytelling, and much more. Engaging in practices that activate the Social Engagement System of the Vegas Nerve including self-compassion work, and skillful work with fragmented parts, mindfulness, and somatic(body-based) approaches can help access unresolved/unprocessed trauma patterns and integrate and resolve them, and move into an intact sense of self, resolve, wellness, and meaningful sense of connection with self and others. Our team uses different combinations of Trauma-Informed and Trauma Resolution/Integration Approaches including Somatic Work, Parts Work, Attachment-Based Approaches, Gestalt, Bottom-up/Top-down Regulation Skills Psychoeducation and Practices, Mindfulness-Based Approaches, Narrative Therapies, Systems and Culturally Informed Approaches, to assist clients in moving through pervasive, chronic, and severe suffering to resolution, recovery, wellness, and post traumatic growth, with a sense of security in connection with self, others, and nature.
