Treatment for Trauma and Dissociation

Understanding Trauma

Trauma is a deeply personal experience that can leave lasting impacts on the mind, body, and spirit. It may arise from a single distressing event or a series of overwhelming experiences and can occur in childhood, adulthood, or both. Trauma can stem from incidents such as accidents, injuries, loss, abuse, neglect, natural disasters, violence, or witnessing harm. It may include things that happened (presence) or things that didn’t happen but should have (absence).

During our first meeting, I’ll ask about trauma, which may be sexual, physical, emotional, verbal, medical, racial, cultural, gender-based, or religious in nature. Trauma can manifest in many ways, often affecting emotional, mental, physical, relational, and spiritual well-being.

Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress

Post-traumatic symptoms can vary widely and may include:

Re-experiencing the trauma: Flashbacks, nightmares, or intrusive, unwanted memories.
Avoidance: Steering clear of thoughts, feelings, or reminders of the trauma.
Negative thoughts or feelings: Feeling isolated, struggling to feel joy, losing interest in activities, struggling with self-blame, or having a negative outlook about yourself or the world.
Hyperarousal: Difficulty sleeping, trouble concentrating, being easily startled, or feeling on edge.
Emotional distress: Anxiety, sadness, irritability, or emotional numbness.
Physical symptoms: Chronic pain, fatigue, or unexplained health issues.

Trauma and Dissociation

For some, trauma can lead to dissociation—a mental state where a person feels disconnected from their thoughts, emotions, body, surroundings, or sense of self. Dissociation is the mind's way of coping with overwhelming experiences and can present in various ways:

Feeling detached: A sense of being outside your body or disconnected from reality.
Memory gaps or time loss: Difficulty recalling parts of the traumatic event or periods of time.
Inner plurality: Experiencing inner voices or sensing different parts of yourself.
Emotional numbness: Feeling emotionally flat or detached from life’s experiences.

Dissociation can be confusing or distressing, and it is an adaptive response to trauma that can be understood and healed with support. Before beginning trauma treatment, I screen for dissociative symptoms or may conduct a more thorough assessment for dissociation. This helps guide the pace of treatment and provides an understanding of the healing journey ahead.

I often explain to clients that dissociative symptoms exist on a spectrum. For example, many people experience mild dissociation, such as driving on autopilot, becoming deeply absorbed in a task, or daydreaming. Some individuals experience other and more dissociative symptoms more intensely.

Preparing for Trauma Treatment

Whether dissociation is present or not, we take time to prepare and ensure you have the tools and resources you need before diving into trauma processing. This preparation includes developing skills to:

Ground or center yourself.
Tolerate distress.
Contain or set aside overwhelming situations.
Create and access a sense of inner calm.

Trauma Treatment Approaches

In my practice, I specialize in trauma treatment using evidence-based and innovative therapeutic approaches tailored to your unique needs:

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) Therapy: A highly effective method for helping the brain process and resolve traumatic memories. EMDR can reduce emotional intensity, strengthen adaptive beliefs, and clear associated body sensations, allowing you to move forward.
Ego State Therapy (EST): This approach explores and fosters communication between different parts of the self, addressing conflicts that may contribute to trauma symptoms.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR): A cutting-edge technique that targets the deep, somatic imprints of trauma stored in the brainstem, facilitating profound healing at a foundational level.

Other therapies for trauma exist, such as Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), which I do not practice. My bias leans toward approaches that prioritize safety and gradual processing to meet each client’s unique pace and needs.

Healing Is Possible

Healing from trauma takes strength and courage, and you don’t have to face it alone. Together, we can build your resources, process your experiences, strengthen your resilience, and create a path to a more fulfilling life. If you’re ready to begin your healing journey, I’m here to help. You’re welcome to reach out to learn more or to schedule an appointment.

My Professional Journey

In my previous professional life before private practice, I worked exclusively with individuals experiencing chronic pain. Many of these individuals had a history of trauma, such as car accidents or childhood abuse, which were sometimes unrelated to their pain but still part of their overall picture. Others had endured workplace injuries or car accidents that were both physically and emotionally traumatic. Recognizing the need for specialized care, I sought formal training in trauma treatment and, later, in addressing dissociation.