PTSD and Trauma Therapy
Your relationship patterns keep repeating themselves. You don’t feel known or understood. As a friend, you’re considerate, available, and compassionate. However, you don’t feel considered, important, or understood in return. You feel broken, worthless, and lonely—but no one sees that side of you.
Maybe, you didn’t realize that trusted romantic partners could abuse their position. Perhaps, it wasn’t a romantic partner, but a parent or a family member who let you down. Those who are meant to help, protect, encourage, and empower have actually caused harm. Maybe, you didn’t realize you had experienced trauma.
What is Trauma?
Trauma is a loaded word. Everyone has an idea of what it is, and what it isn’t. In a nutshell, trauma is anything that has felt impactful to us. Traumatic events, relationships, and experiences can have varying levels of impact. That impact can change how we view ourselves, others, relationships, the world. Trauma can impact how we feel, think, engage, and get through our daily lives.
Some traumas seem “obvious.” These often include experiences of physical abuse, assault, war trauma, sexual trauma, or natural disasters. There are also traumatic experiences that are more insidious. Emotional/physical neglect, sexism, betrayal trauma, microaggressions, fat-phobia, church hurt, homophobia, loss of a relationship, death of a loved one, being unknown, masking, needing to be small to maintain relationships. There are countless adverse experiences that are felt as traumatic. Ultimately, no one else can tell you or define what is or isn’t traumatic for you.
How can trauma affect me?
When we have experienced trauma, we may feel out of touch with ourselves or our bodies. Alternatively, we may feel painfully connected to our bodies and emotions. Trauma can impact our mood, energy levels, and relationships. Trauma can make us feel unsafe in the world, or unsafe in our bodies. Trauma can lead to different forms of self-harm: disordered eating, over-exercising, seeking out unsafe situations or people, binge drinking/over-utilizing drugs or alcohol, self-isolating, cutting, and many more.
Trauma deeply impacts our relationships, and often, trauma is imbedded in our relationships. This can be referred to as attachment trauma, or attachment wounds. Often, this can lead to experiencing more trauma. As humans, we need relationships. When we have attachment trauma, it can mean our relationships become complicated.
For some, this may feel like needing to be over-accommodating to keep things “good,” or “keep the peace.” This can come at a cost. Often, in these situations, we are unknown. When we focus on keeping relationships to the detriment of our needs, we become smaller and smaller. This can look like not knowing our needs, not setting boundaries, or believing others know better than us. This can lead to being taken advantage of.
Once we are in a cycle or pattern of being small in our relationships, it can feel impossible to get out. I have good news. It’s not impossible, and you can do it! Together, we can deeply know you. We can understand what led to the patterns you have today. Together, we can meet all of your parts and start to tend to their needs. You can start to heal different versions of yourself. This leads to a level of insight that allows for life-changing growth.
My Approach to Trauma Treatment
Once you can acknowledge your parts and your pain, you can offer healing, love, and self-compassion. This will extend into your current relationship with yourself and others. Understanding your worth, your emotions, and your needs will allow you to set internal and external boundaries. You can define who you are and experience true satisfaction in relationships.
Psychodynamic trauma work focuses deeply on your emotions. Often, when we have experienced trauma, we have learned that emotions are unsafe. Some relationships may have been unsafe, which led to showing emotions in those relationships being unsafe. We can help you can build a trusting relationship with yourself and your emotions. This relationship will allow you to create the life you want.
Engage in Online Trauma Therapy in Colorado Springs, CO And PSYPACT States
You’re ready to take back your life and your story. Know yourself. Know peace.
Religious Trauma
You grew up having a set of beliefs given to you. You’re trying to figure out how they still fit. Your faith was important, but what does it mean to you now? Perhaps, the version of God you were taught doesn’t sit quite right anymore, or maybe you held to a belief system that rejects you. Maybe you’ve given up on God altogether, but the effects of religion are lasting.
You were raised in a culture that valued “purity” above your personhood. Perhaps, you are finding that beliefs you were taught about intimate partner relationships are currently hindering you. Would you like to recover from purity culture? Maybe your relationship with yourself, your body, and your sexuality is disconnected, or even harmful. Shame is getting in the way of living your life with freedom.
Whether spirituality is a part of your past or present, or if you’re curious how/if it fits in your future, you’ve come to the right place to figure it out. Heal from religious trauma, explore your relationship with religion, or just work with someone who, “Gets it.”
Religious trauma is more common than it may seem. Sometimes, abuse is overt. Other times, it is more insidious. Maybe, your abuse was unreported, downplayed, or blamed on you.
Maybe, you were taught to trust leaders and figureheads above yourself. Maybe, no one even knew the abuse was occurring. Religious institutions or communities can make traumatic or hurtful experiences worse.
Church members and religious teachings can perpetuate shame or ostracism. Fear of retribution or losing community intertwines with faith in complex ways, and the hurt can run deep. Work with someone who can navigate these experiences and all their complexities with you. I will provide a confidential, judgment free space to process religious or spiritual trauma.
