Abuse

Abuse messes with our brains and can even re-wire them. Trauma is your body doing its best to cope with abnormal, stressful, or long-lasting negative events, like abuse. Symptoms may include hyper-vigilance, nightmares, guilt, self-blame, becoming easily startled, isolation, decreased interests in activities, difficulty sleeping, flashbacks, forgetfulness, and panic. Although the trauma symptoms can be overwhelming, there is hope for healing.

Training in Abuse and Trauma extends back to graduate school where I took a number of courses and also completed a practicum at a Center for abused children. Over the years, many of my clients worked on histories of trauma and abuse to get to a more healed and happier life.

Addiction and Substance abuse can leave the person suffering depleted and despondent with their repeated use and failures at staying sober. I believe addiction is a disease, but that does not mean there is not hope and a chance for the addict to take the right steps needed in their life to conquer their demons.

I've worked in the field of abuse for over 26 years. I have seen first hand how complicated and intertwined abuse and failure in adulthood are. Thanks to neurobiology and psychology technique advancement you can unlock all of that history and put it to rest. Make it a memory instead of a problem you face every day and struggle to overcome. Learning to trust yourself and the world is possible. Don't let the past dictate your future. You can take control of it.

I hold a post graduate Specialization in Trauma, Abuse and Deprivation Assessment and Treatment under my Masters Degree in Professional Counseling. With this education and training, I have done successful Trauma, Abuse and Deprivation Recovery Work with men, women, adolescents, and couples in such topics as: Domestic Violence, Homelessness, Adult Consequences of Childhood Trauma such as feelings of shame and guilt, feeling disconnected and unable to relate to others, trouble controlling emotions

Abuse can come in many different forms. Many times, we don't even realize that we are in fact, being abused until further down the road. Healing from the effects of abuse does not mean you have to connect to that person in the future. It seemly means, you know longer feel the waves of thoughts, emotions, sensations, and pull in a backwards direction in life.

Too many people are dealing with the effects of abuse, either as a child , as an adult in romantic relationships, or both. I can help you heal from the trauma of abuse, and teach you coping strategies and how create healthy boundaries, so that you can stop the cycle of abuse moving forward.

Abuse can be extremely difficult to bring up to your therapist and that's okay. You have control on when and how you want to open about this issue. I believe in creating safe space and having a connection with my clients is the start of the process.

When the relationship with a caregiver represents trauma, lack of empathy and even cruelty, the implications last long past childhood. As an adult you may have dedicated yourself into work and/or your family in order to soothe that pain inside, yet something is still amiss. You struggle with self-worth and insecurity. In therapy, we can collaboratively work through that place of pain and loneliness towards a place of wholeness and connection. 

Childhood abuse, interpersonal violence, traumatic events, chronic stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue - all can have devastating impacts on our ability to function. I have focused my education and experience on trauma healing and enjoy a variety of approaches tailored to each individual. You don't have to talk about the bad things that happen to you anymore. There are a myriad of techniques to calm your nervous system, reprocess your experiences, and reconnect with the world around you.

I work with individuals wanting to recover from Narcissistic abuse. This might stem from families with narcissism, spouse/partner, sibling, work environment or friendships. It creates patterns and beliefs about ourselves that impacts how we've moved through life. We address how we might have self abandoned to protect ourselves. What once worked, no longer serves us. "I can't take this anymore and I'm scared of change." I can help you.

People with abusive and controlling behaviors can change when shown compassion and given a judgment-free space to examine their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. We address the deep-seated beliefs, thought patterns, and historical traumas that cause people to become abusive, and learn how to shift towards an anti-abuse mentality.

It's important for me to know what my client means by "abuse". Abuse can be traumatic & it's equally important to understand what about the abuse may be traumatic for my client. From there we can work on resolving the abuse (trauma). This work may involve: decreasing the uncomfortable to distressing symptoms you're experiencing; increasing the ability to stay in your comfort zone (regulated) when "triggered"; helping your body process the experience (experience lives in the body) to resolve it.

Abuses comes in many forms, toward the self, other, and the planet. I have extensive experience with narcissistic abuse, substance abuse, the misuse of psychedelics, eating disorders and verbal/emotional abuse.

Most of my experience and training focuses on healing from trauma. Many of my clients experience some form of abuse such as emotional, physical, sexual, financial, and more- whether that is from specific individuals or even through societal oppression.

PTSD can be caused by one or more traumatic events—either experienced personally or vicariously. The trauma then affects your day-to-day life after that. C-PTSD is another form of trauma, but it occurs over an extended period rather than from a singular event. I utilize Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy with clients who struggle with PTSD and C-PTSD because I have seen the changes personally.