Trauma Therapy
Providing you with support to move beyond your past.
Are you having nightmares or sleep difficulties?
Have you experienced abuse or trauma in your past that affects your relationships now?
Are you looking for a safe place to work through your past without fear or judgment?
You are not alone and we are here to help. Trauma and abuse are disorienting experiences that can make it difficult to know where to turn or who you can trust. Working with a therapist can help you to gain perspective on your past, cope with current symptoms, and see yourself in a more positive way.
Common Types of Abuse:
- Physical abuse: Striking, hitting, pinching or physically restraining someone against their will. It can also include invading someone’s space, driving recklessly or disrupting sleep.
- Sexual abuse: Any non-consensual sexual contact, can include physical and non-physical actions. It can include rape or forced sexual contact, as well as, using sex to maintain power or control.
- Emotional/verbal abuse: Use of verbal attacks, always being “right”, playing mind games, minimizing another’s emotions, name calling and gas lighting (making another person uncertain of their reality).
- Financial abuse: Refuses to allow someone to work, controls all money, spends all money or ruins credit.
In many environments, abusive actions are normalized and it leaves the victims of abuse doubting themselves and their instinct that something isn’t right. Those who have experienced abuse, whether in childhood or in a personal or work relationship, often struggle with many questions:
- Was it really “abuse”?
- How come I am the only one who seems to have a problem
- Can I have a relationship with the people who abused me?
- Can I ever get over what happened?
- Can I have a healthy relationship with a partner? With my children?
- Why did this happen to me?
- Is there something wrong with me?
- Was it my fault?
We want to support you on your journey toward answers to these questions. A counseling relationship is unique in the sense that it is entirely for you and your benefit. This can be very healing for those who have felt pressure to conform to the needs of others or who have had a hard time establishing trust in the past.
Signs and symptoms of trauma may include:
- Intrusive memories: Reliving the event as if it were happening again, unwanted memories about the traumatic event or disturbing dreams or nightmares.
- Avoidance: Trying not to think about or avoiding places or activities that remind you of the traumatic event.
- Changes in mood and thought: Memory problems (specifically forgetting aspects of the traumatic event), hopelessness about the future, lack of interest in activities, difficulty keeping close friendships, feeling detached from family or friends, feeling emotionally numb or having a hard time feeling positive emotions.
- Changes in physical and emotional reactions: Being easily startled, constantly on guard for danger, sleep difficulties, difficulty with concentration, self-destructive behaviors (e.g. drinking, drugs, driving too fast), irritability, angry outbursts or overwhelming guilt or shame.
If you recognize the need for support in navigating trauma or abuse, you are not alone! The Therapists at Encompass Hope are here to support you. Reach out for a free 15 minute phone or video consultation today.
Questions We Commonly Get Asked
What is a traumatic event?
A traumatic event is when a person experiences, witnesses, or has been confronted with an event or events that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to oneself or others. The response to these things also involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror.
Are traumatic experiences common?
Research has shown that over 50% of the population has experienced a traumatic event such as car accidents, physical or sexual assaults, work-place accidents, natural disasters, and much more.
What is PTSD?
TSD stands for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is a mental health diagnosis that describes the thoughts, moods and reactions that result from experiencing traumatic events. When you are faced with a life-threatening situation, your self-protection system kicks in automatically. PTSD develops when you continue to experience sensations associated with trauma long after the danger subsides.
What are effective treatments for PTSD?
Several therapy treatment models have been used to treat PTSD, including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT), Brainspotting, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). EMDR and ART therapies, particularly, have researched effectiveness in the treatment of trauma.
Get In Touch
Call
(651) 412-5088
Address
3460 Washington Drive, Suite 214
Eagan, MN 55122
Hours
Mon – Fri: 7:00am-7:00pm
Saturday: 8:00am-1:00pm
Sunday: Closed