Trauma
Therapy understands trauma by focusing on our internal reaction to overwhelming life events which caused us pain or anxiety. We bring curiosity and compassion to the inner world we retreat to when our outer world becomes unbearable.
I hold a broad definition of trauma which includes what was done to us, for example in emotional, physical or sexual abuse. In acts of discrimination. I also understand trauma in lack, for example in the drip feed of constant misattunement by our early caregivers, often called cumulative trauma. You may have suffered trauma due to specific life events, for example being involved in a traffic accident.
Our memories of these events can feel unformed or dream like. They may have hazy edges. Sometimes they are shrouded in doubt with questions such as did I make all that up?
The experience of trauma often impacts your interpersonal relationships. You may feel numb, maybe you experience yourself as living alongside your body, watching yourself as you live your life. You may experience flashbacks or be haunted by nightmares. You may have a sense of feeling constantly on guard.
How I Work with You
In work with trauma first and foremost I am mindful of safety and permission seeking. There is no hurry and above all else it is important to go at a pace that feels OK to you.
Equally, I am constantly amazed by the tenacity of the human spirit. I feel privileged to meet the parts of ourselves we have, through all sorts of clever mechanisms, preserved and kept safe for the time when it feels safe to emerge and live again. Our job is to persuade them that this is that time.
I create a space in which your story can be told and witnessed. In abuse it is commonly understood that there was always someone who turned a blind eye, someone who could have helped but who didn’t. Often we learn to do the same to ourselves, minimising what has happened to us, we get pulled to stress others have suffered more, or we want to be kind in our understanding of those who abused us with statements like they were doing their best. In the telling I hope to help you find a tenderness towards yourself, what you suffered and the lengths you needed to go too to protect yourself.
I often use various arts based methods to both contain and understand painful experiences.
I will also encourage you to befriend your body, see it as an ally, which prompts us to grow and helps us transform the intense emotions of trauma and find our inner resources and strength.
