At Intentional Healing Counseling & Coaching, we offer a safe non-judgmental environment where all people are welcome. We strive to create an atmosphere where you feel seen, heard, and respected as a human being.
As a trauma-informed and trauma-recovery focused practice, we wish to help clients understand how painful past learnings, whether big “T “or little “t” traumas, can remain trapped in our bodies and minds in a raw unprocessed form, and how that can impact us in ways we may or may not be consciously aware of.
Unlike simple stress, trauma changes your view of your life and yourself. It
shatters your most basic assumptions about yourself and your world — “Life
is good,” “I’m safe,” “People are kind,” “I can trust others,” “The future is
likely to be good” — and replaces them with feelings like “The world is
dangerous,” “I can’t win,” “I can’t trust other people,” or “There’s no hope.”
― Mark Goulston MD
Our team will be with you as you explore the thoughts and emotions that may be blocking your path forward. We will support you as you figure out the road to your truest self-the self where you are most comfortable in your skin and feel most aligned with your core values.
When past trauma pops into the present moment, we likely don’t even realize its old material invading our present experience. It can be triggered by anything, including an emotion, a thought, an image, a smell, or a sensation in our body. This trigger can cause us to feel pulled way out of our comfort zone, and we often are not aware or prepared to handle it. This can result in feelings of panic, feeling shutdown or numbed out, or the sudden desire to run away from whatever caused the trauma response. Trauma shifts how we think and perceive ourselves, situations, and impacts our lens as we relate to others in our world. A moment in time that was encoded as trauma can cause our thoughts of self to get stuck in negative cognitions that simply aren’t accurate.
Common Experiences & Responses to Trauma
- Emotional Dysregulation
- Numbing
- Hyperarousal
- Sleep Disturbances
- Low Self Esteem
- Grief
- Fatigue
- Poor Concentration
- Cognitive Errors
- Excessive or Inappropriate Guilt
- Idealization
- Intrusive Thoughts and/or Memories
- Trauma-Induced Hallucinations or Delusions
- Flashbacks
- Nightmares
- Dissociation
- Depersonalization
- Derealization
- Self-Harm & Self-Destructive Behaviors
- Anger
- Sadness
Common Mental Health & Medical Diagnoses Associated with Trauma
- Acute Stress Disorder
- PTSD
- C-PTSD
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Panic Attacks
- Substance Abuse/Addiction
- Widespread Inflammation in Body
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Autoimmune Disease
- Hypertension
- Stroke
- Weight Gain
How Trauma May Cause Difficulty in Daily Life
- Maintaining Positive Self Care
- Maintaining Employment
- Trusting Self
- Feelings of Self Blame
- Trusting Others
- Maintaining Friendships and/or Relationships
- Memory
- Sex Life
- Ability to Cope with Change
- Enjoying Leisure Time
“We work with three levels of information processing – which goes along with the three levels of the brain. We work with the cognitions and belief systems that are formed after trauma, which involves the cortex. We also have to work with the emotions, like rage and terror – that has to do with the limbic system. Then, we also have to work with the body because that’s where trauma impacts.”
– Pat Ogden, PhD
Trauma Informed Therapy
Trauma therapy draws from multiple treatment modalities, but one that is used most often is Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR), which is a highly successful treatment for trauma that uses knowledge from neuroscience to help the brain reprocess traumatic memories. EMDR standard therapy is available, as is Early Trauma EMDR for adults with preverbal attachment trauma. Early Trauma EMDR is also available for babies and toddlers who experienced trauma in gestational period and/or birth. Multiple trauma informed treatment modalities can and likely will be utilized in our work together. Intensive and traditional sessions are available. For further information on EMDR therapy options, click here.
Trauma Informed Life Coaching
The benefit of working with a Trauma and Resiliency trained coach in a coaching relationship is the knowledge a coach possesses about how trauma manifests in people. Trauma coaches provide practical skills to educate and help you understand you are not broken or crazy, just having predictable responses. Your coach is able to recognize trauma in the many masked forms that it presents in our lives, and know competently how to make sense of those masked forms. Trauma and Resiliency trained coaches know practical, science-based ways to promote transformation. “They work with trauma survivors as peers, mentors, guides and educators with the goal of helping their clients understand the resilience process, reconnect with themselves and the world while using their strengths to build a life they love living.” – Arizona Trauma Institute
