Healing Trauma

“Do you know a therapist that deals with sexual abuse?”

It took an incredible amount of courage to ask, but that was Carlos’s* question for me when we met.

Anyone looking at Carlos would see a businessman, husband, father, active church member, and a dedicated volunteer in his community. So, the question he asked would be a surprise to many people.

It took many sessions with Carlos before he was ready to talk about the trauma he experienced as a child – the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of an older family member.

It wasn’t easy for Carlos to deal with the painful memories, but that’s when his healing began.

Trauma affects everyone differently, but the common denominator is loss.

If you have undergone a very upsetting event that left you feeling helpless and emotionally out-of-control, you may have been traumatized. Emotional injuries can leave you with persistent and painful emotions, memories, and nervousness. It can also leave you feeling numb, disconnected, and unable to trust other people in your life.

You may feel a loss of safety, where the world feels unpredictable in a negative way.

You may experience a loss of danger cues, meaning you’re no longer certain what actions may be dangerous.

You may feel a loss of trust, especially if the trauma was caused by someone who should have been trustworthy (e.g., a parent, family member, friend, or person in authority).

You may experience a loss of connection to your body, feeling as if it let you down. You may “distance” yourself from or ignore bodily sensations, such as going a long time before realizing you need to use the bathroom.

You may feel a loss of your sense of self, where you feel as if you don’t know who you are anymore. Trauma can leave our sense of self in pieces… rather than solid and known.

You may feel a loss of self-worth, especially if you were a victim of sexual abuse. You may feel bad, dirty, or unworthy of love.

Trauma can be debilitating, and it can feel like there is little you can do about it.

Thankfully Encouraged Counseling Services can teach you methods to help you deal with the traumatic event you experienced.

Working together to help you heal…

We will work through the healing process with you, coming to terms with it, and help you move forward.

One of the first steps to moving forward is acknowledging to yourself and others around you that you’ve gone through a traumatic event and come to terms with the fact that your emotions might be affected by it. Beyond that, you can consider ways of dealing with the physical symptoms of trauma, as well as therapy to help you process the trauma.

At Encouraged Counseling Services, we’ll provide you essential tools and healthy coping strategies to help you find relief. Slow breathing exercises and calming activities like aromatherapy are just a couple of tools you will begin to implement in your life to help bring stability and control you once had before the traumatic experience.

If you need help with trauma, we’re here to help.

Victims of trauma are everywhere. Carlos, for example, is the person living next door, in the office down the hall, or sitting in the pew at church behind you. You seldom see that victims like Carlos are feeling bruised and beaten down on the inside.

Encouraged Counseling Services is here to help you find the healing and hope you need.

Please, reach out today. Call us for a free 15-minute consultation: (312) 600-7364.

*Name changed to preserve client confidentiality.