Counseling for Trauma in Mobile, AL

Do you feel emotionally, mentally, and physically weighed down by an upsetting or disturbing traumatic life event?

Do you easily get triggered by certain people, places, and things?

Do you feel numb toward others, the world, and even yourself?

Do you feel like you are constantly on high alert or on edge? 

Living with Unresolved Trauma

You wake up in the middle of the night, heart racing, pouring sweat. You feel like you just ran a marathon. You have had a nightmare that felt like real life. The nightmare was a vivid replay of a traumatic experience that occurred years ago. You know, logically, that it was just a dream and that the experience was in the past. You know, logically, that you are safe. But, something is keeping you from relaxing. Your brain and your body are buzzing. 

Throughout your day, you experience fleeting mental images and memories. You struggle to make sense of them. One minute, you’re fine. The next, you feel like you’re suffocating. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between your dreams and reality. You experience intense physical symptoms like nausea, sweating, and trembling. You’re easily provoked.

Sometimes it is easier to be alone. Your experience is so real to you, but you feel as if nobody understands. You feel like you’re “going crazy.” You struggle to stay focused at work or school. Your tendency to isolate yourself has driven a wedge in between you and the people you love. You find it difficult to enjoy anything anymore. 

You just want to stop living in fear. You want to feel safe and grounded in your environment and in your own skin. You want to feel closer to those around you.  

I provide a safe and accepting place for you to process through and make sense of your trauma so that it no longer weighs you down.

In counseling for trauma, I help you:

• Identify and utilize current, and new, supportive and positive resources and support systems to assist you in your recovery from trauma

• Learn and engage in healthy coping skills and emotional regulation strategies to help you handle distress when it arises

• Release physical tension and negative energy that is stored in your body as a result of the trauma 

• Identify, process, and work through your typical triggers so they become less distressing

• Process/work through traumatic memories 

My Approach

Everyone is affected differently by trauma, so I work with you to identify your needs and desired outcomes so that therapy is as effective and beneficial as possible. It is my goal to never overwhelm you during your sessions. I will never push you farther than you are ready to go. My approach to working with trauma is strengths-focused, holistic, and optimistic. I help you find and channel your innate resiliency and use the resources and strengths you already have to guide your unique healing process.

You will learn about the ways in which trauma impacts the mind and body, safely process memories and emotions tied to your traumatic experience and learn techniques and strategies to help you feel more centered and present inside and outside of counseling sessions. You will leave sessions feeling better equipped to handle whatever challenges may come your way. 

One of the primary methods I use for the treatment of trauma is EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing). Learn more about EMDR.