TRAUMA THERAPY
Life With Trauma Can Be Fraught With Stress And Anxiety
Sometimes, you can experience something so profoundly painful that it throws your entire world off balance, changing life completely. That trauma can leave you feeling anxious, depressed, easily angered, and constantly on guard.
You may struggle with intense emotions that disrupt everything from work and relationships to your ability to focus or make decisions. You might notice that you’re more sensitive to certain stimuli—or you’ve become avoidant of people, places, and things that remind you of the original trauma.
At this point, you may find it hard to relax, sleep, or even feel safe, but you’re hoping trauma therapy can offer you some relief.
Trauma Can Harm Your Quality Of Life In So Many Ways
Every day can feel like a battle as you try to numb feelings, avoid painful associations, or forgive yourself for reacting in destructive ways. Headaches, upset stomachs, and muscle tension can seem to manifest out of nowhere.
Night terrors, flashbacks, or intrusive thoughts may leave you lying awake at night. As a result, you might spend your days in a fog, disconnected from yourself and reality, as if you’re sleepwalking through life on autopilot. And although you consciously try to be more resilient, you may end up judging yourself harshly and sinking into pointless self-recrimination.
If it feels like there’s a wall between yourself and recovery, trauma therapy can provide you with the insight and tools needed to break through. Sarita Redalia Psychotherapy can provide you with a trauma-informed lens to get perspective on your experience, regain your sense of safety, and finally heal.
Adversity Is A Natural Part Of Life, But Healing Is Possible
Trauma occurs when you experience something so painful that it overwhelms your capacity to process your emotional response. Trauma can stem from an isolated event, such as a house fire or physical assault, as well as from an ongoing series of events, as in the case of physical, mental, or emotional abuse.
When this kind of wounding happens within your family of origin, it can result in relational trauma, and in turn, negatively inform your ability to trust and connect with others. Being bullied in school, scapegoated at work, or subjected to humiliation can also leave an invisible wound in the psyche, that if left untreated, can have lasting repercussions.
Trauma can be Incredibly Difficult To Navigate Alone
Most people aren’t born intrinsically knowing how to manage trauma, so if you’re trying to heal on your own, it’s probably been a frustrating experience. The truth is that focusing on problematic symptoms like anger, depression, or anxiety is only a small part of the battle.
True healing comes from uncovering the core beliefs behind your symptoms and tackling trauma at its root. This is best done within the safety of a trusting relationship and with the support of a professional who can guide you through your healing process.
With my help, you can begin to process and integrate the feelings associated with the original trauma. This integration of your emotional experience is key to helping you become less reactive, as well as creating a new sense of safety as you move on with your life.
Therapy Provides A Safe Space To Heal Trauma
Because trauma can be such a widely misunderstood subject, many people have a hard time finding a space where they can feel safe bringing their pain and processing what they’re going through. Some individuals have suffered long, recurring histories of trauma, while others perhaps don’t even realize that trauma is at the root of their symptoms, which is why therapy can be so beneficial.
Under my guidance as a trauma-informed therapist, we can finally put some distance between your memories of the past and your life today. I’ll also help you get to the core of what is driving your symptoms while giving you tools and strategies to manage their impact.
By gaining some separation from your experience and regaining a felt sense of safety, you set the stage to heal and find lasting relief from your suffering.
“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”
– C.G. Jung
What To Expect In My Trauma Treatment Sessions
As a trauma specialist, my intention is to provide you with a trusting relationship where you can feel safe sharing your emotional experience. While your story unfolds, I’ll check in with you to make sure we’re moving at a pace that’s comfortable for you. At the same time, I’ll provide you with regulation skills to help you maintain your emotional equilibrium and build resiliency.
I’ll support you to cultivate self-compassion while acquiring new techniques for both protecting yourself and navigating adversity in the future. Ultimately, I want to help you get to a place where you can live fully again—where the past is still there for you to learn from, but is no longer controlling your life.
What Approach Do I Use in Trauma Treatment?
Current research supports the belief that what matters most for good therapeutic outcomes is the relationship between therapist and client, as regardless of the modality, it is the relationship that heals.
Trauma and PTSD are highly individualized conditions, in that no two people experience pain or wounding in the same way. That is why I’ll strive to tailor my approach to healing according to your specific needs and goals.
I believe it is important to approach trauma treatment and the therapy process with a sense of curiosity that allows you to explore, experiment, and gain new insight. My hope is that our work together will help heal your emotional wounding, restore your sense of safety, and empower you to live a fulfilled life.
I am eclectic in my approach to trauma therapy and utilize a combination of treatment strategies to address the psychological, emotional, and somatic impact of trauma and PTSD.
Narrative therapy for trauma can help you gain mastery over your past by reframing your experience in a way that no longer feels so immediate and threatening. It can give you insight into painful thoughts, feelings, and memories, that in turn, reduces emotional volatility and reactivity.
Somatic therapy looks at how the emotional charge of trauma can get frozen in the body, manifesting as muscle tension, fatigue, headaches, or insomnia. It can include yoga, deep abdominal breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, guided visualization and other grounding practices.
Exposure therapy provides a way of safely confronting your experience, developing compassion for yourself, and acquiring new self-protection techniques. It works to help you consciously change the way you perceive and react to trauma-related fears, beliefs, triggers, and memories.
Mindfulness-Informed therapy provides you ways of staying grounded and present so that triggers don’t transport you back into the past.
Psychodynamic therapy can give you a better understanding of your past and the origin of troubling beliefs that may wreak havoc in your present.
Schema therapy addresses the core beliefs you hold about yourself and the world. It can be useful for childhood trauma by helping you to develop positive relationships, improve your sense of self-worth, and build healthier ways of getting your needs met.
Perhaps You’re Considering Trauma Therapy But Still Have Concerns…
I feel like people will judge me for seeing a specialist about trauma.
It is normal from time to time to fear the judgments of others, but if you have endured trauma, you owe it to yourself to face the obstacles to your healing. When you dig below the surface, you may even discover that some of the judgment you fear is, in fact, your own worst criticisms of yourself. The good news is that you have the power to change the way you see yourself, as well as how you think others see you, all while taking vital steps toward healing.
I’m a little skeptical about the effectiveness of therapy, online trauma treatment in particular.
Current research indicates both online and in-person therapy are extremely effective treatment options for addressing trauma and PTSD. Although you may bear some skepticism or even reticence about talking to a stranger, there are times in life when you may have exhausted your resources to cope on your own.
In those moments, turning to a professional and establishing a trusting relationship can become a vital component of your healing process.
I’m worried that I might become reliant on my trauma therapist.
Please know it's not a bad thing to feel reliant on your trauma therapist. It's natural to feel this way, particularly in the early stages of therapy. As therapy progresses, you'll become more self-aware, confident, and independent. Your reliance on therapy will lessen as you deepen your relationship with yourself. Over time, you can gain valuable insight into your healing process and learn to rely on your inner voice to guide you.
Find Your Path Toward Healing And Put Some Distance Between You And The Past
If trauma or PTSD has thrown your life or your world off balance, let Sarita Redalia Psychotherapy help you restore equilibrium. Together, let’s find your path toward balance, harmony, and healing. Please leave me a confidential message on my office voicemail at: (415) 292-5888 or Contact Me to schedule a free, 20-minute phone consultation and begin your journey toward healing today.
BOOK A PHONE CONSULT
If you have questions or would like more information, feel free to contact me to set up a free phone consultation. Please provide your contact information and some times you’d be available for a 20-minute phone conversation. I look forward to hearing from you.
IMPORTANT INFO
You may call my office voicemail 24-hours a day and leave me a confidential message.
I am available to meet with you online or in-person at my Union Street office in San Francisco.
Appointments are generally 50-minutes in length and are scheduled on a weekly basis.
Longer or more frequent sessions are available for more intensive work.
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