trauma processing
trauma-informed approach
I approach trauma processing with safety and care. I begin with an Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy approach. This is a person-centered therapeutic experience of non-judgement and unconditional regard and care for every individual experience. Building a trusting client-therapist alliance is a foundational necessity to accessible and effective trauma processing, and I take that seriously. Some clients feel ready to dive into the processing quickly, often having reached a state of intolerance for holding it in any longer. Other clients may desire to achieve the healing available, but all the alarm bells are telling them to hold back, to not go there. And still other clients may be experiencing symptoms - nightmares, dissociation, anxiety, emotional swings, flashbacks - without understanding why.
Traumatic experiences don’t often have a logical “why”, they are experiences with emotional impact that remain unprocessed. They can be days or decades old. They could have been long buried and forgotten only to show up unexpectedly one day. They can be “big”, they can be “small”. You don’t have to live like this, you deserve ethical, effective and secure healing.
complex-ptsd/family of origin trauma
Complex-PTSD describes relational trauma experienced in childhood. Often taking place within the family of origin, it can include overt traumatic experiences like abuse, loss or threats to safety. It can also describe covert trauma, such as emotional neglect, caregivers with substance abuse or untreated mental health diagnoses, and so on. Adult survivors of Complex-PTSD may continue to experience relational distress - distrust of loving partners and friends, difficulty with intimacy or vulnerability in relationships, continued distressing relationships with family members. Conversely, they may feel they finally left those experiences behind and have gained strong or independent traits from surviving their childhood experiences. Not everyone who would meet the assessment of Complex-PTSD may feel like they need to process or address their experiences, but many do. Childhood trauma can continue to influence ones life with symptoms, or after many years of not feeling affected by the past, suddenly symptoms of distress can begin and the past can feel closer than it once did. Not unusually, this is very common during parenthood, particularly as the survivor’s child reaches an age of significance from their own childhood. My therapeutic approach to C-PTSD begins with Attachment Therapy (providing positive regard for the client and their childhood self, empathy and emotional regulation). For more intensive processing of traumatic events, I offer trauma timeline (talk therapy and guidance through past experiences) and Brainspotting (a non-verbal deep processing approach, learn more here and below).
post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder describes the experience of a fairly recent traumatic event resulting in symptoms including anxiety, nightmares, hyper-vigilance, insomnia, and flashbacks. While the Diagnostic Manual confines PTSD to events that were life-threatening, as a clinician I recognize that clients who experience non-life threatening events like affair or betrayals may also experience PTSD symptoms. Fortunately, I offer a space of unconditional regard for all clients and believe everyone deserves ethical therapy when they are in distress. My therapeutic approach to PTSD begins with Attachment Therapy (providing positive regard for the client, empathy and emotional regulation). For more intensive processing of PTSD, I offer Brainspotting (a non-verbal deep processing approach, learn more here and below).
Brainspotting is an evidence-based non-verbal therapeutic intervention for the purpose of processing traumatic experiences. It utilizes the connection between eye placement and where memories are stored in the brain. Similar to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with comparable outcomes, it is a highly-effective approach to not only reducing or eliminating the symptoms of unprocessed trauma, but can also provide a reduction in distress when recalling the traumatic event(s). Learn more here.
Please note: The first brainspotting session is typically scheduled at 75 minutes for $225 per session. Additional Brainspotting sessions are typically completed within the usual 50 minute session.
brainspotting
olivia wright, lmft 142796, ma
magnolia therapy & wellness
In person and online throughout CaliforniaOffice Location:
970 Reserve Drive, Suite 170 Roseville, CA 95678
Olivia@MagnoliaTherapyServices.org 916-342-0718
By appointment only
Couples Therapy Individual Therapy Trauma Therapy Menopause Therapy Brainspotting Affair Recovery