Today, I want to talk about why being a trained trauma therapist matters, especially where therapy intensives are concerned.

Is it just me or did that subject line immediately transport you back to whatever room you watched Gary Coleman call out his brother Willis on the television show Different Strokes? Am I fully dating myself with that reference? Ha!

Well, at the risk of dating myself, I will compare myself to Willis here because I think maybe I’ve been talking/writing away about something that is not very clear. That happens sometimes. I assume everyone knows what I know and in an attempt not to bore them, I shorten my story too much and inadvertently skip important details. This leaves my listener/reader scratching their head and wondering, well, “whatchu talkin’ bout”.

In an effort to separate myself from that iconic Todd Bridges role, let me explain what I mean when I talk to you about Therapy Intensives.

I’ll start at the top. If you actually aren’t quite sure what I do, I work in a private practice as a trauma therapist. How is that different from a regular therapist you ask? I’m happy to tell you.

First, the people who come in and out of my office over the years were not all seeking trauma therapy. Mostly, they just felt stuck or wanted to feel better or different than they noticed in their everyday lives. Some had specific experiences they knew they wanted to work through and others came in with just a general feeling of meh that they wanted to change.

The reason why what I do is different from many other therapists is because I trained in treating trauma. So, a lot of what I see and most of what I plan is through the lens of healing a wound, whether it’s obvious or not.

First the wounds were more obvious as I worked a sexual assault and domestic violence counselor in a courthouse. Then, as I worked with more and more people I realized something. When I sit across from a fellow human, even if neither of us can see wounds because the lives they lead and the relationships they have are intact and look pretty great from the outside, the reason for feeling meh, or stuck or frustrated or simply different than they want to feel is because there is some past hurt that we need to heal.

This is where being a trauma-trained therapist matters. Healing wounds usually requires more than just talking. We carry wounds in our nervous systems and our guts and in the many amazing adaptations that we’ve built over the years to live the lives we’re in.

Because we hold wounds in various places, we heal them in various ways. I’ve trained in many of those healing ways. I use not just talk therapy, but other mind and body interventions to help us get to the parts we need to heal-no matter how deeply they’re buried. I treat people as magnificent and magically connected- mind, body and soul. That’s what I mean when I call myself a trauma therapist.

At least, that’s how I was trained. Unfortunately, I don’t always get to do things the way I want because traditional therapy models don’t allow it. (I’ll get to this more in future emails.)

I created Therapy Intensives because I know this multifaceted approach with various interventions is the best way to heal all wounds, and that can’t always happen the way people want and need it to if we keep doing things the old way.

Alright, I’m back to my old-stuff of worrying that I’ve said too much and you’re bored. So, I’ll be back again with a bit more about the why and how and whatchu talkin’ bout when it comes to the new offering. If you have any questions in the meantime, reply here and I’ll do what I can.

If the above information sounds intriguing and you want to learn more about therapy intensives, click through to check it out.  And then, feel free to reach out for a complimentary consultation so that we can get to the bottom of why you might be stuck.

~ Cristie XO