How to Heal the Past?
"YOU ARE NOT BROKEN. YOU ARE BREAKING THROUGH."- ALEX MILES
As an EMDR and IFS trained therapist, I believe that the healing power is within you.
Trauma creates change you did not choose. Healing trauma is about creating change you do choose.
I will stay patiently by your side throughout the journey. I want to support you as you walk through the different recovery phases, learn more about yourself, accept what has already happened, and begin to move forward.
Healing Phase 1:
We will first work collaboratively to identify and manage the trauma- or PTSD-related symptoms.
I will help you develop a more profound understanding of the symptoms and build the capacity to cope with them.
We will identify what resources you have right now, what resources you are missing or need strengthening. We will create safety and build up sufficient support to enable you to function more competently in the world.
Healing Phase 2:
When you feel more relaxed and trust in yourself, we will then start processing the traumatic memories together. We will look for what needs to happen for your mind, body, and spirit to be able to make sense of what happened, release the energy that stuck in the past, and return to the present life.
Several things will happen in this stage: you may obtain more understanding of the meaning of the event and update self-beliefs accordingly; you may find forgiveness, discharge body energy, take action or express what was not expressed at the time; you may find natural relief and strength in the support and connection of our therapeutic relationship. For many, all these feelings can happen at the same time.
Healing Phase 3:
You can now begin to work on decreasing shame and alienation, developing a greater capacity for healthy attachment, and taking up personal and professional goals that reflect post-traumatic meaning-making.
For those who have lived with the symptoms of trauma for decades, you will also need to find a new understanding and relationship with the person you are now becoming and the new challenges this presents.
We will go over your story of the recovery journey together, the resilience you exhibited, and the different ways you have transformed and moved on. The new narrative of your life is the powerful anchor for change and will continue contributing to the "post-traumatic growth".
Read more about trauma on Why is Letting Go of the Past So Hard to Do?