Trauma refers to experiences that cause intense physical and psychological stress reactions. “Trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.”*
Research has shown that over 70% of the world’s population has been exposed to a traumatic life event, leading to mental health problems. Traumatic experiences can be both experience in childhood and in adulthood.**
Traumatic experiences are characterized by the following but is not limited to:
- Physical abuse
- Verbal abuse
- Psychological abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Loss
- Witness/Victim of crime and violence
- Witness of substance abuse
- Discrimination
- Bullying
- Extreme poverty
- And more
At times you can find yourself still living in the shadows of your trauma. Often times we are unaware that our childhood/adult trauma is still governing our lives. Utilizing a trauma informed approach together we will work on fostering a safe and supportive therapeutic environment, exploring and processing the impact of past traumatic experiences, and developing coping strategies to promote healing, resilience, and a sense of empowerment in navigating the challenges ahead.
*(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA], Trauma and Justice Strategic Initiative, 2012, p. 2)
**(Benjet et., 2016, Kessler et al., 2017)