Legacy Healing Center Trauma Therapy

What is Trauma Therapy?

Our trauma therapy program offers a form of therapy that can help patients cope with traumatic events they’ve experienced. Many times, the patient has buried the events from their past and may not realize that their actions today stem from unprocessed emotions. Our therapists work with the patient to help them understand how that event, or multiple events, has shaped their emotions and behaviors. The goal of trauma therapy is not only to get to the root of the individual’s trauma but also to help them develop healthy and appropriate emotional responses. It can also assist family members in recognizing the symptoms of trauma in their loved ones.

Over 50% of people experience trauma at least once in their lives, according to the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs.1 Trauma can include a range of situations, including serious injury, sexual violence, life-threatening events, chronic abuse and neglect, being bullied, and homelessness. While not all trauma survivors experience trauma-related conditions such as PTSD, experiencing trauma can greatly impact an individual’s psychological, social, physical, occupational, and financial functioning.

Therapy modalities for trauma are designed to help clients understand the nature of their emotional responses and whether they’re caused by a one-time event or an ongoing and lasting situation. Below are some common forms of trauma that our therapy techniques for trauma can address:

Benefits of Trauma Therapy

Trauma therapy can address clients’ traumatic events and process one’s feelings and emotions. Our trauma therapy program allows clients to face their fears in a safe and controlled environment and learn coping skills that can help them function on a day-to-day basis. Some additional trauma therapy benefits include:

• Reduced fear and avoidance of people, places, or things related to the traumatic event
• Improved coping and communication skills
• Developed trust
• Challenging problematic beliefs
• Validation of the individual’s experiences and emotional responses

Trauma can instill fear and cause you to avoid people, places, or things that remind the individual of the traumatic experiences. Many also struggle to cope with the aftermath of the incident or to trust other people, places, and situations, and they may challenge problematic beliefs – such as believing they experienced trauma because they’re bad people.

Many individuals who have experienced trauma have also faced invalidation by others, specifically concerning their feelings and emotions about the situation. These individuals are often repeatedly told that their experiences, characteristics, or emotional responses are unreasonable and unacceptable.

Furthermore, traumatic experiences are related to behavioral health issues, including substance use disorders. Addressing past trauma using trauma incident reduction ( TIR) will help advance healing and recovery in addiction treatment.

Resolving past trauma can assist you in discovering which experiences or emotions are at the root of your addiction disorder. Clients will learn how drugs or alcohol have been keeping negative emotions and trauma buried. Trauma therapy unblocks clients’ memories, so they’re free to learn more effective coping tools and regain their self-reliance and emotional health, and strengthen their ability to manage stress and deal with triggers.

When trauma is processed with therapy, patients can move past it and develop positive ways of dealing with emotions and memories instead of relying on drugs or alcohol. If they suffer from a dual diagnosis or a mental health condition and addiction, therapy can also help them resolve some of the emotional issues, which can reduce the risk of relapse. Legacy Healing Center locations offer intensive therapy for trauma that can help clients with these struggles.

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Types of Trauma Therapy

Therapists can use multiple types of therapy to help the patient deal with their traumatic past. They may focus on one type or combine trauma therapies to address multiple issues and behaviors.

Hypnotherapy – The therapist may use hypnosis to help recall the event or experiences that caused behaviors and emotions if you aren’t able to remember on your own. It can also help you develop positive ways of dealing with the trauma from suggestions by the therapist while in a hypnotic state.

Psychodynamic Therapy – The therapist will use talk therapy to discuss various topics as they work to recall past traumas and uncover motivations and how they impact your behaviors and emotions. However, you aren’t in a hypnotic state for this type of therapy but are fully conscious and aware of outside stimuli.

Rapid Resolution Therapy – The therapist uses stories and metaphors to help alter your view of life and replace negative thoughts with positive ones.

Trauma Incident Therapy – Also called prolonged exposure therapy, the patient is exposed to their fear in a safe place.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy – This therapy focuses on dealing with unhealthy behaviors and inaccurate beliefs.

Brain Paint – Designed to address the lasting effect of trauma on the brain, the therapist asks questions while brain sensors are attached to your head to determine when you are over-stimulated or under-stimulated.

VibroAcoustic Therapy – Using low-frequency sound waves on a mat, this type of therapy uses sound to help heal the mind and body, which is felt in the body and heard through the ears.

Creative Therapies – Within these types of trauma therapy, the therapist may use different techniques or treatments. For example, art or music therapy can help the patient stay calm when reliving previous traumatic experiences.

Desensitization Therapy – The therapist may also expose the patient to known triggers to help with desensitization. This may include writing a letter to the person who caused the trauma — allowing the patient to expel those deep-seated feelings and verbalize the ways in which the trauma has impacted their life.

Group Therapy – Group support is often an important part of trauma therapy. It shows the patient that they aren’t alone in their situation. They may find it easier to talk about the experiences and resulting behaviors with others who have had similar experiences. In some of these groups, people who are further along in their treatment may act as mentors to provide ongoing support.

The best therapy for trauma is different for everyone, which is why the treatment specialists at Legacy Healing Center will work with you to create a personalized treatment plan.

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Our Trauma Therapy Modalities

Our facilities offer both treatments for addiction and trauma therapy programs that can aid in clients’ mental and physical recovery. If you’ve suffered from traumatic experiences in your past, you may need counseling to help you overcome the challenges that those events present to your current behaviors and thought patterns.

Legacy Healing Center provides trauma therapy with several types of treatment to help develop new skills and learn how to handle the aftermath of individual trauma. We offer a multi-faceted program to help you move forward with your life.

You will be treated with respect and receive the support you need. To find out more about our treatment, contact us today and talk to our treatment specialists. Let us help you overcome the past and enjoy a brighter future.

Related Reading:

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Its Impact on Substance Abuse

9 Trauma Therapies That Treat the Roots of Addiction

Source: VA – PTSD: National Center for PTSD