"Trauma" refers to impact, whether from a single event, major disaster, or small, repeated experiences leading to serious injury over time. While trauma is not the only reason people have problems, often our reactions to adverse life experiences can mirror posttraumatic stress and help us understand and address the root of problem behaviors, difficulty with coping with difficult emotions, expressing feelings and needs clearly, and communicating effectively within and maintaining healthy relationships.

Trauma-informed therapy, or a therapist who uses a trauma-informed approach, is not afraid to “go there”; they will take into account the life experiences of a person, their caregivers, and generational impacts, to help their clients understand how to overcome related feelings, thoughts, and beliefs that can cloud perception of self and others, so they can make sustainable personal change. Utilizing approaches such as EMDR Therapy, trauma therapists are especially equipped to provide clients of all ages with safe and tolerable means for processing traumatic memories, unlearning negative beliefs, and reassessing maladaptive strategies to more effectively manage everyday stressors and cope with triggering events, people, and experiences in the future. When the root of problem behaviors is identified and addressed, people can develop the self-awareness and skill to maintain control in difficult situations and while experiencing previously overwhelming emotions, so they can choose more effectively and maintain wellness on all levels (physiological, emotional, cognitive, and social/relational). Trauma-informed therapy therapeutic approaches are aimed at helping people recover and sustain change on their own, on a long-term basis.