Trauma & Therapy

Trauma isn't just about what happens to you; it's about how it affects you deep inside, your sense of yourself, the world, and your place in it. People feel traumatized not just from being hurt, but from facing that hurt alone. As a therapist my core belief is that everyone deserves to feel heard, understood, and supported, especially when life feels overwhelming and uncertain. What matters to me is being right here with you.

Trauma "T" & "t"

In my practice, I have found that when people hear the word trauma what often comes to mind is what we see or hear in popular media and what may be better understood as capital “T” Trauma. We say capital “T” because these kinds of trauma may be more easily recognized by the experiencer as well as those close to them. This kind of trauma can at times be a single incident such as a natural disaster, car accident or assault.

Oftentimes, there can also be a collection of small “t” traumas that accumulate throughout a persons lifespan. We say small “t” not because they are "small", or because their impact is somehow smaller, but because these traumas can often go unrecognized or unacknowledged as trauma. This can include both what did happen to a person as well as what did not happen, but was needed. We see the latter in instances such as physical or emotional neglect. In truth, we all experience a collection of small "t" trauma's throughout our lifetime. Not receiving empathy or acceptance due to the common misconception that these events are less significant can create coping behaviors that were adaptive and served a function for survival at the time but not without their costs. Sometimes we see this in examples such as isolating or not sharing one's emotions in an attempt to manage symptoms without support, keeping busy to not feel emotions, laughing or otherwise masking true feelings and more. Not addressing the emotional suffering of traumatic events then creates the possibility of cumulative damage over time and compounds the pain of trauma with the suffering of being alone with it.

Some examples of small "t" trauma's may be:

Infidelity
Divorce
Discrimination - i.e. racism, sexism, ableism, ageism
Being bullied, shamed, mocked, or made fun
Harassment, social rejection or isolation
Financial instability, threat of loss of housing or basic needs
Death of loved ones (including pets)
Chronic illness and medical testing
Emotional abuse or neglect
Frequent yelling
... and more

**Please Note**

Some of the above can also be capital "T" trauma for folx

Some Impacts ...

Experiencing a traumatic event impacts a person's sense of safety, their sense of self, and their ability to regulate emotions and navigate relationships.

Emotions

Difficulty recognizing emotions
Difficulty controlling emotions
Increased sensitivity to stress
Shame, guilt
Excessive worry, hopelessness
Feeling a lack of self-efficacy, and helplessness

Thinking / Cognitions

Difficulty problem solving
Problems with concentration
Racing thoughts
Poor academic achievement

Behaviours

Difficulty with self regulation
Difficulty with impulse control
Drug and alcohol use
Social withdrawal & isolation
Limited coping skills

Relationships

Difficulty trusting others
Difficulty forming relationships with peers
Trouble understanding social interactions
Cycles of abuse and neglect
Problems in romantic relationship

Physical

Physical tension held in the body
Upset stomach
Sleep dysfunction and disorders
Eating disorders
Poor immune system function
Shorter life span, cardiovascular health

The Framework

I invite you to consider the definition of trauma that understands it as any event that overwhelms our capacity to process and leaves us feeling helpless, frightened, overwhelmed, confused or powerless.

In these instances our survival systems are activated and trauma imprints on our brain and body, impacting our sense of ourselves and the world around us. This impact includes the trauma induced meanings that we make about ourselves as a result of trauma such as “I am bad … un-loveable … unworthy… stupid… abnormal” and so on.

Therapy

My training equips me to understand how your brain, body and mind have been impacted by the effects of trauma.

In therapy we will explore what your goals are and where you would like your life to be. We will collaborate on a plan that is trauma informed and that utilizes techniques that are tailored to meet you where you are currently at, as well as to facilitate a path toward where you would like to be in the future.