Trauma

The definition of trauma I’ve found most helpful is any experience that overwhelms our ability to cope. This can be as life-altering as an assault or a severe car accident, or as subtle as painful rejections, chronic health problems, or a parents’ divorce. Often, trauma takes the form of chronic adverse experiences, such as growing up with a substance-addicted parent or living in an emotionally barren household.

The goal of trauma therapy is to be able to regulate your body and mind—to live out of a grounded and embodied self-awareness instead of bouncing up and down from fight-or-flight to shutdown. Parts of trauma therapy may entail revisiting the source of the trauma, but much of it takes place in the here-and-now, as you learn to feel safe again and recover an ability to live from your values instead of from your pain.