Trauma Focused Therapy That Achieves Results

In order to provide effective trauma therapy techniques, it is crucial that we understand the basic human responses to traumatic stress and how we as organisms cope with overwhelming emotional situations. Trauma based therapy is built on our current understanding of the common responses that humans exhibit to traumatic experiences. Despite advances in research, it is also true that trauma affects each individual quite differently and the occurring disorders that result from it are equally unique.

Some people exhibit symptoms that are clearly associated with PTSD, while others demonstrate a resilient response and only experience short-term disturbances. Our early life and development, including parent and caretaker relationships and our own history of childhood trauma has so much to do with our ability to cope with trauma as adults.

Trauma survivors face unique challenges in their healing process, and creating a trusting relationship in therapy is crucial for their recovery. At our trauma treatment center, we utilize scientifically proven methods to help clients process and release the negative emotions and limiting self-beliefs associated with trauma so that they can move forward in their lives. We do not place a strong emphasis on Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) or other CBT-related modalities. Our experience suggests that trauma release therapy methods, such as EMDR, are more effective at rapidly and completely eliminating distress. When these methods are utilized in a intensive retreat setting, lasting progress can be achieved in a days, not months or years.

We stay current with all emerging research to provide you with cutting edge treatments as soon as they become available. Trauma is not a life sentence, and as our clients continually prove to us, even the most intense traumas can be healed.

What is Trauma Therapy?

Trauma therapy is a specialized form of psychotherapy designed to help individuals process and cope with traumatic experiences. This type of therapy focuses on addressing the deep emotional and psychological wounds caused by trauma, aiming to restore mental health and overall well-being. Trauma therapy can be conducted in various settings, including inpatient facilities, outpatient clinics, and private practices, making it accessible to a wide range of individuals. The primary goal of trauma therapy is to help individuals manage their symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, and flashbacks, and to support them in their journey towards healing and recovery.

Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy vs EMDR

TF-CBT is designed to assist people in working through the negative effects of a traumatic experience. This trauma based therapy can also help people to better cope with the thoughts and emotions relating to trauma by establishing coping skills. The downside is that it requires that somebody practice certain skills at home in order for it to be optimally effective. The therapist will use a variety of trauma therapy techniques to help the client develop the resources necessary to work through the negative experience that caused the trauma. Another downside to Trauma Focused CBT is that it can take 16-25 sessions to achieve results.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a form of trauma release therapy designed for people of all ages to process traumatic memories by processing the negative emotions and limiting self-beliefs associated with them. During a session, the therapist leads the client through sets of side-to-side eye movements. Sets last approximately 30-60 seconds, after which the client will be asked to briefly discuss what came up for them before going into the next set. This process is called desensitization. The goal of desensitization is for the client to follow their thoughts and allow the intensity of the negative emotions to reduce until complete resolution is achieved. Often this can happen in only a few sessions. During a retreat, a client can often fully resolve a negative memory within the course of a few hours. An advantage of EMDR is that there is no homework between sessions and the client does not need to share many details of the trauma with the therapist for the method to be effective.

Compared to Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR is simpler, requires much less work between sessions and can often achieve results in significantly fewer sessions than TF-CBT. Of all methods of the trauma informed therapy approach, it is our belief that EMDR can achieve the most effective and lasting reduction in trauma symptoms in the shortest period of time. When used in an intensive therapy retreat at our trauma treatment center, results are further accelerated, as processing can occur for several hours each day.

There is constantly new and emerging research in the field of trauma focused therapy, leading to exciting new discoveries about the brain and how we cope with traumatic experiences. Trauma, in the purest sense, is our response to life-threatening experiences. This fits in with our understanding of the activation during trauma of the older brain structures in our limbic system, or “reptilian brain”, yet many traumas can occur from events that are not truly life-threatening.

Even an abuse or betrayal from somebody that we rely on for survival, such a parent or caretaker, may produce similar consequences as a more obvious threat, despite the lack of real danger. This may have to do with the subjective component of our traumatic experiences, as humans naturally create meaning out of the context in which events occur. Being let down by somebody who is a fixture in our lives can trigger a very real and very intense fear response. Trauma based therapy is still discovering more nuances to this complex field of study. As research continues, we continue to understand more deeply how each individual is predisposed to react to negative life experiences so that we can cater our trauma therapy techniques more specifically to them.

Why a Retreat?

Addressing Trauma Symptoms

Trauma symptoms can be overwhelming and debilitating, affecting every aspect of an individual’s life. Intensive trauma therapy is designed to help individuals address these symptoms and work towards healing. Common trauma symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, depression, and avoidance behaviors. Through intensive therapy, individuals can process traumatic memories and reduce the intensity of these symptoms. Techniques are used to help individuals identify and challenge the negative thoughts and behaviors associated with their trauma. By addressing these symptoms head-on, intensive therapy provides a pathway to a more stable and fulfilling life.