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TRAUMA THERAPY

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When our bodies become overwhelmed by events or ongoing experiences for which we don't have sufficient support to process, we may find ourselves stuck in patterns of fight, flight, or collapse that can manifest as disconnection from ourselves and others, experiences of pervasive negative beliefs about ourselves and life, physical health and immunity challenges, anxiety and depression, difficulties in relationships, a sense of stuckness or fragmentation, hopelessness, and confusion. Whether experienced as a shocking event such as an act of violence or as the ongoing daily stress of abuse, neglect, or systemic oppression, the effects of trauma live in our bodies and limit our access to our natural vitality.

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We can face these effects from a place of care and connection, and our lives can begin to open up new possibilities. 

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I primarily work within the frameworks of the Flash Technique, developed by Philip Mansfield, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro originally to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Both of these approaches have been researched as effective approaches for a variety of trauma-related difficulties. 

 

EMDR is a holistic approach to therapy that includes:

  • getting to know your history, life context, strengths, family and social constellations, cultural values, places of difficulty, gifts, goals, and patterns

  • experiencing attuned kindness in the therapeutic relationship, drawing on positive relationships already in your life, and practicing grounding and "resourcing" techniques to increase your access to states of calm, relative safety, peace, joy, and other positive emotions and states of connection

  • identifying the thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and body sensations that cause current distress in your life, and mapping their relationship to earlier events and experiences 

  • "reprocessing" and "desensitizing" traumatic memories so that they become stored differently in your memory system, with your body no longer reacting as if the experience is occurring now.

* In cases of ongoing stress such as the experience of systemic oppression, this phase of healing allows clarification of responsibility: you begin to know in the fibers of your being that the system is the problem, not you.  Rather than believing negative things about your own worth, value, lovability, or right to dignity and protection in the face of abuse, you can relate to the world from a place of greater self-kindness, interconnection, and a deep embodied knowing of your inherent goodness and worth

  • strengthening positive thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and body sensations 

 

Throughout the process of EMDR therapy, we use left-right activation in the form of eye movements, walking, tapping on either side of the body, handheld buzzing devices, or audio tones that move left to right. This bilateral stimulation (BLS) has been shown to help the body and brain more easily digest and desensitize traumatic material and more easily integrate positive insights, emotional states, beliefs, and bodily relaxation and re-patterning. 

 

The EMDR framework offers a map for trauma therapy; I bring training in mindfulness, practices for listening to the body, a nature-based orientation, skills in working with "parts of self", and attention to attachment and nervous system support to our work together. The process can be both grounded and creative: your mind, body, and heart will respond in a unique way, and I will be there with you. 

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RATES

Insurance accepted for Colorado Residents: Cigna, Aetna, United, Medicaid

Private pay for Colorado Residents: $140 per 50 minute session, sliding scale available

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Longmont, CO and Olympia, WA

Lily@trilliumthd.com

 

Tel: 720-340-8197

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*Individual Therapy, Trauma Therapy, and Dreamwork sessions are conducted via telehealth (video or phone) for Colorado residents. 

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*Garden design and consultation is available in the South Puget Sound area of Washington state.

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Contact 

I'll be in touch shortly!

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