Trauma Therapy in Chicago

Is Unresolved Trauma Preventing You From Maintaining Healthy Relationships?

• Do most of your relationships run aground at a certain point?

• Is it difficult getting close to others because it’s hard for you to build trust or ever feel safe?

• Have you wondered if unresolved trauma from your past may be at the root of the issues you’re having?

Perhaps it’s challenging for you to regulate your emotions and, as a result, the relationships you enter into inevitably become tumultuous and marred by conflict. Your partner may complain that you overreact in some situations while remaining emotionally closed off in others.

Maybe you feel like no matter how you try to express how you feel, you’re never fully understood. Or keeping yourself cut off from your emotions may be the only way you know how to protect yourself from being hurt. Sadly, this lack of connection—with yourself and others—leaves you lonely and isolated.   

Could Your Struggles In Relationships Be Trauma-Related?

It’s possible you don’t realize how trauma experienced earlier in life contributes to how you feel and function now. Even if you haven’t connected the dots yet, when you live through trauma, your body and mind don’t forget. Until you acknowledge its root cause, you might continue to be haunted by the physical and emotional impact of trauma.

The good news is that trauma therapy is a safe space to examine the underlying causes of distressful symptoms like sleeplessness, hypervigilance, and nightmares.

With techniques like Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), you can utilize gentle strategies that regulate your nervous system, helping help you feel more emotionally connected and calm.

Trauma Is Pervasive And Caused By Many Factors

Most of us have experienced or witnessed trauma at one time or another. According to a study conducted in 2013, “89.7 percent of people surveyed in the United States have experienced some type of traumatic event (1).” And despite popular belief, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is actually more common in women than in men (2).

Trauma is sometimes split into two categories—"Big T" and "little t." Examples of Big T trauma could be repeated instances of physical and emotional abuse inflicted by our caregivers, sexual assault, car accidents, or any situation where we believe our life may be in immediate danger. Little t trauma is more subtle and difficult to detect. It often occurs in situations we perceived as completely normal growing up, like having an absent parent or being told that we should be happy all the time.

Systemic Oppression And Sexism Contribute To Collective Trauma

For women, living in a patriarchal society takes a toll on us. We are subjected to more trauma than men in the form of sexual violence, physical and verbal abuse, discrimination, and harassment. Sadly, the pain we experience is often at the hands of trusted caregivers or romantic partners, robbing us of our sense of safety.

With little t trauma, we may not recognize what we experienced as traumatic. Rather than seek help, we tend to minimize what happened to us or, by comparing it to Big T trauma, try to downplay its impact.

It can be difficult to heal from trauma on your own, especially if the pain you endured was caused by a loved one. Luckily, a trauma-informed therapist has the knowledge and skillset to help you recover with sensitivity and compassion. In trauma therapy, you can address PTSD stemming from Big T trauma—like childhood neglect, abuse, or sexual assault—as well as harder to identify little t trauma.

Trauma Therapy Can Be A Road Back To The Person You Want To Be

When you begin trauma therapy, you may have specific goals in mind. Perhaps you hope that with treatment, you can heal from underlying trauma or PTSD, enabling you to cultivate healthier, more loving relationships. Maybe you want to learn how to keep your emotions in balance and not be so easily triggered all the time. Or you might hope that counseling will help restore your sense of safety so can you sleep better at night and feel more comfortable meeting new people.

Working together with your trauma therapist in Chicago, you can address whatever symptoms of trauma or PTSD you are experiencing. We will take things slowly at first. Once a sense of safety is established between you and you feel comfortable sharing what’s on your mind, your counselor can help you expand that same sense of safety into your world outside of trauma therapy.

What To Expect In Trauma Therapy Sessions

Trauma therapy is tailored to your specific needs. You may find it beneficial to discuss the details of your trauma to lessen its hold on your day-to-day life. Or perhaps you’d prefer not to explore the specifics of your trauma in therapy right away. In this instance, we can focus on improving your well-being and emotional wellness by modifying behaviors and habits that may contribute to your distress. No matter what path you choose, your trauma therapist can offer you effective tools that will help you move beyond trauma to a place of healing and health.

Having an understanding of how trauma affects you, both physically and emotionally, is an important component of counseling. By providing you with psychoeducation that explains how the nervous system is impacted by trauma, you will gain an understanding of what the best treatment options for you will be.

We Offer A Variety Of Modalities For Trauma Counseling

By utilizing an array of evidence-based therapies for trauma, we aim to pair you with treatment that resonates with you. With Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), you can process traumatic memories that still carry an emotional charge. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation techniques that mimic the rapid eye movement phase of sleep. This gentle form of trauma therapy helps reprocess memories that may have become stuck in the memory center of your brain, allowing them to lose their intensity.

Similar to EMDR, Brainspotting is a trauma treatment tool that allows you to identify and process traumatic memories. These memories can often be stored in non-verbal areas of the brain. In Brainspotting, the therapist helps to identify an eye position that correlates to a traumatic memory. Once located, maintained eye fixation allows the client to process and release the trauma. Brainspotting offers an opportunity to unburden from trauma non-verbally.

Additionally, we offer Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), an integrative process based on polyvagal theory that helps the nervous system regulate and reset after experiencing trauma (3). We may also incorporate other helpful tools to manage trauma symptoms, such as breathwork, mindfulness, or grounding techniques.

With trauma therapy, we provide you with tools and support to help you move beyond whatever trauma, whether big or small, that may be holding you back. Once you heal from trauma, the symptoms that impair your ability to connect with others and thrive in life will no longer be a factor.

But Maybe You’re Not Sure If Trauma Therapy Is Right For You…

I’m afraid of talking about my trauma in counseling sessions.

Understandably, you may not feel ready to discuss what happened to you—that's okay. You don't have to talk directly about the trauma you experienced with your therapist to get the support you need to feel better. Oftentimes, it's helpful to talk about your relationships or other stressors first when it feels safer to do so. We can also focus on modifying any behaviors or habits that are currently causing you distress in your day-to-day routine.

Won’t discussing my trauma in therapy make me feel worse?

When clients connect to past trauma in counseling, they may temporarily experience some overwhelming emotions. Although this process may sound scary and intimidating, your trauma therapist can help you relate to the trauma—and the emotions associated with it—in a way that neutralizes the fear. By working through distressful feelings that haven’t yet been resolved, you will finally be able to experience relief and breathe easier.

What if my trauma is ongoing—can treatment help me?

Safety is our biggest priority. Your trauma therapist will work with you to help you make whatever changes may be necessary to ensure you feel as safe and supported as possible. It can be invaluable having a trauma therapist on your side to encourage you as you make gradual steps out of an unsafe situation.

Don’t Let Trauma Get In The Way Of Your Happiness

Begin a fresh chapter in your life by embarking on Trauma Therapy in Chicago with the dedicated team at Balanced Awakening. Experience the nurturing guidance of our compassionate trauma therapists as they accompany you on your path to healing. Take the first step today by visiting our contact page and scheduling a complimentary 15-minute call to learn more about our services. Whether you prefer in-person sessions in various locations across Chicago, IL, or virtual sessions accessible from other parts of Illinois and Miami, FL, we are here to provide support and facilitate your journey towards recovery.

1 https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21848

2 https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd

3 https://www.safeandsoundtherapy.com/

Balanced Awakening Lakeview

4043 N Ravenswood, Ste 301 & 302

Chicago, IL 60613