Our therapists offer PTSD & trauma therapy in Cary, NC

We cover the following tools in PTSD/trauma therapy:

• Somatic experiencing - How to reconnect with our physical selves.
• Self-soothing skills - Learning how to actively calm ourselves when agitated.
• Grounding skills - How to effectively pull away from our past when triggered and reaffirm safety in the present.
• Cognitive reframing - How to challenge inappropriate feelings of guilt and shame.
• Healthy boundaries - How to effectively heal from unhealthy relationships and uphold healthy boundaries in current relationships.

We know clients who have been impacted by trauma are making meaningful progress when they are no longer feeling defined or held back by their trauma. As clients recover from these wounds, they often become less avoidant and more willing to form connections with others.

Outside of trauma-focused therapy sessions, clients can benefit greatly from engaging in mindfulness skills. Mindfulness skills require that a person is in the present moment (no future-focused anxiety or past-focused sadness), aware of their experiences (thoughts and sensations), and not holding judgment regarding these experiences. Building awareness is an important step toward breaking unhealthy patterns, and excessive judgments of self or others often create an additional burden on one's emotion regulation skills. If emotions become intense enough, it can result in detachment, defensive aggression, or intense anxiety, all of which further reinforce avoidant patterns.

To prepare for their first PTSD/trauma therapy session, clients should be aware that the first session will include a clinical assessment in which we capture a broad view of the client's history, including some details related to any trauma they may have experienced. It will also be a clinician's responsibility to meet you where you are at this time. If you are uncomfortable giving details at the beginning, it is okay to give broad strokes. It takes time to build rapport and trust, especially when we have experienced trauma. Your clinician will also be assessing and helping to build your coping skills in the following sessions so that you will have an increased ability to share and work through past traumas at a later date if needed.