Trauma-Informed Therapy
Most types of therapy use a specific modality or treatment model. Trauma-informed therapy relies on a set of core principles and recognizes the significant impact trauma can have on a person’s physical, emotional, and mental health.
Trauma-informed therapists assume that clients have most likely experienced trauma, and they shift the perspective from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?” This approach is helpful for people who may feel responsibility or shame surrounding their past trauma. Many people have been through a traumatic event and don’t realize it. It’s not uncommon for a person to believe that the trauma they experience is just a part of life, and they don’t recognize themselves as a trauma survivor. Common sources of trauma include:
- Abuse: Verbal, emotional, physical, sexual
- Childhood neglect: Consistently having your physical or emotional needs unmet by adult
- A severe accident or natural disaster
- Witnessing violence or abuse against someone else
Choose Your Location
We have clinics conveniently located in Lexington, Kentucky and Columbus, Ohio.
Find Your Best Fit
It's important to find a therapist that will suit your unique needs. We do everything we can to find your best fit!
Learn More
Core Principles of Trauma-Informed Therapy
- Safety: We prioritize your sense of physical and emotional safety.
- Choice: You are given control over what happens while you’re in therapy.
- Collaboration: Instead of “treating you,” we collaborate with you based on the belief that you are an expert on yourself and should have opportunities to choose your treatment goals.
- Trustworthiness: No one feels safe around a person they don’t trust. We actively build a trusting relationship with clients by always being direct and transparent about expectations, boundaries, and the importance of never betraying your trust.
- Empowerment: Trauma-informed therapy allows your voice to be heard and validates your experiences as you learn healthy coping mechanisms.
Avoiding Retraumatization During Trauma-Informed Therapy
Not all therapists have experience with providing trauma-informed care. Some may ask you to share details of your past trauma during your first visit, well before you have established a trusting therapeutic relationship. We actively try to prevent retraumatization by doing the following:
- Avoiding initial lengthy sessions in favor of more frequent, shorter ones
- Identifying your potential triggers by having you share what makes you feel safe and unsafe
- Consistently reassuring you that you don’t have to answer questions or address topics that make you uncomfortable.
- Having community resource connections readily available
Fostering Resilience in Trauma-Informed Therapy
Resilience is your ability to overcome adversity and obstacles in your life. Experiencing trauma doesn’t make you less resilient, but it can lead to unhealthy coping strategies that make developing resiliency more challenging. We can help you increase your resiliency for future life events by:
- Helping you track and identify different sensations in your body – when you feel a sense of wellness, a heightened sense of fight-or-flight, or feelings of emotional shut-down.
- Helping you return your body to a calm state by thinking about experiences or visualizing people, places, or things that make you feel content.
- Teaching you grounding exercises that bring your mind to the present by focusing on places where you’re in contact with the ground or other supports, like sitting on a chair or pushing your hands against a wall.
- Helping you recognize and explore movements that promote well-being, such as walking, dancing, or swimming.
- Using the skills that help you return to your state of calm and being aware of how you feel while you’re in it – this helps your brain build neural connections that make it easier for you to return to a feeling of wellness in the future.
- Helping you create a list of things that cause physical sensations that redirect your focus from traumatic memories or feelings, including going for a walk, drinking cold water, counting objects around you, identifying the sounds you hear, and being aware of the temperature of the space around you.
The Mind Matters Difference
Our team of therapists knows that your mind matters, and we can help you harness its power so you can live a happier, more balanced life. You’re more than just a client file to us; we don’t have a cookie-cutter approach to therapy. Mental health is vital for everyone, and our goal is to make treatment accessible and welcoming to anyone who needs it.
Trauma-Informed Therapy Near Lexington, Kentucky and Columbus, Ohio
Trauma-informed therapy can help you understand the ways trauma has impacted how you behave in and react to situations today. Understanding the effects of trauma will help you feel validation and recognize the strength it took for you to survive. Contact Mind Matters today to schedule an appointment with a trained trauma counselor. We offer therapy services in Lexington, Kentucky, Columbus, Ohio, and the surrounding area.