Trauma recovery can often feel like wandering alone through an intricate labyrinth of emotional extremes, haunted by painful memories and flashbacks at every turn. Few areas of life remain unaffected in the aftermath of traumatic events, making it even more vital that you seek whatever support, understanding, and tools you need to find your way out of the maze. For many people, trauma-informed care and specialized psychotherapy can be a life-affirming and transformative process in their healing journey. Any good, ethical therapist will empower you to move forward with courage, resilience, coping skills, and above all, a non-judgmental space to process your experiences through cultivating a safe, reparative human connection to facilitate healing. Whether you’re still on the fence about pursuing trauma therapy, or a seasoned veteran when it comes to the counselling process, here are four key insights your trauma therapist wants you to know:

1. You Are Not Alone

Surviving traumatic events can make you feel incredibly isolated and alone in the world as if nobody else could ever possibly understand what it’s like to grapple with such intensely overwhelming trauma responses. If you think about it, this belief makes complete sense considering how much post- traumatic stress can shatter your sense of safety and connection with others. Plus, even though the stigma around mental health concerns has improved drastically in the last 10 years, there are still some heartbreaks many of us do not feel comfortable enough to share out loud with just anybody. As a result, heaps of people walk through life wearing a variety of masks to hide their struggles or protect themselves from further harm. If this sounds like you, please know that you are not alone in this experience. Even the fear that you are alone links you to common humanity with others who fear the exact same thing. Unfortunately, trauma is startlingly common – therapists meet new clients every day looking for help managing post-traumatic stress. As sad as that reality may be, it can also be an encouragement that healing is possible. Seeking help is a powerful step toward recovery, and your therapist is there to support you, having guided other clients through similar struggles.

2. Recovery Takes Time

You’ve probably heard this before, but it bears repeating – healing is not a linear process. Far too often, clients come into therapy completely exhausted and eager to unburden themselves from the legacy of trauma. Although this is an understandable desire, putting that much pressure on yourself to power through and conquer your demons as quickly as possible could do more harm than good. As much as we wish we could snap our fingers and resolve your traumas immediately, your trauma therapist wants you to know that healing takes time and patience. Progress may seem slow, or even completely paused at times, but every step forward is a win worth celebrating – no matter how small. When you try too hard to force healing, it can become counterproductively re-traumatizing, so give yourself permission to take it at your own pace and hold onto every ounce of hope you can find along the way.

3. Your Feelings and Experiences are Valid

It’s common for trauma survivors to struggle with deeply intense and often conflicting emotions, while simultaneously trying to make sense of what happened to them. Some individuals tend toward self-blame and an inflated sense of responsibility for the traumas they’ve endured. Others may have been gaslit regarding their mistreatment for so long that they’ve internalized the habit and now experience self-doubt so strongly that they have a hard time accepting what they feel, think, and remember. We’re often conditioned to perceive some emotions as good and others as bad. As a result, some feelings can seem incredibly overwhelming to name and address. The thing is, emotions are a natural part of the human experience, and it’s crucial to find safe spaces where you can show up as your authentic self to explore how you feel and process those emotions accordingly. Therapy is obviously a great place to validate your feelings, but friends and family members can be extremely beneficial too. So whether you’re feeling angry, sad, afraid, numb, or some varying combination thereof, please know that it’s absolutely okay to feel that way. It makes sense given what you have been through.

4. You Have Tremendous Strength

Trauma can leave you feeling powerless, wounded, and vulnerable to further harm. While we want to avoid dismissing those emotions, therapists want you to see yourself through our eyes – because we see the strong, resilient survivor within you. Despite the painful experiences you’ve endured, you are still here, and we believe fully in your capacity to heal and thrive after trauma. Therapy is such a collaborative process, and your therapist wants nothing more than to help you recognize your power and harness those inner resources to reclaim your sense of agency and vibrancy in life.

Remember: healing is possible, and you don’t have to do it alone. Keep going!

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