The National Council for Behavioral Health reports that “70% of adults in the United States have experienced some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives.” 

Trauma can contribute to lack of motivation, depression, anxiety, helplessness, and other mental health related symptoms. 

All of those reactions and responses are normal for trauma survivors.

However, it is possible to heal and move forward from both the trauma and work through the responses. 

Our team at Integrated Counseling and Wellness is trained and equipped to walk alongside you to heal from trauma.

Our therapists each hold a unique set of skills and modalities that can be used to work through traumatic events and relationships. 

EMDR:

This stands for eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing. A trained therapist will guide you with bilateral stimulation (tapping, eye movements) so that your brain can fully reprocess the trauma in a healing way. A person will often feel “stuck” after a trauma. However, EMDR helps a person become “unstuck” by helping the brain move past the trauma block and fully heal. 

Our owner and clinician, Alyssa Wright, is trained in EMDR. Our MSW Clinical Intern, Hannah-Grace Kelley, will begin training in summer of 2022. 

If you’d like to read more about EMDR, here are some resources: 

https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/

https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/treatments/eye-movement-reprocessing

https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand_tx/emdr.asp

IFS: 

IFS stands for Internal Family System. This is a model of talk therapy in which a client learns to identify the many “parts” within themselves. We all have parts – every single person on this planet. Each part of us plays a different role for day-to-day functioning. However, sometimes these parts take on roles that are not so helpful when something hurtful or traumatic occurs in life. In IFS, the clinician will aid the client in mapping out these parts, understanding them, and releasing them of their roles that are unhelpful (but maybe were helpful in the past). 

At ICW, our therapists are IFS-informed. They have the language and ability to integrate these aspects into other therapy modalities to help the client work through their issues.

To learn more about IFS, here are some helpful resources: 

No Bad Parts by Richard Swartz, PHD.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/internal-family-systems-therapy

TB-CBT: 

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an evidence-based trauma treatment that is often used with children and adolescents who have experienced trauma. This approach focuses on the negative beliefs and attributions that stem from the trauma. TB-CBT also integrates working on interpersonal skills and coping strategies. 

Our clinician, Megan Wycoff, has training in TF-CBT. 

To read more about this technique, click here: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/trauma.pdf

Play Therapy: 

Play Therapy is an evidence-based therapeutic approach that is often used with children and adolescents (but some adults benefit too!). With this therapy, play is the avenue that allows for expression of emotion and thoughts. It can be difficult for children to process with words. However, play can be more comfortable and engaging which sets the stage for deeper work to occur. 

ICW Clinicians, Tyler Woody is trained in Child Center Play Therapy and Alex Capraro is currently working towards becoming a registered play therapist. 

To read more about Play Therapy, here are some resources: 

https://cpt.unt.edu/what-is-play-therapy

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/play-therapy