“Not all storms come to disrupt your life. Some come to clear your path.” —Unknown
Counseling and Treatment for Trauma & PTSD in Milwaukee
Trauma can change how you see the world and yourself, and it may be holding you back from living a freer life. You didn’t choose to experience what you went through, and you certainly didn’t choose to have those experiences affect you today.
Going through a painful, traumatic experience makes it so hard to feel a sense of safety and stability. Because traumatic memories are linked to the emotional center of our brain, every trigger – sights, sounds, smells, etc. – bring up the pain and terror you experienced back then.
It’s exhausting to live with the hyper vigilance that accompanies a trauma reaction. No matter when the experience occurred, you probably feel a sense of not having control and worry you’ll never have control over your life.
Managing trauma is possible.
70 percent of adults have experienced trauma. You are not alone. Trauma is often a response to abuse (childhood, sexual, physical, emotional, passive), neglect, grief/loss, war, violence (including community violence), accidents, natural disasters, medical interventions, growing up in the foster system, and more.
46 percent of those entering therapy feel emotional relief within 6 weeks.
Getting Started with Trauma Therapy
We work with kids, teens, young adults, and adults who have experienced a negative event that has significantly impacted them and which they find highly stressful, traumatic, or overwhelming.
Hillary Counseling is committed to providing exceptional care in whatever capacity is most comfortable for our clients. Therapy can be an intimate, fun, engaging process where clients face their vulnerabilities and successes boldly. Your therapist will walk alongside you in healing life conflict.
Trauma is treatable.
The approach and treatment of trauma is not a universal, one-size-fits-all approach.
However, some common trauma therapy approaches can include:
Behavior Therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a common approach to treating trauma which is based on the premise that our thoughts and behaviors are interwoven–meaning that changes in thought patterns can facilitate behavioral improvements.
Exposure Therapy
Prolonged exposure therapy is a form of exposure therapy used to address PTSD avoidance behaviors. Trauma survivors typically avoid reminders of their trauma to protect themselves from overwhelming fear and pain. Unfortunately, doing so only further reinforces fear.
Throughout treatment, the therapist employs systematic desensitization techniques through prolonged exposure to stressful trauma cues, leading to symptom dissipation.
Narrative Therapy
Narrative therapy centers on assisting a client in creating an account of how their trauma has been and is currently impacting their life as a way to reclaim their identity and story.
Mindfulness Based Therapies & Wellness
Often, clients report success with guided meditations, yoga, acupuncture, grounding techniques and other holistic approaches to supplement treatment.
Somatic Therapies
Somatic therapy is a form of body-centered therapy that looks at the connection of mind and body to help release stress, trauma, and tension that has become “locked away” in the body.
EMDR Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychotherapy treatment that is designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories.
EMDR taps into the nervous system and helps us regain control. By stimulating it in a safe way, you can reprocess the event (or events) and teach your body to be less reactive to those triggers.
An EMDR therapist from our team can help you work through this. We will support you in re-processing your trauma so it no longer holds you back or controls your life.
We can’t take your painful memories away, but we can help you reprocess the traumatic event so you don’t react in the same way.
How long does trauma therapy usually last?
There is no set number of therapy sessions you must attend. The length of therapy depends on your unique needs, goals, and the complexity of your trauma. Your healing journey is personal, and we tailor our approach to support you at your own pace.
We recommend that you plan to engage in weekly therapy sessions for about 12 to 16 weeks. This consistent approach helps build a strong foundation for exploring your history, understanding the origins of your trauma, gaining insight into yourself, and developing a personalized plan with effective coping strategies.
After that initial period, depending on your progress and the severity of your symptoms, the frequency of sessions may be adjusted.
Some clients may reduce to bi-weekly sessions, while others may continue with weekly sessions if needed. Your therapist will work with you to tailor the treatment plan based on your needs and goals.
How does trauma counseling work?
Trauma counseling typically consists of 50-minute one-on-one sessions designed to help you address your concerns and work through challenges. Our counselors combine active listening with insights from research to help you understand what’s happening and explore the thoughts, feelings, family history, and environmental factors contributing to your anxiety.
Here’s what you can expect:
- A Safe, Supportive Space: From the start, we create a welcoming, non-judgmental environment where you’ll feel comfortable sharing your struggles.
- Understanding Your Story: By hearing about your life history and experiences, we begin to gain a clear understanding of your unique challenges.
- Tackling Immediate Concerns: We’ll start by helping you manage difficult emotions and navigate challenging situations you may be facing right now.
- Identifying Your Goals: Together, we’ll explore what you want to achieve in therapy and in life, helping you set meaningful goals.
- Building a Roadmap for Progress: With your personal goals in mind, we’ll develop a plan to help you reach them, using proven therapeutic techniques.
- Ongoing Improvement: Over time, you’ll begin to notice positive changes in how you think, feel, and behave.
Research shows that trauma counseling can lead to lasting changes in your thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors, helping you overcome what’s holding you back from living a more fulfilling life.
What does trauma feel like?
Trauma occurs when an event causes physical, emotional, or psychological harm, leaving you feeling powerless, threatened, or afraid. In response, your body may enter a fight, flight, or freeze state, which can manifest in various ways, including:
- Mood swings
- Anxiety or panic attacks
- Depression
- Social withdrawal
- Forgetfulness
- Shame or guilt
- Insomnia or night terrors
- Anger and irritability
- Hyper-alertness
- Rapid heartbeat or high blood pressure
- Feeling numb or disconnected
Everyone processes trauma differently. If you’re struggling, support is available to help you heal.
Can you really heal from trauma?
While we can’t erase painful memories, we can help you reprocess traumatic events so that you no longer react the same way.
The goal of trauma therapy is to reduce the impact of your trauma. As you stop reacting intensely to reminders of a traumatic experience, you’ll know that progress is being made.
For example, if you have memories of abandonment, you might go into a trauma response when a romantic interest ignores your texts. After trauma therapy, your response might be less anxiety driven, irritable, and fatigued when faced with similar situations.
