You Can Heal.
The first step to healing is understanding your pain.
Trauma takes many forms and effects every race, gender, profession, and socioeconomic status
Physical Abuse
Emotional/Psychological Abuse - this category includes Narcissistic and Sociopathic abuse, including legal abuse.
Sexual Abuse/Rape
Neglect and Abandonment - this can be experienced in childhood via caregivers or in adulthood from individuals we form an attachment to.
Parentification - when a child must take the role of a caregiver or parent, as the caregiver is not functioning appropriately in their role.
Serious Accident, Illness, or Medical Procedure
Domestic Violence - this includes witnessing domestic violence.
Legal Abuse - when a perpetrator uses the legal system as a means to perpetuate abuse upon the survivor.
Community Violence and Gang Violence
School Violence and Bullying
Natural or Manmade Disasters
Forced Displacement from Home - this is often seen in refugee and political asylum situations.
War/Terrorism/Political Violence
Exposure to Homicide or Suicide
Traumatic Grief/Separation/Loss of Loved One
System-Induced Trauma Including Foster Care and Incarceration
Secondary Trauma - Often experienced by those in the healing professions
This list is not exhaustive, and trauma affects each person differently - trauma can result through the experience of virtually any event or situation that is perceived as deeply disturbing or distressing. A traumatic injury can occur after prolonged or repeated exposure, or after a single distressing event. The symptoms of these traumatic injury differ from person to person, and can be experienced short-term (acutely) or long-term (chronically).
Over the last decade in working with survivors of trauma and specializing in trauma informed care, one of the most common and insidious causes of trauma described by clients is emotional and psychological abuse. Though physical and sexual abuse can, and do, accompany emotional abuse, it can also exist independent from other types of abuse. It is not easily defined nor identifiable and feels like psychological warfare. The survivor is made to question their historical recollection of events, their feelings surrounding those events, and even their own sanity. Emotional abuse often occurs slowly at first, increasing in intensity over time, until eventually wearing the survivor’s self-esteem and mental health down; with little to no awareness as to the level of abuse that is being inflicted upon them. Survivors are often left feeling hopeless, trapped, unsupported, misunderstood and alone. We understand the multi-faceted components of psychological abuse, and the different ways it affects survivor’s lives. If you have experienced this type of abuse in childhood or adulthood by a narcissist, sociopath, or any other perpetrator; your story is important, your feelings are valid, and your healing is essential. We are here to guide you in navigating the emotions surrounding the abuse you endured, understanding the ways in which it has negatively impacted your life, and work with you to rebuild a sense of self that is strong, stable, competent and worthy of love.
