Trauma Informed/Trauma Sensitive Care

A trauma sensitive care center is about more than the interventions used, it’s about the care and attitude of the entire clinic from your first phone call to your final appointment. We approach every program with this in mind, and offer a wide variety of services catering to trauma care including:

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)

EMDR is an effective and extensively researched psychotherapy technique that utilizes bilateral stimulation (side-to-side eye movements or hand tapping) as a way for people to access traumatic memories, process them, and heal from the symptoms and emotional distress they cause.

Commonly used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), EMDR can also be effective in the treatment of:

  • Stress

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Grief

  • Eating Disorders

  • Addiction

Following EMDR psychotherapy, patients report a significant decrease in the emotion and vividness associated with the traumatic memory.

EFT: Emotional Freedom Techniques and Energy Psychology: A Path to Healing

Welcome to a transformative journey through Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and Energy Psychology, therapeutic approaches that combine ancient wisdom with modern psychology to heal both mind and body.

Understanding Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)

EFT, also known as Tapping, is a psychological acupressure technique that supports your mental, emotional, and physical health. It was developed by Gary Craig in the 1990s and is rooted in the principles of both ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology. The premise of EFT is based on tapping specific points on the body's energy meridians while focusing on emotional or physical pain, which helps in clearing blockages in these energy channels to restore balance and promote healing.

The core process of EFT involves several steps that begin with identifying the issue and testing its initial intensity. You then tap on specific meridian points while voicing positive affirmations. This practice helps reduce the emotional impact of memories and incidents that trigger emotional distress, making it an effective tool for dealing with various psychological issues including stress, anxiety, phobias, and chronic pain.

Energy Psychology: Expanding the Horizon

Energy Psychology, a related field, explores the interplay between the body's energy systems and emotions. It focuses on the cognitive-somatic connections, emphasizing how our thoughts and bodily sensations are interconnected and how altering one can affect the other. Techniques used in Energy Psychology, like EFT, aim to shift the body's energy through deliberate interventions, which can lead to rapid psychological changes.

The Cognitive-Somatic Connection

Both EFT and Energy Psychology are grounded in the idea that the body and mind are intricately linked. This connection implies that mental ailments are not just in "the mind" but manifest physically in the body's energy system. For example, EFT uses tapping to alter the body's energy flow, which in turn affects emotional states. This method is particularly powerful as it addresses the root causes of emotional distress, not just the symptoms.

Integrative Healing

What makes EFT and Energy Psychology stand out is their integrative approach, which combines cognitive interventions—like focusing on a specific thought or memory—with physical actions like tapping. This dual approach helps in achieving psychological relief and bodily relaxation simultaneously, promoting a holistic healing process.

These practices offer a path toward not just managing symptoms but fundamentally transforming how you handle emotional challenges. They equip you with tools to improve your emotional resilience, enhance self-awareness, and ultimately lead a more balanced and fulfilling life.

Your Invitation to Healing

If you’re intrigued by the promise of these techniques, I encourage you to explore further. Whether you’re dealing with specific psychological issues or seeking general emotional enhancement, EFT and Energy Psychology might just be the transformative tools you’ve been looking for. Dive into the practices, learn the techniques, and experience firsthand the profound changes they can bring to your life!

See the "Our Team" page for EFT-trained therapists here at Wisdom!

Brainspotting

“Where you look affects how you feel”

Brainspotting is a transformative therapy that offers a fresh take on processing trauma and emotional upheaval. Developed by David Grand, it leverages the idea that specific eye positions can connect you to unresolved issues lodged deep in your brain's less accessible areas. 

How It Works: In a typical Brainspotting session, which usually lasts about 1-1.5 hours, your therapist uses a pointer to help identify your "brainspot" within your visual field. This spot is linked to the subcortical brain areas that hold your unprocessed trauma. By maintaining focus on this spot, you can sidestep the usual conscious barriers and delve directly into these deeper brain areas. 

The Concept of a Brainspot: Ever caught yourself looking in a particular direction when trying to recall a specific memory or during a tough conversation? Brainspotting is built on the premise that your eyes' positions can help access specific brain locations associated with memory and emotion. By finding and focusing on these brainspots, the therapy allows you to reprocess the underlying issues, potentially easing symptoms of anxiety, depression, or fear linked to those memories. 

Brainspotting is praised for its ability to integrate seamlessly with other therapeutic techniques and its effectiveness in not only addressing psychological pain but also in enhancing emotional resilience. It’s a versatile tool, applicable in a variety of therapeutic settings and capable of reaching deeper than many traditional therapies. 

See the "Our Team" page for Brainspotting-trained therapists here at Wisdom!

Energy Psychology

Energy Psychology is an innovative method stemming from cutting-edge developments in the fields of acupuncture, medicine, psychology, chiropractic, and kinesiology.

Energy psychology is a family of mind/body techniques that are clinically observed to consistently help with a wide range of psychological conditions. These interventions address the human vibrational matrix, which consists of three major interacting systems:

  • Energy pathways (meridians & related acupoints)

  • Energy centers (chakras)

  • Human biofield (systems of energy that envelop the body).

Energy Psychology methods include working with the human energy system using meridians, acupoints, chakras and the bio-field. The work often involves self-tapping, eye movements or holding particular acupoints on your own body. These techniques are also helpful in promoting high-level mind-body health and peak performance in the physical, mental and creative arenas of life.

The videos below feature Dr. Robert Schwarz of ACEP (Association for Comprehensive Energy Medicine) in conversation with Michael DeMolina. They discuss creating a coherent neuroscience frame for why EP works.

RTM (Reconsolidation of Traumatic Memories)

Millions of people who have experienced traumatic events whether by tragedies in their own lives or the course of their professional duties, thousands of abuse and disaster survivors, military personnel, emergency workers, and police officers, suffer the shackles of neurological and other physical damage caused by these events.

Many of these people continue to experience life-altering symptoms of post-traumatic stress even after "successful" rounds of evidence-based therapy. This has prompted the medical and psychological community to improve and research novel treatments.

RTM was developed by Dr. Frank Bourke as a result of his experience with 9/11 victims. In his words:  "I realized how effective this protocol was after 9/11 when I worked with employees whose offices were above the 100th floor of Tower Two. I made it my life's mission to scientifically prove its clinical effectiveness and bring it to the millions in need of its life-saving help.”

If you have been suffering from post-traumatic stress, RTM can free you from the neurological damage caused by a traumatic event in your past.