Our therapists offer PTSD & trauma therapy in Lakewood, OH

For trauma therapy, I like to use trauma-focused CBT, narrative therapy, and DBT. This allows for processing and moving through trauma and providing emotion regulation and boundary-setting skills to help them stay calm and safe.

I like to teach DBT skills, subjective units of distress to better understand how stress functions, and ways to challenge ineffective thought patterns. I will also sometimes use exposure and response prevention to challenge distress signals occurring in times of safety. I also find it important to honor how someone's brain and body protected them and helped them survive trauma, even if that approach no longer serves them.

I know a client is making progress when they are engaging in sessions, advocating for what they need, applying skills outside of session, and taking initiative in their processing and treatment. They also will report fewer flashbacks and/or feeling more present in daily life.

Clients can always supplement their therapy by applying skills learned in therapy, continuing to reflect on things discussed in therapy, and writing down things that come up to bring into session to process or work through. Showing kindness, compassion, and care to yourself outside of sessions is really important to supplement the healing happening in sessions.

A client can best prepare by reflecting on ways to share their trauma and give the therapist a basic idea of what they are going through while still respecting the boundaries of what they are or are not ready to discuss in detail.