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Trauma-Informed Therapy
What It Means to Approach Therapy With an Understanding of Trauma
What is Trauma-Informed Therapy?
Trauma-informed therapy recognizes that difficult or overwhelming experiences can affect more than how you remember the past. They can also influence your beliefs about yourself, your sense of safety, your relationships, and the ways you respond to challenging situations.
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Trauma-informed therapy doesn't just look at what's on the surface. It considers the experiences and circumstances that may contribute to them.
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This doesn't mean assuming that everyone has experienced trauma or that every difficulty stems from the past. It means approaching your concerns with curiosity, respect, and an understanding the your experiences may be an important part of the picture.​
The Goal is To...
Understand What You're Experiencing
Recognize What You Need
Work Toward Meaningful Change
What Does Trauma-Informed Therapy Look Like in Practice?
A Collaborative Approach
Your experiences and needs matter. Therapy gives you space to share your questions, preferences, and feedback.
Your Comfort Matters
You don't have to share everything all at once. We'll consider your readiness when we discuss how we will address the concerns bringing you to therapy.
Understanding, Not Judging
We can explore how your responses and coping patterns developed, their purpose, and whether they continue to serve you.
Individualized Treatment
Your treatment should reflect your needs and what you want to accomplish.
How Past Experiences Can Affect Your Present
Sometimes the connection between past experiences and current difficulties isn't immediately obvious.
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You might seek therapy because of a stressful job, relationship problems, or low self-worth only to discover that earlier experiences are influencing how you respond today.
Past criticism, rejection, or emotional neglect may contribute to self-doubt, harsh judgment, or a tendency to seek reassurance from others.
Earlier relationship experiences may influence how you respond to distance, conflict, uncertainty, or the possibility of losing someone important to you.
Putting your needs last, struggling to be assertive, or questioning your judgment after painful or manipulative relationship experiences.
These patterns aren't character flaws. Understanding how they developed can help you decide what you want to change and how to move toward healthier ways of relating to yourself or others.
Trauma-informed care and EMDR are related... but they aren't the same thing
Trauma-informed care is an approach to providing therapy.
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It recognizes that past experiences can influence a person's current concerns and emphasizes collaboration, respect, safety, and individualized treatment.
EMDR is a specific type of psychotherapy.
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It helps people process distressing experiences and the thoughts, feelings, and reactions associated with them.
EMDR may be incorporated into trauma-informed treatment when it's appropriate for your circumstances, readiness, and goals. Other therapeutic appraoches may also be helpful, depending on what you're working through.
You don't need to decide which approach you need before reaching out. We can discuss this during a free 15-minute consultation or during a session to determine what would be most appropriate for you.
Trauma-Informed Therapy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC
Be Heard Live Well offers virtual therapy sessions, eliminating the hassle of commuting. Whether you're exploring relationship patterns, working through painful experiences, or trying to understand why certain challenges keep affecting you, treatment starts with your individual concerns.
You Deserve to Be Heard, Understood, & Supported
Your past experiences may help explain some of the challenges you're facing today but they don't have to define your future.
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Trauma-informed therapy can help you explore your experiences, understand your patterns, and work towards greater self-worth and healthier relationships.