Trauma Therapy and Substance Abuse: Ready for making real changes and feeling hopeful?
How much do you still have in your life that you value? Do you have a job that pays the bills; a healthy relationship with a family member or friend; responsibility for your child or pet; transportation or housing? If you have three out of these protective factors you are ready for one-on-one counseling to support your recovery. You can work through trauma whether it’s childhood or as an adult with as little as one to three sessions.
Intergrating Christian practices and counseling.
Do you have strong spiritual daily practices such as study, prayer and meditation; a small group of people that live out the same beliefs; and a place of worship? You are miles ahead of the game and out of the dark place of suicidal thoughts. If not, stop reading and call 988. If you don’t need to talk to someone right away then keep reading.
What to expect if you choose to see a counselor/therapist? Intakes - which may seem like just a lot of paperwork are actually a time for reflection and rewriting your story. Both things can be therapeutic depending on how much you choose to be revealed. Once you complete the intake packet you will complete a questionnaire. Diagnosis for insurance and also for treatment purposes with weekly sessions takes a month. Sharing and having someone listen creates trust and a therapeutic bond which is the first step to recovery.
Using what has worked to help you grow and heal.
What have you tried so far to get well? Did you dig up coping skills learned from another counselor? Do you have a friend or family member you can talk to without overloading them; or getting a lecture and maybe rejection? Are the breathing/meditation exercises on an app enought? Have you made a list of all the Bible verses you can find on anxiety and fear?
Trauma therapy by a Christian counselor using mind/body work and prayer.
Maybe nothing has helped because you’re experiencing complex trauma. It’s not just one thing that happened long ago; where you were sure the memory was healed. You’ve been traumatized several more times since then. It could be that emotion is stored in other parts of your body as well as your brain. You reach for alcohol, marijuana or a painkiller to calm or numb yourself. With substance abuse as a coping skill, your problems and feelings are not going away. You are just on pause. Instead, you need help rewiring your brain and finding a way to experience internal and external safety.
I use tools from EMDR, tapping and muscle testing (chiropractors use) to get to where ever God (the Holy Spirit) wants to lead and you are willing to follow. We do this one trauma at a time, so you don’t have to tell your whole life story over and over.
How long did it take you to get to this place? That’s an idea of how long it may take to heal. Personally, I believe therapy shouldn’t take forever. Often clients feel a true sense of relief in 8-12 weeks, but sometimes God chooses to heal in an instant. God usually goes at His own pace and a 1000 years is like a day to Him.
Van Der Kolk M.D., Bessel “The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma” (2014) Penguin Books, New York, New York.
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/index.asp
https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help
Begin trauma treatment and Christian counseling in the central Denver today.
If you are ready to start making real changes today, call 720-577-5985 or schedule online for a free 15-minute consultation. For more about trauma therapy in central Denver look here. You can also find more at my contact and home page.
