EMDR & Trauma Counseling

Trauma might present itself as low self-esteem, stress, feeling anxious, depressed, unmotivated, perfectionist, or feeling an element of imposter syndrome. You might also notice difficulty setting boundaries or advocating for your own needs, "people-pleasing" as some call it. This trauma might impact your current relationships. Trauma comes from difficult past experiences that impact how we view and interact with the world today.

Sometimes it feels like you can never do enough and it's hard to feel good about your accomplishments. You might be critical of yourself, carry feelings of guilt, and you are never quite satisfied with your work. You take on more than you can handle at times because it's just too hard to say no. You like to "fix" things.

This sounds a lot like trauma masking in a veil of perfectionism. What is trauma? Trauma might be workplace harassment, the death of a loved one, an abusive relationship or growing up with difficult parents. These are the experiences that define our thought patterns, impact our feelings, and influence how we look at ourselves. When understood and processed, we can know when and how these feelings might show up. We can learn to navigate our feelings effectively and grow in our strengths.

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and it helps with trauma and PTSD symptoms. This type of therapy allows clients to look at different experiences in a new light, rewrite some of their negative self beliefs, and process trauma/grief. Learn more about EMDR via EMDRIA, the official certifying body for EMDR - here is there video on "What is EMDR".