trauma therapy in chicago
Acute and Complex Trauma Therapy
At LifePath Therapy, we are committed to changing the way that we talk about and heal from trauma. We sometimes refer to the acute, life-threatening traumatic incidents as “Big T Trauma,” whereas “Little T Trauma,” describes the effect of cumulative moments of distress, attachment wounds, and dehumanization that can create a lasting trauma response. Trauma can impact your sense of safety, control, belonging, identity, and meaning.
Types of Trauma Our Therapists Are Ready to Help You Overcome:
Interpersonal & Relational Trauma
Generational Trauma
Racial Trauma
Religious Trauma
Sexual Trauma
Complex Trauma
Developmental Trauma
Natural Disaster Trauma
Global Event Related Trauma
The Impact of Trauma
When we experience a traumatic incident, our body and brain have an automatic response to help us survive and seek safety. This response is unique to each person.
Acute Trauma
Some common responses and symptoms of acute trauma include:
Intrusive thoughts, nightmares or flashbacks
Sleep disturbances
Painful depression or anxiety
Anger, irritability, and hypervigilance
Aggressive, reckless behavior, including self-harm
Loss of interest in activities that were once considered enjoyable
Difficulty remembering details of the distressing event
Avoiding specific locations, sights, situations, and sounds that serve as reminders of the event
Complex & chronic trauma
Complex or chronic trauma may show up in similar ways to acute, and may also include experiences such as:
Chronic feelings of shame or guilt
Experiencing relationships as either disconnected or chaotic
Difficulty regulating or expressing emotions
Difficulty managing impulse control
Self-injurious behavior
Difficulty remembering large portions of childhood
Sense that something is “missing” in you
Social isolation
Feeling disconnected from yourself, losing track of time or reality
you are not broken. you make sense.
At LifePath we see you as a whole person, and take into account the ways trauma may be impacting your mental, physical, relational, emotional, and spiritual well being.
It is normal to feel fear, sadness, anxiety, anger, or disconnection as your body and mind attempt to make sense of what has happened. The behaviors and symptoms that follow trauma are adaptive, and unfortunately sometimes the very behaviors and coping tools we use to feel safe often begin to have adverse effects on our wellbeing. At LifePath our therapists do not see you as a diagnosis but as a whole person – both your pain and your strengths. Our guiding principles in being trauma informed include collaboration and mutuality, empowerment, and choice.
Our Approach to Trauma Therapy and Healing
We believe that it is possible to move beyond survival into thriving, reclaiming safety, pleasure, connection, and belonging. Our trauma trained therapists at LifePath will work with you to create a plan and experience that meets you where you are, at a pace that feels safe.
Your experiences and self are not cookie cutter, and your therapy shouldn’t be either.
While each therapist brings their own specific training and modalities, some common components of the therapy process may include creating safety, psycho-education, skill building, trauma-informed processing, and reparative relational experiences.
At LifePath we don’t pigeon hole ourselves to just “top down” approaches where we are engaging our cognition or using only a “bottom up” approach where we are mostly tracking somatic experiences.
We work to integrate these approaches in order to engage all parts of you. We believe this is what leads to embodied change and expanded capacities to tolerate discomfort.
Engaging in Trauma therapy can look like:
Slowing down and observing moment-to-moment experiences to gain awareness of how trauma is stored in your body and understand your responses
Tracking the moments that cause activation, thought, emotion and behavior patterns, so you can have awareness of these situations as they arise and have greater agency over responding
Processing through core beliefs and attachment injuries that developed through previous traumatic experiences
Practicing boundary setting to create a more secure and safe environment
Creating intimacy and connection in your relationships, so you can build a community that is nurturing
Building skills to manage the impact of trauma, developing more trust in your nervous system response and in your own ability to tolerate moments of distress or big feelings
