Brooke Small MA, LPCC, NCC

Grief doesn't always begin with the death of our loved one or the end of a cherished relationship. We can also experience grief when we lose our health or have expectations for our life that won't be met. However, as we move through the tasks of grief we can learn to honor our experience, bind the broken pieces of our heart, and create a life where grief, hope, and joy can reside simultaneously. Therapy can be a lifeline of connection and compassion as you process your loss and heal your heart.

When we develop an insecure attachment, we struggle to develop a sense of self, struggle with rigid thinking about dependence, mistrust, and personal worthiness. Though these feelings often stem from childhood other important relationships can help or harm our feelings of attachment. Abusive relationships, betrayal, and addiction often cause us to question the strength of our attachments. Through therapy, attachment, trust and our sense of self can be repaired.

Trauma can compound over time leaving us feeling powerless and scared in life and not just specific situations. To survive traumatic experiences, particularly in relationships, we cultivate coping strategies that help us manage the chaos. Although these strategies, like hypervigilance and codependency help for a short time eventually, they stop working and add to our pain. The psychological and physical symptoms of trauma are a result of experience and can be greatly alleviated through therapy.

This evidenced-based short term treatment has been shown to produce successful outcomes for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Likewise, it has been shown to successfully treat depression, anxiety, grief, other mental health problems, and somatic symptoms. The EMDR approach targets past experience, current triggers, and potential challenges. Successful treatment often results in the reduction of symptoms, a decrease or elimination of distress from disturbing memories and an improved sense of self.