- Do you feel constant fear, anxiety, and overwhelm?
- Feel a sense of hopelessness that impacts your ability to function in daily life?
- Do you struggle to maintain stable and healthy relationships?
- Feel a persistent disconnection from yourself and others?
- Often expect the worst or feel unsafe physically or emotionally? Feel as if you are on hyper-alert?
If this resonates, past trauma may be preventing you from living a full life in the present. You don’t have to feel hopeless. You don’t have to let the past determine your present. Psychotherapy can help you process unresolved trauma and help you move from a state of hopelessness to one of hope. Psychotherapy can help you make lasting change and live the life you imagine.
Can you really Heal?
Yes, you CAN heal from trauma. It is hard work, but you CAN heal. How do I know this? Neuroscience arms us with the knowledge that change is possible. The old saying people don’t change has simply been proven wrong. Not only can we change, we are wired to do so.
The brain can grow new neural networks and your nervous system can recalibrate. Recovery is possible. This new research goes a long way to destigmatizing the psychological effects of trauma and plays a big role in the healing process. With science-backed confidence, we can now approach treatment from a holistic perspective that considers the mind, body, and spirit connection. Psychoeducation about the impact of trauma on both your psyche and nervous system sets the stage for the profound and deep work necessary for true healing.
Knowledge about what happened to you decreases the shame, empowers you, and helps you form a new understanding of your trauma. This creates space for growth to begin again. Psychotherapy can help you move from a state of hopelessness to a state of hope. It can help you move from a place of anxiety and fear to a place of safety and empowerment. You can begin to navigate life and relationships with confidence and begin to move forward towards that life you imagine.
What is Trauma?
Trauma can affect anyone and it comes in all shapes and sizes. It can come as either a one-time event or as a prolonged series of events. Dr. Dan Siegel, clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA and trauma expert, defines trauma as “any event that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope with it.” It is a subjective experience, meaning one person may experience an event or events as traumatic while another may not. Most who experience trauma feel a profound threat to their life, safety, and well-being. It is as if their felt sense of safety in the world is hijacked by an underlying sense of anxiety and fear.
Symptoms of Trauma
Trauma can manifest in various ways. The symptoms are diverse and complex and impact a person’s mental, emotional, physical, social, and spiritual health. Everyone has a different set of symptoms and or reasons for reaching out for therapy. Some of the symptoms that might bring one to Lysle Shaw Psychotherapy are:
- Intrusive Thoughts
- Emotional Dysregulation
- Avoidance of Triggers
- Hypervigilance
- Disrupted Relationships
- Self-Destructive Behavior
- Dissociation
- Sleep Disturbances
As a trauma therapist, I have seen the devastating and pervasive impact that trauma has on overall well-being. I have also seen profound healing.I know you’ve done everything you can to feel better and move on. If you have unresolved trauma, feel stuck, alone, and unable to move forward, trauma therapy may be for you. I specialize in helping clients with significant trauma recover and move forward in life. I would be honored to work with you.
Lysle Shaw Psychotherapy Approach to Trauma Therapy – A Neurobiological Depth Approach
My approach is non-pathologizing, meaning I do not consider the impact of trauma as a disease or disorder. I view the impact of trauma as your system’s capacity to adapt, cope, and survive until you find a safe space to go deep and process your trauma. Why depth work? Depth work gets to the root of the trauma. It is essential for lasting change. Combined with some key and simple knowledge of neuroscience and other modalities as needed, it is the core of the healing process.
Depth Therapy
Depth therapy is an approach that explores the unconscious while at the same time addresses what is conscious and present in your life. This process can help you understand your triggers, defense mechanisms, and patterns of thinking that have developed as a result of the trauma/s. By gaining insight into these factors, you can start to heal and integrate your traumatic experiences into your overall sense of self.
Our deepest human need is to feel a sense of belonging, to feel that we are connected, to feel that we matter. Studies show that the quality of our relationships directly impacts our physical and mental health in the short and long term. Much of the wounds and trauma we experience comes from the relationships in our lives, so it makes sense that the start of a new and healthy relationship would create space for healing. This is what depth work is all about – a safe relational space for you to go deep, rewire and heal.
Psychotherapy works
A safe relational space offers the ingredients necessary for real change – change that comes from rewiring and reshaping your brain and autonomic nervous system. We will use this knowledge to help you understand what happened to you while at the same time doing the deep work to undo the effects of trauma. We cannot take your trauma away but we can work together to help you process, recover, and heal.
Trauma Specialties
Relational Trauma
Relational trauma refers to traumatic experiences that occur within the context of relationships with others. This type of trauma stems from harmful interactions with individuals or groups, leading to psychological distress. Relational trauma can have a deep impact on a person’s sense of self, their ability to trust others, and their capacity for healthy relationships. I offer a space of safety and acceptance that allows for the kind of trust essential to healing the wounds from trauma.
Developmental Trauma
Developmental trauma is a type of relational trauma that occurs early in life. It includes maltreatment or neglect inflicted within a child’s relationship with a parent or other primary caregiver. This type of trauma often results from impaired caregiving whether malicious or unintentional in nature. Developmental trauma can stem from family mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, and other forms of life adversity. This type of trauma disrupts a child’s internalization of healthy boundaries, secure connection to others, and a sense of being worthy of love. Developmental trauma impacts a child’s ability to develop a strong sense of security and safety. Many describe a feeling of “not knowing who they are” to the point of lacking the ability to make decisions, even small decisions. We will go deep and help you let go and rewire so you can move about your life with more confidence and ease.
Spiritual/Religious Trauma
Religious trauma is a type of relational trauma. It stems from growing up in an environment with rigid religious or spiritual beliefs. This can range from living in an extreme religious cult, an abusive religious setting, a fundamental group that was not aligned with your own core beliefs, or any other rigid and painful religious experience that left you feeling isolated, afraid, and lost. We work together to understand the effects of this type of trauma so you can forge ahead with a value and belief system more congruent with who you are.
Begin Trauma Therapy in Texas Today!
What is holding you back from beginning trauma-focused therapy? The irony is that most trauma is relational trauma so it makes sense you would be hesitant to seek out a new relationship, even a therapeutic one that should be safe. You have been hurt to your core and the idea of trusting another with your story is almost unbearable. I get that. From the start, I offer a space of safety and complete acceptance that allows for the kind of trust and alliance needed to address your trauma/s. Healing is gradual but trust can be built and your life can change. To begin work with Lysle Shaw Psychotherapy follow the steps below:
- Reach out to schedule a free 15 minute consultation.
- Speak with an experienced therapist.
- Start healing today.
Other Services Offered at Lysle Shaw Psychotherapy in Austin, Houston, and throughout Texas
Lysle Shaw Psychotherapy offers more than just trauma therapy in Austin, Texas. I offer a variety of specialties including outdoor psychotherapy, online therapy, Jungian dreamwork and individual therapy for relationship issues. Visit today to begin your journey to living your happiest life.