Trauma and PTSD therapists in Bartlett, Tennessee TN

Kids are resilient, but… They often need help processing and coping with the experiences they’ve had or changes they may be going through. Whatever the experience – parental divorce, the death of a loved one, or even abuse or neglect – children often don’t have the tools to cope and move forward (at least not in a healthy way). Maybe they didn’t seem bothered by these things at the time, but now (perhaps even months or years later), their behaviors suggest that something is wrong. During a life-changing experience, kids go into “survival mode.” And that can look different based on the child. During or immediately after a stressful event, a child’s brain may activate specific areas of the brain and de-activate others as a natural response to help them survive. Some children may have increased awareness and adrenaline, often becoming jumpy or easily startled. Others may struggle with the area of the brain that helps them regulate their emotions, causing them to have mood swings, emotional outbursts, or tearfulness. Many children begin to withdraw and isolate themselves. Children who are struggling to process or cope with trauma experience problems sleeping, such as nightmares and trouble falling or staying asleep. They experience intense feelings of anxiety that cause them to be on “overdrive” and always alert to potential danger. They struggle to process and communicate their feelings appropriately, resulting in meltdowns, tantrums, or isolating themselves. They are easily distracted and find their mind wanders, causing them to “space out” during tasks or conversations. They don’t know how to trust you (or anyone) because of what they experienced. A special therapy has been proven to help. Whether your child is experiencing a life-changing event right now… or it’s something they’ve experienced in the past, I’m here to help. Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is a proven treatment to help children and teens who have experienced a scary or stressful event in life. This therapy will identify how trauma has affected your child and will help your child process stressful memories and develop ways to cope with thoughts and feelings related to the event in a safe environment. Children who have experienced trauma are frequently still “haunted” by lingering trauma reminders (or trauma triggers)… A fight at school could bring back crippling memories of a fight they witnessed in the past. Grandparent’s Day activities at their daycare may cause them to experience those same intense feelings they had when they first lost their grandparent. Seeing a distant parent after a divorce could cause them to isolate and withdraw as they wanted to when they saw parents fighting before the split. Together, your child and I will identify and confront the trauma triggers that are still impacting your child. Your child will process the experience in a safe environment and develop skills to cope with the emotions associated with the event. Relaxation skills such as mindfulness, breathing exercises, and meditation will be taught and practiced with your child in sessions (and in language they understand). These will become your child’s defense against their big and scary thoughts and feelings as they continue to move through treatment. They’ll learn ways to manage their emotions and combat panic and anxiety related to the experience and how to identify their feelings. Your child will create a “feelings-scale” and begin practicing ways to calm themselves down (or bring themselves “back down the scale”) when their feelings become too much. They’ll begin communicating their feelings to you in healthy ways. They’ll learn why their former (and sometimes aggressive) ways of communication are unhealthy and often result in consequences, and they’ll replace those old ways with new skills such as using “I-feel statements.” As your child develops these skills, they will prepare to process the traumatic event head-on by completing a trauma narrative with my support. Through the trauma-narrative process, your child will confront memories of the situation and address unhelpful thoughts and core beliefs they have as a result of the event. They may think the divorce was their fault. Or that they are a “bad kid” due to abuse they experienced. We will work together to process these unhelpful thoughts and core beliefs and change them to positive, true, and helpful thoughts. The trauma-narrative process is completely tailored to each child. Your child may choose to draw, paint, or use art to express their narrative. They may choose to write and sing a song describing their experience, or they may simply choose to write their story in narrative form. Your child is free to choose the best way that works for them. After this process, your child will have the opportunity to “destroy” or keep the narrative to signify their incredible and brave progress in moving forward. Throughout treatment, we will also work together to plan for any additional needs for your child outside of therapy (ex. behavior planning, safety planning, school safety planning, or supervision planning). Don’t let an event change the rest of your child’s life. I am here to provide help within a judgement-free, therapeutic environment. Are you ready to help your child change their patterns of behavior, emotional distress, and negative thoughts resulting from the binding impacts of a traumatic event? If so, give me a call today!  

Trauma is the experience not just of what happened to us, but by how our bodies, neurology, and hearts respond to what happened to us. Traumas of 'small t' and traumas of 'big T' both create adaptions to our true selves that can lead in our being 'stuck' in ways that don't serve us, that may create more trauma, or disconnection from our true selves and to our relationships with others. We have multiple ways of healing trauma, including complex traumas, including Flash Therapy, EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), clinical hypnosis, somatic work, art therapy and more. Coming back to your true self, perhaps for the first time, is not a journey to be missed.  

As a psychologist specializing in trauma and PTSD, my treatment approach is rooted in compassion, safety, and evidence-based interventions. Through therapies such as cognitive processing therapy (CPT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), I collaborate with individuals to process traumatic memories, challenge negative beliefs, and develop effective coping strategies. Creating a safe therapeutic environment is paramount, allowing clients to explore their experiences at their own pace while feeling supported and validated. Psychoeducation about trauma responses and self-regulation techniques empowers individuals to manage symptoms and regain a sense of control over their lives. Additionally, I integrate mindfulness practices, relaxation techniques, and grounding exercises to promote emotional regulation and resilience. My goal is to facilitate healing, restore a sense of safety, and empower individuals to thrive beyond their traumatic experiences.  

You haven't necessarily experienced any overt signs of trauma that you often see talked about on social media. But something still feels off because you experienced emotional disconnect and frequent ruptures in your childhood relationships because your parents we really hard on you or withheld love and affection if you didn't perform up to their standards. Nowadays, you're often left feeling like you have to be perfect so you aren't rejected or abandoned by people in your life. If someone doesn't text you back quick enough or your friend is less available now that they've started dating someone new you interpret that as you not being not good enough. If this is you, know that there isn't anything wrong with you. These are perfectly valid feelings to have as a human who longs for connection and belonging. This can be worked through with the help of someone who knows what it's like to be in your shoes and who has the knowledge and experience as well. If you want to learn how to be more compassionate with yourself, soothe your fear of rejection, and learn how to express your needs without fearing your relationships will come crashing down if you share how you feel, then reach out to me and we can talk through how to help you get there.  

Trauma impacts people in a variety of ways, so much so that some people do not recognize their experience as a result of trauma until it becomes debilitating or someone else points it out. We create a safe therapeutic space to process your past, present, and future together. We do not work on simply dismissing or letting trauma go. We work on emotional and behavioral insight, where and how the trauma is held in your life narrative, and post traumatic growth.