Services

Trauma Care

We are all gifted with Resilience. This ability to bounce back after taking a hit is deeply embedded in Human Nature. Most of us view the challenges that comprise a vital life as growth-enhancing, enlarging us, and contributing to our maturation and the development of wisdom. We look forward to measuring ourselves against our challenges and through this process discover who we are.

Trauma is defined as overwhelming stress. It is a condition where the resources we can bring to a situation just aren’t sufficient to cope with the stress inherent in it. In a crisis situation, we may find ourselves going through the motions in a state where part of us is observing the other, active part. We don’t experience the fear, etc, until after we’ve played our role in responding to the event. But then, with the inevitability of a breaking wave, it catches up with us. Trauma Pings our nervous system, tapping it like a tuning fork. The ensuing vibration can last for years, leading to all types of maladaptive efforts to cope with it. Substance abuse, depression, anxiety, compulsive behavior, isolation, withdrawal, almost every psychological symptom, can in almost all instances be traced to either a single or a series of traumatic experiences. Childhood in particular is a feeding ground for trauma because children lack the cognitive capacity to grasp what is happening. Children always blame themselves, and the cycle of self-loathing and inescapable pain often starts in childhood.

EMDR

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. This is a very specific therapeutic technique developed by Francine Shapiro in the 1980’s and revised and updated over the years. Despite the fact that it is a very effective treatment for overcoming traumatic memories, exactly how it works continues to be a target of research. The current belief is that a traumatic experience ‘freezes’ the brain, preventing the processing of the emotional component of the traumatic experience. These emotions can return again and again in the form of intrusive memories or flashbacks to the traumatic experience. Often, the connection to the trauma is missed, and the person experiences intense anxiety or dysphoria without understanding the source of these emotional states.

EMDR seeks to have the person relive the traumatic experience during the therapy session, and the therapist then utilizes the eye movement technique to trigger the processing of the trauma. The effectiveness of this technique has been attested to by many people who have undergone it. It is most effective when a specific trauma is addressed. In cases of C-PTSD, many sessions may be required to review and integrate the numerous traumatic experiences undergone by the client.

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy

Ketamine has been used extensively for many years as a sedative. In recent years, it was discovered that at low doses, Ketamine can cause a powerful dissociative reaction. For people experiencing painful levels of depression, who have not responded to typical psychiatric medication, or who would rather not take typical psychiatric medication, Ketamine can offer immediate relief. This medicine is now being studied at major psychiatric research centers across the country, and has already demonstrated safety and efficacy. Its use is considered ‘off label,’ meaning that it wasn’t originally approved for treatment of psychiatric conditions, but may be used for this purpose if in the judgement of the physician it can help the patient.

I have been trained by the Ketamine Training Center of San Francisco in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy. As a part of my training, I was administered the drug and understand from an experiential perspective its effects. Ketamine’s effects can wear off over time but it can provide immediate relief from emotional pain in the weeks after an administration. Our therapy sessions will consist of preparing you for an experience of a series of Ketamine-infusions, and integration of the benefits of the medicine. While Ketamine can relieve emotional pain, the hard work of therapy will remain for us to do. I will refer you to a Ketamine-infusion treatment center. I do not provide the medicine, as I am not a physician.