Trauma Recovery Coaching and Mentoring
“The first goal of trauma recovery should and must be to improve your quality of life on a daily basis” (Rothschild, 2010).
We exist to solve the critical issues facing our clients, both large and small. Our unique approach is not only what differentiates us, but also what makes us successful. We provide a broad range of services and solutions to help individuals facilitate change, achieve their vision and optimize performance and productivity. Mental illnesses that may precede or result from experiencing trauma can include anxiety disorders, depression, or substance use. Trauma disorders do not get better without treatment, and they can cause significant and harmful complications if not treated. These may include depression, job loss, social dysfunction, and even suicide. Recovering from the effects of trauma and enhancing your mental health is about understanding and knowing your strengths and knowing yourself. No one has perfect mental health and everyone can do things to improve their mental health. It’s a lifelong journey that gets easier as you travel down the road you have already started.
Disclaimer: We are not a substitute for a licensed mental health practitioner.
Addiction Recovery
An addiction is a chronic disorder in which an individual is blinded by a substance, or engages in an activity, that gives them an immense amount of pleasure but has become detrimental to their everyday life. Compulsive behaviors and addictions can temporarily provide confidence, control, validation or other emotions lacking in one’s life, but the behavior may not stop until the root of the problem is addressed.
Common addictions include but are not limited to:
Drug or alcohol abuse
Gambling
Internet
Shopping
Food
Conflict
Sex
Seek Professional Assistance
People who have developed an addiction may be unaware that it is out of control, which is why support is an essential part of working through and managing this condition. An addiction of any sort can be exhausting, and one should never go through the recovery process alone.
Conflict Resolution
We all have moments of frustration whether they be associated with a friend, a family member, or a disagreement in your everyday life, but there are several positive strategies to utilize when it comes to dealing with conflict.
Avoidance: This is the person who wishes to ignore the problem and will allow it to dissipate or squander. Unfortunately, quite the contrary is happening in this situation. The problem then swells under the surface until it’s no longer avoidable and will need to be addressed.
Standing your Ground: People who use this technique may appear controlling and aggressive in their means of communication. They fear not having their needs met if they don’t set the rules and direct the conversation.
Surrendering: Often perceived as the diplomat, the person using this tactic concedes to the needs of others. They place the needs and opinions of others on their own because preserving the relationship(s) is the ultimate goal.
Compromise/Sacrifice: This method is a sort of concession and, while it seems to be a good route to take, it’s not the best approach. People in this category make a sequence of tradeoffs which means they are focusing on what they want as opposed to understanding the other’s viewpoint.
Collaborate: People who practice collaboration care about win-win solutions. This simply means that they scout common aspirations and needs, to where every party knows their opinions and feeling are important and are going to be heard. This style needs a lot of cooperation, assertiveness and communication among the parties.
Ultimately, understanding your wants and needs as well as your behavior patterns will establish internal insight. You will have a better understanding for not just yourself, but for others around you and how situations may or may not unfold. This knowledge will give you the preliminary tools for conflict resolution
Couples Coaching
Factors from trauma can put an abundant strain on a relationship. Severe stressors may include resentment, infidelity, intimacy issues, lack of trust, and miscommunication. When problems go unresolved, or a partner is suffering from mental illness or health complications, one can feel helpless or have feelings of guilt or shame. Communicating effectively on both parts can alleviate emotional anxiety from subjects of all kinds.
Treatment techniques may include the following:
Narrative
Emotionally Focused
Positive Psychology
Analyzing Your Communication
Getting to the root of the problem
Enhancing Intimacy
Couple Retreat
When a relationship is showing signs of addiction, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and/or severe depression, seek guidance from a counselor immediately, for your safety and your partner.
Grief and Loss Recovery
Throughout the course of our years, we all experience a loss at some point in our lives. Feelings of grief and loss are not always associated with death, however, but commonly surface after a loss of some kind – whether it is the loss of a loved one, a severed relationship, a pregnancy, a pet, or a job.
When a person loses something or someone valuable to them, feelings of grief can be overbearing. Grief can leave a person feeling sad, hopeless, isolated, irritable, and numb by affecting them mentally, emotionally, and physically. It’s important to understand that healing from grief is a process and everyone copes with this emotion differently.
Many people don’t know what to say or do when a person is grieving but be sure to have patience with the individual (including yourself) throughout the entire process.
In coaching a client may:
Improve coping skills
Reduce feelings of blame and guilt
Explore and process emotions
Consider seeking professional support if feelings of grief do not ease over time.
Intimacy and Relationship Issues
Intimacy problems widely occur behind a variety of closed doors. Conflicts may include a loss of harmony between the sheets, a lack of sexual desire between either partners or failure in communication. There are often psychological factors that may contribute to a sexual disorder such as physical and emotional trauma. Intimacy issues are common, but if one or more become severe and there is no resolution in sight, it may be time to seek therapy for guidance.
What Makes a Satisfactory Relationship?
• Trust
• Mindfulness
• Mutual Respect
• Communication
How we treat trauma-based intimacy issues:
• Allowing couples to express themselves in a safe environment with a trusted and supportive professional.
• Teach how to build and maintain strong connections and time to build trust.
Panic Attacks and Panic Disorder
Panic attacks are brief episodes of extreme fear. They may be mistaken for heart attacks or strokes, but are actually psychological rather than physical. Panic attacks can occur suddenly and usually peak within ten minutes. Most panic attacks end within 20 to 30 minutes.
Some symptoms include:
Chills
Nausea
Sweating
Chest pain
Palpitations
Shaking
Feelings of suffocation
Sometimes panic attacks are isolated incidents, but if a person has had at least two panic attacks and lives in fear of having another, they may have panic disorder. A panic attack can happen without an obvious cause, but people with panic disorder may develop phobias related to something they associate with panic attacks, including open spaces, and large crowds.
Panic disorder is classified as an anxiety disorder, and like other forms of anxiety, it is commonly treated with a combination of therapy, medications, and healthy lifestyle changes.
The goal
Clients are encouraged to do breathing exercises, get regular exercise, and incorporate various other forms of wellness lifestyle changes.
Parenting and Family Issues
The number of situations associated with parenting and families is endless, but common conflicts can include trauma, such as domestic violence, alcohol, drug abuse, and recovery. It can be challenging to watch family members struggle, and in most cases, you may not know how to resolve the problem. Seeking support can help parents and families develop acceptance and skills to repair relationships that may seem unsalvageable.
Other parenting and family issues may include:
Being a single parent
Divorce
Infidelity
Problems caused by divorced parents entering new relationships
Fewer opportunities for parents and children to spend time together
Deployment
Parenting and family issues are oftentimes intertwined. Treatment methods vary and will depend on an individual or family situation. The healing process may focus on improving communication between family members, as well as finding healthy ways of resolving a conflict.
Parenting Support
Is your family going through a rough patch? Whether the issue itself, stems from a lack of understanding between those involved, sibling conflict, or developmental disagreements with a child, a difficult situation can have an effect on the entire family. Family support groups can be helpful when problems arise and can help restore and improve communication.
Some situations that may benefit from family support groups include:
If a family is going through a loss.
If a family member is suffering or recovering from substance abuse
Issues between parents (parenting issues or going through a divorce)
If a teenager is experiencing behavior issues such as anger outbursts
Sibling conflict
If a family member experiences a form of trauma
How can family support groups help?
They can help open up a line of dialogue and communication and can help family members understand each other’s perspectives. This makes it easier to resolve disputes. Each member has the ability to learn ways of communicating better, as well as developing techniques to de-escalate arguments while making sure that everybody is getting heard. This can also help with parenting problems such as conflicting parenting styles, rule enforcement and remaining consistent with your child once the rules are established.
How is it accomplished?
The goal is to improve relationships and improve methods of communication and conflict resolution. Families are a unique ecosystem, and issues affecting one member of a family can reverberate and affect the whole unit.
Stress Management
Everyone encounters stress during their lives at one point—never-ending bills, demanding schedules, work, and family responsibilities—and that can make stress seem inescapable and uncontrollable. Stress management skills are designed to help a person take control of their lifestyle, thoughts, and emotions and teach them healthy ways to cope with their problems.
Find the Cause
The first step in stress management is identifying your stressors. While this sounds fairly easy—it’s not hard to point to major changes or a lot of work piling up—chronic stress can be complicated, and most people don’t realize how their habits contribute to their stress. Maybe work piling up isn’t from the actual demands of your job, but more so from your procrastination. You have to claim responsibility for the role you play in creating your stress or you won’t be able to control it.
Strategies for Stress Management
Once you’ve found what causes your stress, focus on what you can control. Eliminate the realistic stressors and develop consistent de-stressing habits. Instead of watching TV or responding to texts in bed after work - take a walk, or read a book. Maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and getting enough quality sleep, will ease feelings of stress and help you relax.
Also, make a conscious effort to set aside time for yourself and for relaxation. Alone time can be whatever you need it to be. Some people like doing activities such as tai chi, yoga, or meditation, but you can also treat yourself to something simple, like taking a bubble bath, listening to music, or watching a funny movie.
Finally, don’t feel like you have to solve your stress on your own. Reach out to your family and friends. Whether you need help with a problem or just need someone to listen, find a person who will be there to positively reinforce and support you.
Work and Career Issues
Most of us spend more time at work than at home, therefore the workplace should be an environment where we feel safe and comfortable. However, because work is where a bunch of different personalities, communication styles, and worldviews gather around, things don’t always go smoothly. In fact, workplace bullying is on the rise and though statistics vary, some studies reveal that nearly half of all American workers have been affected by this problem, either as a target or as a witness to abusive behavior against a co-worker.
Examples of common workplace issues include:
Poor job fit
Mental anguish
Sexual or verbal harassment
Discrimination
Low motivation and job dissatisfaction
How a Coach Can Help
Coaching for work and career issues can help a person develop a better understanding of their wants and needs as well as approach alternative ways to handle tension while on the clock. A coaching professional can also teach coping skills that will help a person manage work-related stress.
Trauma Recovery
Mind Symptoms of PTSD
You experienced painful emotional or physical trauma in your family growing up. You’ve suffered emotional or physical trauma in one or more of your relationships. There has been an event in your life in which you’ve been threatened with such serious physical or emotional harm that it would be out of the range of what we consider normal life experience. Some examples might be living through war, witnessing an accident with loss of life or limb, experiencing rape or incest, or seeing your children suffer abuse. Whatever the trauma you’ve experienced, you tend to have “repeat performances” of this painful pattern in one relationship after another, one job after another, and so on.
You have thought patterns of terror, fright, panic, and edginess.
You have a feeling that you might be hurt or harmed, or that someone might reject or criticize you.
You believe you won’t get the help you need.
You feel you’re incompetent to change the situation.
You feel like you’re going crazy.
Body Symptoms of PTSD
In addition to the symptoms in the previous section, you may have these:
Trembling and shaking
Hot flashes and cold chills
Numbness and tingling
Nausea or a sick feeling in your stomach
Pressure in your chest
A pounding heart
Cold sweats
Shortness of breath
A lump in your throat
Dizziness and vertigo
Feeling like you’re “out of your body”
Feeling like you’re dying
You’ll find that trauma can rewire the brain, and if the above descriptions sound familiar to you, read on. You will have a whole host of solutions you can use with your health care team to create physical relief and emotional serenity.
Adolescent Mentoring
Mentoring is often one component of a program that involves other elements, such as tutoring or life skills training and coaching. The supportive, healthy relationships formed between mentors and mentees are both immediate and long-term and contribute to a host of benefits for mentors and mentees.
Benefits for youth:
Increased high school graduation rates
Lower high school dropout rates
Healthier relationships and lifestyle choices
Better attitude about school
Higher college enrollment rates and higher educational aspirations
Enhanced self-esteem and self-confidence
Improved behavior, both at home and at school
Stronger relationships with parents, teachers, and peers
Improved interpersonal skills
Decreased likelihood of initiating drug and alcohol use
Depression And Anxiety
Depression commonly manifests physically, through stomach pains, headaches, disrupted or excessive sleep, and motor control difficulty. Depression can run in families, and it can be triggered by trauma and adverse life circumstances.
Depression and anxiety often exacerbate each other and people with depression commonly have difficulty concentrating on tasks and conversations. Some people abuse alcohol and drugs or overeat as a way of coping, causing them to develop other medical problems. Depressed people are also at increased risk for self-harm.
Depression is a mental illness which is characterized by prolonged emotional symptoms including:
Apathy
Sadness
Guilt
Exhaustion
Irritability
Every case is unique and requires individual attention, but there are a number of effective complementary ways of treating depression, including:
Talk
Adopting a healthier lifestyle
Family Coaching
Is your family going through a rough patch? Whether the issue itself, stems from a lack of understanding between those involved, sibling conflict, or developmental disagreements with a child, a difficult situation can have an effect on the entire family. Family coaching can be helpful when problems arise and can help restore and improve communication.
Some situations that may benefit include:
If a family is recovering from a loss.
If a family member is recovering from substance abuse
Issues between parents (parenting issues or going through a divorce)
If a teenager is experiencing behavior issues such as anger outbursts
Sibling conflict
Opening up a line of dialogue and communication and can help family members understand each other’s perspectives. This makes it easier to resolve disputes. During the coaching sessions, each member will learn ways of communicating better, as well as developing techniques to de-escalate arguments while making sure that everybody is getting heard. This can also help with parenting problems such as conflicting parenting styles, rule enforcement, and remaining consistent with your child once the rules are established.
The goal is to improve relationships and improve methods of communication and conflict resolution. Families are a unique ecosystem, and issues affecting one member of a family can reverberate and affect the whole unit. Additional benefits of this type of counseling are that in some instances, the sessions can heal emotional wounds in a short period of time.