Trauma Informed Therapy
In the book The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel van der Kolk says: “One does not have to be a combat soldier, or visit a refugee camp in Syria or in the Congo to encounter trauma. Trauma happens to us, our friends, our families, and our neighbors…As human beings we belong to an extremely resilient species. Since time immemorial we have rebounded from our relentless wars, countless disasters both natural and man-made, and the violence of betrayal in our own lives. But traumatic experiences do leave traces, whether on a large scale (on our histories and cultures) or close to home, on our families, with dark secrets being imperceptibly passed down through generations. They leave traces on our minds and emotions, on our capacity for joy and intimacy, and even on our biology and immune systems.”
The Strength to Heal is Already Within Each of Us
The clients who come to us at Juniper Canyon have typically experienced some form of trauma, and may have experienced complex and/or chronic trauma. As a result, therapy needs to be trauma-informed and clients need access to specific trauma modalities in order to heal. Unfortunately, treatment often focuses on the presenting diagnoses, such as substance abuse, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and overall behavioral issues. But as we drill down into the causes of these behavioral and emotional difficulties there are, more often than not, traumatic events that have triggered negative and even dangerous coping skills.
This is true for the women at Juniper Canyon. They exhibit destructive and addictive behaviors, and often feel worthless, rejected, and “not enough.” Helping them to discover who they really are and to begin to let go of the negative messages and behaviors that have been internalized and habitualized because of trauma is central to our work at Juniper Canyon. All of our treatment is trauma informed. We use specific trauma modalities such as EMDR, Internal Family Systems Theory (IFS), guided imageries and specialized meditation, DBT, mindfulness practices, yoga, and other methods to treat trauma.
