Sage Wellness offers counselors with specialized training and expertise in counseling that is trauma-informed, compassionate and focused on helping people heal and recover from trauma.

Many people experience trauma at some point in their lives. Some people find themselves questioning whether their trauma “counts” or think their trauma “wasn’t bad enough” to justify their struggles or getting help. Someone’s comparison or judgment of an event or experience as “traumatic enough” is irrelevant because trauma is about the impact on a person’s life and relationships.

At Sage Wellness, our team of therapists have helped people with many different experiences of trauma. Some examples of trauma include: car accident, verbal, physical or sexual abuse, the loss of a loved one, experiencing or witnessing violence, natural disaster, being threatened with violence, loss of income and independence due to physical disability, and isolation or loss due to due to COVID-19. These are just a few examples of trauma. With love and support, many people find they are able to recover over time. For many, trauma can have lasting effects that impact their ability to live the life they deserve.

What are signs that I need help for trauma?

  • You avoid people, places or things that remind you of the trauma.
  • You experience increased anxiety, depression, guilt or numbness
  • Difficulty with intrusive thoughts, nightmares and flashbacks
  • Feelings of anger, irritability or hypervigilance
  • Sleep problems
  • Difficulty remembering details of the distressing event
  • Change in habits or behavior since the trauma

Types of Trauma Treatment at Sage Wellness

At Sage Wellness, we utilize a range of empirically supported therapeutic approaches to address mental health challenges, including two highly effective trauma recovery methods: Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Both ART and EMDR are evidence-based and effective treatments for resolving symptoms and memories of trauma while utilizing bilateral stimulation (BLS). The BLS is typically eye movements but can also include tapping techniques or audio tones if needed. The BLS simulates the eye movements of REM sleep, combined with other elements of ART and EMDR, and alters how the brain stores and recalls traumatic images and memories. As a result, clients are much less affected by past distressing memories, and triggers of the memories can be reduced dramatically and sometimes erased.

ART and EMDR offer a unique approach to trauma healing by not requiring clients to verbally relive painful memories in detail. Instead, both therapies use BLS to activate the brain’s natural healing processes, allowing distressing memories to be reprocessed without the need for indepth discussion of the events. One of the special aspects of ART is that clients replace their negative images with positive ones. ART sessions are calming for the client and clients experience relief within one to two sessions.