Trauma Therapy
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Trauma Therapy *
Are you looking to heal some attachment wounds from childhood so that you can grow into your authentic self?
Have you experienced a traumatic event that you need to process and connect to tools so that you can regulate your nervous system and heal?
Do you struggle with perfectionism, self-worth, or relationships, and can't find where this difficulty came from?
Are you ready to begin your trauma healing journey, but want to make sure you work with a trauma therapist who really knows their stuff?
Supporting trauma is at the heart of what we do here at Minnesota Attachment Collective. Each of our therapists has advanced trainings and experiencing in trauma treatment- and we are here to support you.
Trauma Therapy in Minnesota
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has become more commonly known in the world of mental health. This can occur when someone experiences at least one trauma and meets PTSD symptoms of intrusive trauma memories or thoughts, avoidance of trauma triggers, and feeling dysregulated when exposed to reminders of their trauma.
While it is common for folks to dismiss their own traumatic experience if it doesn't seem significant enough to societal standards, we stress the importance that any event can have traumatic impacts depending on how it felt for you. One of our main specialties is in attachment trauma, which can look like PTSD, but can also look very different.
What is Attachment Trauma?
Attachment trauma, also known as complex trauma, generational trauma, or developmental trauma is made up from a pattern of attachment wounds- typically from our caregivers or early significant relationships. Sometimes, these include some “big-T” traumas, but often they are made up of a number of “small-t” traumas- which can be just as impactful.
For many of our clients, this can look like an upbringing that included chronic invalidation or emotional dismissal, overly high or rigid expectations from caregivers, or unmet needs around safety security, or emotional wellbeing.
How Might Attachment Trauma Show up in Adulthood?
In adulthood, this attachment history can manifest as perfectionism, people pleasing, self-doubt, difficulty in relationships, and confusion around goals and values. The burden of these attachment wounds can leave one feeling a lack of safety and security in themselves, their relationships, and the world around them.
For many, attachment trauma may look like anxiety, depression, or even high-achieving perfectionism. And, while coping skills can help- treating those diagnoses alone isn’t going to get at the root cause. At Minnesota Attachment Collective, we approach therapy in a way that is going to target the stories and beliefs that come from these wounds. When we can tend to healing what is underneath, not only will you be able to use skills to reduce the uncomfortable symptoms you’re experiencing, but you’ll also be able to feel more confident in yourself, your goals, and the road ahead.
What Does Trauma Therapy Look Like at Minnesota Attachment Collective?
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Relational Approach: The therapeutic relationship is essential to trauma healing. In therapy, the therapeutic relationship serves as a safe container to explore your experiences and integrate new practices. Our therapeutic approach is warm, validating, and supportive to ensure that you feel seen and heard. We value checking in often to support the collaborative process of therapy- so that we can tailor our work to support you best.
Internal Family Systems (IFS): In our work together, we will dig into a lot of “parts work”- to identify all of the different parts of you that have adapted in a way to help you feel safe and secure in the environments you grew up in. While many of those parts were needed at a time, they may not be serving you anymore. We will help you connect to your Authentic Self so that you can tend to your wounded parts in new ways- and eventually grow into a more integrated system that aligns with your current values and goals.
Nervous System Regulation: After experiencing trauma, your nervous system is likely responding to the world in ways that aren’t helpful for you. In therapy, we will draw from Polyvagal Theory, utilize Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills, as well as bring in somatic and mindfulness practices to help you regulate your nervous system. The goal here isn’t to get you to a calm state all of the time. Rather, allow you to read your nervous system responses so that you can respond to your emotions more appropriately and get to a more grounded state when that’s needed.
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Working through attachment work is often a long-term process. You have lived through years of wounding, so it makes sense that it is going to take some time to unlearn old patterns and integrate new ones. With trauma work, we often recommend weekly sessions for the first 6+ months. This allows us to build a safe therapeutic relationship so that we can dig into your story and help you build new skills in a consistent way. Once you hit a place where you feel consistent progress in your goals, we’ll transition you to lower frequencies of therapy- typically starting with every other week to monthly. While the journey for everyone is going to look different, many wrap up their more consistent phase of therapy in a year or so. Afterwards, most clients will return on an “as needed” basis, either a session here or there to talk through a current situation and refresh their work, or returning to more consistent therapy sessions for a season of life when needed.
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We are here to help.
Attachment trauma is at the heart of the work we do here at Minnesota Attachment Collective. Whether you are looking for healing around trauma or support navigating life transitions, we approach all of our work from a trauma-informed lens.
In all of the work that we do, we are mindful of attachment trauma and attachment wounds, which we feel is essential in treating trauma. We know that experiences in significant relationships have an impact on how we show up for ourselves- and so we want to help you hold space for yourself, heal, and connect to your values and goals in authentic ways.
We will hold space for your experiences. We value curious exploration, support, and acceptance. In our work together, we can sit with your attachment experiences to help you understand your story and identify what healing you need. The work we do here is relational, and our intention is that our therapeutic relationship can feel like a safe space for you to begin to repair these attachment wounds.
We utilize evidence-based practices for healing. We value staying up to date with trainings and trauma approaches so that they can provide the highest level of care. We don’t just throw the term “trauma therapy” around as a buzz word. We know our stuff and make sure we tailor our approach to support you best. We make sure that you have the grounding tools necessary to process and heal trauma safely
We Want to Help Hold Space for Your Healing
Specialized trauma-informed care
Kayla is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Perinatal Mental Health Certified Therapist (PMH-C), as well as Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP). In addition to trauma, she specializes in fertility challenges, pregnancy, postpartum, and parenthood. She is passionate about supporting clients in understanding and healing past attachment wounds so that they can connect to their authentic self and support healthy attachment in their family relationships. Kayla utilizes a lot of parts work from the Internal Family Systems approach as well as mindfulness and somatic approaches to support nervous system regulation. You can learn more about Kayla here!
Are you ready to hold space for healing? We would be honored to get to be a part of your process.
Let’s work together.
For those located in the Twin Cities, we have in-person therapy sessions available in Eagan, Minnesota. We also have virtual therapy sessions available to anyone who lives in Minnesota.