Why do children, teens, and couples seek a therapist who specializes in holistic, mindfulness?
First, mindfulness helps you release anxiety, while also being connected to yourself. Not all therapists teach mindfulness skills. And, children need a safe place to learn mindfulness and self-care tools too. Many times, our Americanized culture tells us to be attached to an outcome. That we have to be perfect all the time. As an adult, you may have a plan for your life and feel like you “should” fit in. What mindfulness teaches, is that it is okay to be in tune with your self.
Mindfulness through expressive creative arts in therapy can help with healing from trauma and PTSD.
As a parent, teacher, friend, and in your career, mindfulness therapies can help you be confident being yourself. From self-awareness and self-acceptance, which are benefits from mindfulness, you can be more intuitive. Children, teens, and couples all develop high levels of anxiety from trauma experiences. So, children and families who have trauma histories may be stuck in “survival mind” and need help shifting into “adventure mind.”
What is mindfulness around core values of self-worth in a counseling setting?
Mindfulness helps you debunk negative, limiting beliefs about yourself. You may believe, “No body likes me.” So, from your childhood, past trauma, environment, you may perceive yourself in a negative way. Right now, your family, message from childhood, social condition, makes you think negatively about yourself. Maybe, you deeply believe in a negative way, that you are unworthy of love and respect. From there, you seek out relationships, with work, with friends, or a romantic partner that support these negative beliefs.
Trauma therapy helps you understand trauma responses
You wonder why you away end up in abusive relationships or with the bad person that doesn’t love you back. Maybe, you feel taken advantage of from your boss and need support being confident. Mindfulness helps you develop stronger, and develop more confident core beliefs about your worth. Essentially, a core belief that is positive can be very hard to develop on your own because your negative belief is so engrained in your mind.
What is a core belief and how can trauma counseling help with self-worth development?
Sometimes, children learn they should be seen and not heard. Children learn they are “bad,” “unwanted,” “too emotional,” and are criticized. Any criticism in childhood builds an inner critic. Sometimes, these parts are from parents like a “mean mother” or “neglectful father,” part. In your mind, these inner critic voices can be very negative. They perpetuate negative self-talk for trauma survivors. Or, children learn “that independence is important.” However, for a child who needs independence, they also need reassurance and support. Maybe, you were forced to be a parent to your parents emotionally. You may of had to grow up too fast and want to learn to nurture yourself now. Counseling can help you develop positive self-talk to work with your inner critic and find out when it began to develop.
How can expressive arts and creative drama therapy near Stonington, Connecticut support mindfulness?
Art therapy, yoga therapy, music therapy, drama therapy and nature therapies help reveal the inner critic. Talking about an inner critic can learn to defensiveness or self-protective walls. So, holistic, expressive art therapies help you understand compassion for yourself and your inner critic. As well, your therapist can help you understand the purpose of your inner critic. You can develop a healthy, positive voice to combat your inner critic. Further, you can learn what your inner critic needs from you in order to be less intense in your mind. Your inner critic has a purpose, perhaps self-protection. The depth and tone of voice of your inner critic can be talked about with your counselor. Furthermore, your inner critic may have a gender, age, or even hair style. Your holistic, art therapist can help you holistically and creatively nurture your inner critic and your inner child.
To begin, click the button below for specialized trauma therapy and creative drama therapy near Stonington, Connecticut.
You can learn to let go of perfectionism from art, drama therapy, joyful yoga poses, relaxing meditations, gentle painting, outdoor walking and talking therapies.
What is inner child work in therapy?
Your inner child is a part of your mind, body and spirit. And, this part of you really needs your nurturing and support. Your inner child may be needing you to step back into a negative memory and offer your inner child, who felt helpless and alone, your wisdom and love. Essentially, you and. your therapist can help you go back into the stuck, tense memory and release shame. Sometimes, when you felt you had to survive in life, you developed a protective part that got you through. But, at the same time, you never ended up processing that childhood trauma or memory.
Trauma therapy and creative drama therapy near Stonington, Connecticut
Unprocessed trauma can cause stress, anxiety, and behave in ways that sabotage your life. When there is unresolved trauma in your childhood, you may find yourself in unhealthy romantic relationships. Unresolved trauma means that you would benefit from inner child therapy sessions. From working with your inner child in therapy, you can feel more present, more confident, and think more clearly. At Wisdom Within Counseling, trauma therapy and creative drama therapy near Stonington, Connecticut supports a healthy body, mind, and spirit.
What happens after trauma in childhood?
With out the help of a therapist, trauma stays stuck in the body. When you were 5 years old, 12 years old, or 20 years old, that trauma memory stayed in your physical muscles and mind. From holistic counseling, you can learn to accept who you are and in your authentic self. Unhealed childhood trauma holds people back emotionally. People who need help nurturing their inner child may also struggle with addiction, alcoholism, substance abuse, or have work-a-holic tendencies. From doing inner child work, you can live a more authentic life. There is a newfound freedom, creativity, and imagination that is unlocked from doing inner child work in holistic counseling.
To begin, click the button below for specialized trauma therapy and creative drama therapy near Stonington, Connecticut.
How can holistic expressive arts in therapy help with recovery from trauma and PTSD?
Your holistic trauma therapist can provide you with lifelong coping tools to see how your inner critic helped you survive trauma and get through. Maybe, you identify with be an adult child of alcoholics. Or, you identify as having parents who had additions, substance and drug problems, or anger issues. Sometimes, there is one or two people in your childhood who criticized you, told you that you were an idiot, less than others, and stupid. Holistic therapy can help you heal from trauma by giving yourself a sincere appreciation from all you have been through so far.
You can learn to associate your past with confidence, strength, and self-compassion rather than shame, guilt, or embarrassment.
Surviving your childhood was not easy. it is normal to feel wounded or incomplete as a person after going through abuse, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, or physical trauma. To start to unload those memories, holistic therapy can be a safe place for sharing your childhood stories and vulnerabilities. Trauma therapy and creative drama therapy near Stonington, Connecticut is available at Wisdom Within Counseling.
How can therapy help you get to know your inner critic? How is trauma connected to your inner critic?
When people talk about their inner critic, it usually comes from a parent, like a critical parent. You may feel like you have a negative inner judge. Holistic therapy can help you understand the phrases your inner critic tells you, “It is your fault,” “You are too old,” “You will always mess up.” Therapy can help you notice feelings of self-blame, criticism, judgement that come up for you. In childhood, your parent may have said, “You are wasting your time on this or that,” crushing your dreams. Many times, your parents did not do their own inner child work before they had you.
To begin, click the button below for specialized trauma therapy and creative drama therapy near Stonington, Connecticut.
At Wisdom Within Counseling, holistic trauma therapy helps you develop compassion, self-love, and self-acceptance.
Did you experience disrespect or were you talked down to as a child?
These memories and thoughts about the past leave a lasting impact. For instance, if you had parents who were working class and grew up in poverty, and you wanted to get a higher education, you may have faced criticism from your parents. Your parents may not value you in the way you are learning to value yourself. Therapy can support self-compassion. You may also feel like an outsider among your family members when you are navigating inner child work. Often, an active inner critic makes you second guess yourself or protect yourself. However, it may also have a function like protecting you from embarrassment or shame.
What are inner critic and trauma triggers? How can trauma therapy and creative drama therapy near Stonington, Connecticut help with triggers?
Sometimes, even being around your parents or thinking about them can trigger your inner critic to surface. Also, inner critics are saying things like, “You should keep your mouth shut. Your words are not important.” Maybe, your parents told you, “You are invisible,” or “You are a burden.” Your inner critic often wants to keep you small, inferior, and invisible. Often, an inner critic has a mission to prevent failure as whole. But, in the process creates fear, anxiety and creates internal pressure. Holistic therapy can help you learn to release your inner critic from these intense roles.
What is perfectionism and how can expressive arts and creative drama therapy near Stonington, Connecticut help?
In therapy, you can gain self-compassion to nurture your inner critic and help them be less intense. As part of trauma and PTSD healing, you can learn to talk with yourself in a gentle, kind, and calm way. You can learn to acknowledge your inner critic and build a positive voice. As well, holistic therapy can help you remind yourself of your accomplishments and past successes. Culture also plays a role in inner child work and healing your inner critic. In counseling, you can learn to surround yourself with people who treat you with respect, unlike in childhood.
What are benefits of having a holistic counseling experience?
You can talk about setting boundaries that promote safety and love. From holistic trauma counseling, you feel emotional validation from your therapist. Your therapist can talk about validating yourself. Eating disorders and fad dieting can be a side effect of trauma and PTSD. A lot of people develop body shame and food fears as well as disordered eating habits from trauma. Food issues can develop from a history of abuse and trauma. From therapy, you can become more aware of your needs and yourself. So, your therapist at Wisdom Within Counseling can help you learn to live in your authentic self. Working with an eating disorder specialist on our team can help you see your body as your sacred home. As well, you can talk about being comfortable in your body and in your skin from counseling.
How are expressive arts and creative drama therapy near Stonington, Connecticut different from traditional therapy?
Using art, yoga, music and outdoor walking therapies help with inner child and inner critic work. Many times, traditional therapy lacks creative outlets. Plus, art, yoga, music and walking therapies promote lifelong coping strategies. At Wisdom Within Counseling, the team of holistic, expressive art therapists believe that trauma is held in your body.
What is the mind body connection in trauma therapy and creative drama therapy near Stonington, Connecticut?
To add, trauma stops your mind body connection. You autonomic nervous system tells your brain you are unsafe and need to protect yourself. This signal can last for years after a trauma has passed. Understanding your nervous system helps you understand your trauma responses. Trauma in your history, makes you feel self-protective and anxious, while stopping your organic connections to others. Your vagal nerve carries signals from your organs and digestive system to your brain. Now, this is why when you feel anxiety, unsafe, or stressed, you may loose your appetite. Under stress, your body shifts into fight, flight, or freeze. You may be wondering if you can trust others after a trauma. these signals are sent throughout your central nervous system. Essentially, your nervous system is always trying to keep you safe and make sure you stay alive. After a trauma, your body and mind disconnect.
How does your parasympathetic nervous system work in relation to trauma therapy?
All the time, your nervous system is regulating itself. Your vagal nerve regulates your nervous system. In a freeze state of anxiety, you may feel like you are shutting down emotionally. Your ventral vagal nerve can signal to your brain, “I am happy and save. I am free and relaxed. I can play.” On the other hand, the dorsal vagal nerve will tell your brain, “It is unsafe. Freeze. I can’t talk right now.” If your sympathetic nervous system is over run or over stimulated, your dorsal vagal nerve tells your brain it is unsafe. On the other hand, if your sympathetic nervous system is active, your ventral vagal nerve will loosen your muscles, will be calm, and expansive as there is no danger.
How is your brain different after years of trauma and stress?
After trauma experiences, your brain more quickly moves into fight, flight or freeze. Essentially, your childhood experiences of trauma may have trained you to be more on alert, more stressed, tense, critical, or angry. When you feel tense, you are more quick to respond with fear, anxiety or anger. You may also feel like it is hard to talk when in your sympathetic nervous system, or even be yelling. Holistic counseling helps rebuild your mind, body, spirit connection and create safety in the world again. In holistic counseling, art, improv and drama therapies promote play and the mind body release of trauma. Art helps frustration, anger, and anxiety have a place to go in a counseling session. As well, studies show that co regulation and parasympathetic nervous system relaxation is a healthy part of drama therapies.
To begin, click the button below for specialized trauma therapy and creative drama therapy near Stonington, Connecticut.
How does art play a role in trauma therapy and creative drama therapy near Stonington, Connecticut?
Drama therapy is a form of art and expressive therapy. At Wisdom Within Counseling, we love arts and creative, expressive therapies. Expressive arts highlight the mind-body connection. So, the Wisdom Within Counseling therapists specialize in offer out-of-the-box, creative, expressive art. On that note, trauma therapy and creative drama therapy near Stonington, Connecticut helps release painful, challenging, emotional from your body. You can process painful experiences while staying connected to your present moment.
Play therapy, art therapy, yoga therapies, and drama therapies support a healthy nervous system and inner calm
Sometimes, emotions can feel intense and are paired to intense memories from the past. From using creative painting, acrylics, watercolors, glitter, gel pens, and vision boards, you can use art to let it out. Lastly, trauma therapy near Stonington, Connecticut through is more healing and supportive when you can use the language of art and drama.
As well, you don’t have to worry about failing in yoga, dance, or art therapy because it is not about performance. It is about expression.
Expressive arts give you materials of your choice from clay to paper, to express and release the pain in your body in a healthy way. There is no need to worry about your therapist judging you or grading you. The art allows you to express freely beyond just words. In addition, at Wisdom Within Counseling near Stonington, CT, you can do drama therapies.
What areas of Connecticut do we help?
We also serve the neighboring Southeastern Connecticut towns including Bozrah, East Lyme, Franklin, Griswold, Groton, Ledyard, Lisbon, Montville, New London, North Stonington, Norwich, Old Lyme, Plainfield, Pomfret, Preston, Connecticut. In farther away area, we offer video sessions. Wisdom Within Counseling offers support to Milford, Darien, Danbury, Hartford, Glastonbury, Shelton, Avon, Fairfield County, Stamford, Old Greenwich, Connecticut too. Video therapy is always available as well as in person counseling.
What can I expect in expressive arts and drama therapy specialized for PTSD and trauma recovery?
Overall, drama therapies can include puppets, role play, improvisation, skits, acting, and enactments. If you liked the feeling of being in drama club in school, you may ver well enjoy drama therapy and improv. Our team would love to help you thrive and heal through expressive arts after trauma and loss.
