Client Services
Counseling Offerings
Individual Therapy
Individual psychotherapy focuses on helping individuals who have experienced traumatic events to cope with and heal from the emotional and psychological effects of those experiences. It's important to note that every individual's experience of trauma is unique, and therapy will be tailored to your specific needs and circumstances. Therapy is provided by licensed mental health professionals who have specialized training and experience in working with trauma survivors.
While all clinicians affiliated with The Lighthouse provide trauma-informed therapy, this does not require that you are addressing "The Trauma" during each session; rather, the clinician will be able to identify certain mannerisms, coping skills, symptoms, and challenges you may be facing through the framework of you having experienced trauma at some point in your life.
Family Therapy
Family therapy can consist of including just your partner or the entire immediate family in all or part of your recovery journey. While trauma may impact one person directly, the entire family is effected by witnessing the impacts of that trauma on their loved one. This is often called vicarious trauma. You and your family may not realize that many of the habits you have fallen into are directly related to efforts to cope with the strain of dealing with - or attempting to "move on" from - what happened. Through family therapy, the therapist can assist each person in working together to support whole-family healing.
Group Therapy
One complicating factor of seeking trauma recovery services is the overwhelming isolation. When having survived situations where you may have been harmed by another human, learning how to trust again can feel impossible. Group therapy can provide an opportunity to connect with others survivors that can understand those challenges in a way you may struggle to verbalize to others. Meeting with strangers can provide an opportunity to feel a sense of belonging, and to let go of feelings of disconnection, loneliness, and isolation.
Unlike peer support meetings, group counseling sessions are facilitated by formally educated and trained clinicians, ensuring a safe, nurturing, and empowering space for survivors to connect and recover together.
Integrative Health
Often referred to as holistic health and/or non-traditional, these services range from direct to indirect recovery practices.
Special Populations
First Responders & Veterans
First responders and military personnel (and their families) bear witness to some of the worst situations imaginable. While imperative to put emotions to the side when in the line of duty, keeping those emotions shut away leads to burnout, depression, irritability, diminished ability to find joy, and decimates relationships with loved ones. Moreover, research continues to demonstrate that Veterans and their families experience far higher rates of trauma-related mood disorders than the general population. First responders, including firefighters and police officers and their families, have similar struggles.
Seeking help for struggles related to the trauma you have witnessed and/or experienced is NOT a sign of weakness. Seeking help is a sign you are human, and have exceeded the capacity of suffering any one person can endure.
Healthcare Workers
Staying mentally and emotionally healthy as a helping professional is challenging for many reasons, and vicarious trauma is one of them. Seeking treatment for vicarious trauma is crucial to support your well-being and maintain your ability to provide effective care to others. Vicarious trauma, also known as secondary trauma or compassion fatigue, occurs when individuals in helping professions, such as therapists, counselors, social workers, nurses, and other caregivers, are exposed to the traumatic experiences of their clients or patients. Over time, continually witnessing and empathizing with others' traumatic experiences can take a toll on the mental, emotional, and physical health of helping professionals.
LGBTQ+
Individuals identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community experience trauma significantly more often than their straight and/or cisgender peers. This includes rates of bullying, harassment, intimate partner violence, abuse, parental abandonment, and medical neglect. Stigma for individuals within this community exacerbates the challenges seeking and receiving mental health treatment, putting these individuals at much greater risk for harm when left untreated.
Just because you may have experienced trauma more frequently does not mean you need to "get used to it." You deserve to live safely and to feel a sense of love and belonging - FULL STOP.
