Dealing with trauma and the demand for Mental Health...

Trauma is an intolerable emotional experience that is uncomfortable and often time, unmanageable. Trauma has many faces. Trauma might resemble a difficult or abusive relationship, automobile accident, mental or emotional abuse, sexual assault, rape, or sexual abuse, domestic or family violence, enduring natural disasters, or pandemics, amongst other unbearable events.

Mental health is emotional well-being that allows the individual to be free from incapacitating conflicts, and the consistent ability to make or carry out rational decisions; mental health means having the capacity to cope with environmental stressors and internal pressures.

Therapy provides the bridge to transition from trauma to mental health.  When life shows us its innate ability to be out of order, the benefit of therapy can be summed up in one word: BALANCE.  Balance promotes safety and stability. Chris responds to the call for balance through:

• Individual Therapy – one-on-one sessions where Chris takes a direct approach to assessing the individual’s thoughts, interests and concerns; individual therapy is the safe space between you and Chris that allows for cooperative and active engagement in identifying issues and setting goals and determining appropriate behaviors that support resolve and achieving the goals. 

• Family Therapy – the family session presents a therapeutic process where Chris promotes the family as “one” – no matter the number of family members participating in therapy. A key ingredient to family therapy is Chris’s assertive approach in driving effective communication amongst family members by focusing on the verbal and nonverbal interactions between families; in the family sessions, the idea is to engage the family by clarifying roles and obligations, all the while promoting more adaptive behaviors among family members; families are encouraged to leave the past behind and look ahead.
  
  
• Couples Therapy – an intervention where Chris supports couples in addressing challenges in their relationship, resolving conflict, improving communications, and understanding differences and dynamics related to family, sexual, mistrust, economic or financial problems, amongst others. 
  
  
• Batterer’s Intervention (Domestic Violence) Groups – Chris facilitates groups that take a comprehensive approach to teaching abusive partners how to empathize with their victims.  In these groups, Chris leads the sessions using a form of cognitive behavior therapy ultimately designed to alter negative behaviors in effort to prevent the offending partner from dehumanizing their partner and being abusive in the future.
  
• Addictions Counseling – a strengths perspective to addressing addiction.  Chris grounds this therapy with consideration that no matter the situation, addiction will not prevail; transformation is not impossible because the individual is resilient and capable of change; therapy is a helping relationship lead by the individual’s choice.