Alissa Madsen (she/her)

Complex PTSD is a form of PTSD that is a result of prolonged exposure to severe abuse or neglect in childhood. The most common symptoms include emotional flashbacks, toxic shame, social anxiety, and a vicious inner critic. Recovery from this abuse includes learning to manage and recognize emotional flashbacks, listening to one’s inner child, and shrinking the inner critic. This work is not easy and takes time and patience, but with the help of a skilled therapist, these symptoms can improve!

Religious trauma can manifest in a number of ways including anxiety, depression, guilt and an upheaval of everything one previously believed to be true. Recovery from this trauma includes validation, empathy, deconstruction of previously held beliefs, addressing spiritual wounds, and rebuilding a spiritual identity in whatever way feels authentic.

Person-centered therapy was developed by Carl Rogers. The central tenets of the approach include unconditional positive regard or nonjudgment by the therapist, therapist genuineness and empathic understanding. With this approach, the therapist listens to the client, and acts as a compassionate facilitator, listening without offering judgment and offering validation of the client’s experience.

When a therapist provides trauma-informed care, it means that they realize that adverse childhood experiences are widely prevalent in the adult population today. They recognize that many symptoms of mental illness are a result of traumatic experiences, and realize that treating the individual with respect and kindness is central to the healing experience. When looking through this lens, recovery from trauma becomes possible, as the therapist and client focus on creating a safe environment.