How I can Help.
What is Therapy?
I’d like to take a moment to explain what therapy can offer to those of us dealing with the challenges of distressing memories. Therapy is more than just talking; it’s a supportive and professional relationship between you and a trained therapist, specifically designed to help you work through the distressing and stuck experiences that arise. In our sessions, my goal is to create a safe and non-judgmental space where you can truly express yourself. This is your space to work on your goals, understand the impact of distressing memories on your life, and identify patterns that may be holding you back. Together, we’ll work on developing coping skills that are tailored to your unique experiences and needs. As we journey through this process, my hope is to help you foster a sense of mental well-being. Therapy can empower you to lead a healthier, more fulfilling life, allowing you to reclaim joy and peace in your everyday experiences. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or burdened by distressing memories, remember that you don’t have to go through this alone. I’m here to support you every step of the way.
Stuck Memories: a Sign of Trauma
Stuck distressing memories are often a sign of trauma. When someone experiences a traumatic event, the brain can have difficulty processing the memory effectively. Instead of being stored away like typical memories, these distressing experiences can become “stuck,” leading to recurring thoughts, flashbacks, or emotional upheaval. This happens because the brain’s natural coping mechanisms can become overwhelmed during a traumatic incident. As a result, the memory may not be integrated properly, and the emotional charge attached to it remains active. This can cause individuals to re-experience the trauma, leading to feelings of anxiety, fear, or distress in response to reminders of the event. Recognizing that these stuck memories are a sign of trauma is a crucial step toward seeking help and finding effective ways to process and heal from those experiences.
“Recognizing that these stuck memories are a sign of trauma is a crucial step toward seeking help and finding effective ways to process and heal from those experiences.”
What Trauma Is from a Neurobiological Perspective?
From a neurobiological standpoint, trauma occurs when the brain experiences an intense event that overwhelms its ability to cope. Trauma activates the amygdala, the brain’s alarm system, which releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to prepare the body for a fight-or-flight response. When this threat feels unmanageable, the memory of the event can get “stuck” in the brain, often causing the trauma to resurface unexpectedly. The hippocampus, which normally organizes memories in context, can struggle to process the trauma fully. This leaves the memory raw and disruptive, making it harder for the brain to understand that the threat is no longer present, leading to symptoms commonly associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Common PTSD Symptoms seen in Justice Professions
Court personnel—like judges, attorneys, police officers, and probation officers—may develop PTSD symptoms due to their frequent exposure to traumatic content, high- stress cases, and direct interaction with people who are suffering. Common PTSD symptoms may include:
Intrusive thoughts or flashbacks of traumatic cases or incidents
intense unexplained emotional outbursts not congruent with the situation
Nightmares and trouble sleeping
Emotional numbness or detachment from others
Hyper-vigilance (startled response), or constantly being on alert for potential threats
Constant Irritability, anger, or difficulty managing stress
Deliberate avoidance of people, places, or situations that may trigger memories of traumatic cases
Difficulty concentrating and focusing due to mental and emotional fatigue
The Path Forward: EMDR
EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a type of therapy that helps you process and heal from these distressing experiences. In an EMDR session, I will guide you to engaging memories (bodily, emotional, narrative) while simultaneously engaging in bilateral stimulation, such as moving their eyes back and forth, tapping their hands, or listening to sounds in alternating ears. This stimulation helps the brain reprocess the traumatic memory, allowing it to be stored in a healthier way, similar to how ordinary memories are stored. EMDR has been shown to reduce emotional distress, calm the body’s trauma response, and make the traumatic memory feel less intense and intrusive.
In other words:
A typical EMDR session is like running a deep system cleanup on a computer. Imagine a computer where a traumatic memory file is saved in the wrong folder, causing pop-ups or glitches whenever you try to use other programs. This misplaced file keeps interrupting daily functioning, making everything feel slow or unstable. In EMDR, the therapist acts like a skilled technician, guiding the mind to access that troublesome file. Through eye movements or tapping, the brain’s “processing system” kicks in, reorganizing the memory and saving it in the right folder, where it no longer disrupts normal tasks. As the session progresses, each “scan” helps clear unnecessary emotional “bugs” tied to that memory, allowing it to be stored calmly and accessed without disrupting everything else. After the session, just like a computer that’s been debugged, the mind runs smoother, with fewer interruptions from old, distressing memories.
“A typical EMDR session is like running a deep system cleanup on a computer.”
“This metaphor did nothing for me!” How about this one:
A typical EMDR session can be compared to tidying up a cluttered, messy room. Imagine a room where everything has been tossed around chaotically—clothes, books, and old memories are all jumbled up. It feels overwhelming, and you don’t know where to start.
In EMDR, the therapist is like a guide helping you pick up one item at a time. As you focus on each piece (or memory), the therapist guides you in sorting it through specific actions like eye movements. These movements are like steps that help you “put away” the memory into a proper, organized place, where it won’t trip you up anymore. Each time you sort through a memory, it feels a little less overwhelming, and the room (your mind) begins to feel clearer, safer, and more orderly. By the end of the session, you’ve taken big steps to organize that once-cluttered space in your mind, making it easier to move forward without stumbling over painful memories or intense unexplained reactions.
You might be thinking…
“Alright, you convinced me. I went through a stressful event recently and I only want to work on those memories. I don’t want to talk about my childhood.”
No problem!
There are protocols within EMDR that focus solely on helping individuals clear charging memories from recent critical events: EMDR-PRECI and AIP informed protocols such as ASSYST.
EMDR-PRECI
EMDR-PRECI (EMDR Protocol for Recent Critical Incidents) is a specific adaptation of EMDR aimed at helping individuals process trauma shortly after a critical or traumatic incident has occurred. Rather than waiting for PTSD symptoms to develop, EMDR-PRECI acts as an early intervention to help prevent the memory from becoming a long-lasting problem. The goal of EMDR-PRECI is to stabilize individuals, helping their brains process the recent event so that it’s less likely to cause lasting distress or interfere with daily life. By working on the memory soon after the event, EMDR-PRECI helps people avoid the long-term effects of trauma, providing a proactive approach to mental health care.
ASSYST Protocol
ASSYST (Acute Stress Syndrome Stabilization) is a therapeutic intervention used in AIP-informed (Adaptive Information Processing-informed) trauma therapy, which is the foundational model for EMDR therapy. Designed to address recent traumatic or highly stressful events, ASSYST works to help individuals process distressing experiences more rapidly, ideally before they become “stuck” and potentially lead to long-term trauma-related symptoms.
The goal of ASSYST is to stabilize acute stress by helping the brain adaptively process these recent memories. This method uses techniques like sensory stimulation (such as tapping or eye movements) to reduce the emotional charge attached to recent memories, allowing the brain to integrate them more naturally and minimize prolonged distress. ASSYST is particularly useful in trauma therapy because it can offer immediate support to people who have just experienced a traumatic event.
“Alright, why should I talk with a therapist when I can just vent with my colleague?”
As a justice professional, you face unique challenges every day, from high-stakes cases to emotional stressors that can take a toll on your mental health. While confiding in a trusted colleague can provide some relief, it’s time to invest in your well-being in a more profound way. Here’s why therapy could be a game-changer for a professional like you:
1. Objective Perspective and Confidentiality:
A trusted colleague may genuinely care, but they’re still embedded in the same work environment and may unknowingly bring in their own biases or workplace dynamics. I am a neutral party who can offer an objective, completely confidential perspective, allowing you to explore sensitive issues, especially those tied to work, without concern for career implications or office politics.
2. Tailored Coping Tools:
I have been trained in understanding how trauma, stress, and emotional exhaustion uniquely affect individuals. For justice professionals, who face intense pressures and sometimes secondary trauma from difficult cases, a therapist can help identify personal stress triggers and tailor strategies to manage them. You’ll build coping skills specific to handling emotional fatigue, difficult cases, or burnout, which can actually boost your resilience and performance.
3. Focus on Personal Growth, Not Just Work Solutions:
Talking to a colleague often centers around shared work struggles, but therapy is about you as an individual, not just as a professional. Therapy helps you understand and address patterns that could be affecting your well-being, both inside and outside work. For instance, managing stress more effectively or building a work-life balance might improve how you interact with family, clients, or even colleagues.
4. Mental Health Preservation:
Being a justice professional is demanding, and emotional wear-and-tear can build up without the right tools to process it. I specialize in helping clients process distress and trauma effectively, reducing the risk of issues like chronic stress, depression, or PTSD that can develop from prolonged exposure to intense or high-stakes situations. I can help you safeguard your mental health long-term, preventing future crises that could impact your career and personal life.
5. Prevent Burnout and Improve Job Satisfaction:
Therapy isn’t just about managing problems; it’s about thriving. By working with me, you can foster a sense of fulfillment and purpose in your work. With the right strategies in place, you’re more likely to find deeper satisfaction in your role and stay motivated, even when facing difficult cases.
Don’t wait until stress becomes overwhelming!
Take the first step toward a healthier, more resilient you. Contact Ignatius Counseling today and invest in your mental health. You deserve the support to thrive both in and out of your workplace!
