Turning Leaf Blog

Surviving sexual assault can profoundly impact both the mind and body, often leading to trauma responses such as hypervigilance, dissociation, sleep disturbances, and physical health changes. These reactions—rooted in the brain’s fight, flight, or freeze response—are protective mechanisms that can persist beyond the danger and disrupt daily functioning. Through trauma-informed psychoeducation and therapeutic support, survivors can better understand their responses, restore a sense of control, and move toward healing and resilience.

Psychotherapy can be a wonderful way to better understand yourself and improve your life. Psychotherapy can help you process past traumas, get through difficult emotions, and learn new coping skills. It can also be a helpful part of recovery from substance abuse, help you improve your relationships with others, or even to be a better parent to your children. But not everyone can afford to see a licensed therapist. If you're looking for some guidance without breaking the bank, pre-licensed therapists are one option to consider.

If you read the previous blog post, you will already know that tantrums are most often communication of an unmet need that arises in response to a child’s nervous system being activated and going into fight-or-flight. Once you understand this, you will also understand that the child does not need to be punished in order for the tantrum to end (and that actually this can cause them to shut down when they really need your support). But you may be wondering what to do instead. I am going to break this approach down into 3 basic steps, as a place to start for anyone who is trying to understand how to “break the cycle” and parent differently in a more considerate and respectful way.

How many of us were raised with authoritarian parents? You know, the ones that tend to view anything their child does that is undesirable as a “behavioral problem” or something that should be “punished” or “disciplined” out of them? Because, if you don’t give “consequences,” then you’re a bad parent and your child is going to grow up to be a terrible person, right?

Past traumatic experiences can have profound and long-lasting impacts on the lives of survivors. After experiencing trauma, people often feel extremely alone and unable to find others who not only relate to their experience but who also understand all the different ways those traumas continue to impact them today. Group therapy is often used with survivors of trauma to combat feelings of isolation by providing a safe and supportive environment with other survivors. Some trauma group therapies dig deep into members’ trauma histories to process and restructure the memory of traumatic experiences. In this post, however, we will look at a different form of group trauma therapy: present-focused therapy.

At Turning Leaf Therapy, we have taken the need for safety precautions very seriously and rapidly moved to implement our approach to therapy online. At this point, our current clients have already had a chance to settle-in to this new way of meeting with their therapist. We also recognize if you are a new or returning client, you may have some questions or concerns about how this process works or if it's worth it.

Self-Care if You Are Working from Home Designate a workspace. Explore designating a separate space in your home that is only for work. If you are in a small space and cannot do this, another option is creating some visual changes when you are “at work” versus “at home” to remind yourself that work has ended.

Do something you like. A lot of activities are restricted right now, but not all. Maybe re-read your favorite book, have a dance party in your kitchen to your favorite song, do a puzzle, knit, take a bath, listen to music, sit on your front steps and listen to the birds, write, create art, cook, bake, play with your pet or child, color, read poetry…

As public health officials and healthcare providers around the country and the world try to slow the spread of COVID-19, most Philadelphians, indeed most Americans, have been told to stay at home. While this is so important for public health, it can be hard on an individual’s mental health. For those who have pre-existing anxiety or depression, or a history of trauma, staying at home and interacting with the realities of this crisis can exacerbate symptoms. Self-care, while not a cure-all, can certainly decrease vulnerability to increased anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms, as well as help us manage some of the intense emotions that are coming up for so many people right now.

As the coronavirus continues to spread across the United States and the world, many of us are left looking towards the internet for creative ways to meet some of our physical, emotional, and social needs. With the growing government restrictions and orders for social distancing, sheltering in place, and the closing of all non-life sustaining businesses, the opportunity to begin in-person therapy is likely to be extremely limited. This is, of course, occurring during a time when many of us are experiencing unprecedentedly high levels of fear, panic, anxiety and worry, isolation, loneliness, sadness, grief and loss, among other overwhelming and complicated emotional reactions. Under more typical circumstances, I imagine many folks would be quickly trying to find a new therapist to help them process and cope during these overwhelming times.

The aftermath of trauma is often isolating. There may be emotional, cognitive, physical, and behavioral changes that seem confusing. For folks who experienced trauma as a young child, these impacts are at times a part of life as far back as they can remember. Sometimes it can be hard to believe that others who have not experienced these effects can truly understand what you are experiencing as a survivor. Individual therapy is hugely impactful, if not vital, to help heal from trauma. However, having an individual therapist tell you that what you are experiencing is a normal reaction to trauma feels different than hearing another person describe an experience you recognize. This is one of the reasons that group therapy can be so impactful for survivors.

“Scorched Earth is a military strategy used by a people when the enemy is advancing on their territory. Anything of use to the enemy such as houses, food, vehicles, utilities or equipment is burnt, leaving nothing which could help the enemy sustain their assault” (Simon, 2016, p. 159).