Trauma/EMDR Therapist, San Antonio and throughout TX
Trauma Therapy: Healing from pain and finding peace.
You are not damaged. You do not need to be fixed. You were hurt and need to heal.
Life did not turn out the way that you expected.
You want stability and peace, but instead the inner turmoil of overwhelm and the edginess of not being able to relax is present. You need to be on guard. It is just a matter of time.
Inside, you feel you are different from everyone else; that you don’t fit in. If people really knew your flaws or the things that have happened to you, they would think that you were damaged goods. You try hard to hide these pieces of yourself for fear of being exposed and judged. You struggle to be yourself. Shame and guilt pop up, but you try hard to bury it.
Some of the ways you do this is to be super busy. Maybe you throw yourself into your work, your family or others. Or you try to be the hero and aim for that approval that will absolve the feelings of not being good enough. Or you may be the comedian that entertains others and deflects people from knowing the real you.
You may attempt to be invisible, staying quiet, but in return feeling alone and struggling to find your voice. Last, you may engage in escape behaviors excessively, such as work, shopping, drugs, alcohol or other relationships that help numb yourself from what is buried deep within you.
Regardless, relationships with yourself and others are suffering. You are seeing patterns in your relationships that you want to change and wonder what’s going on under the surface that’s causing you to continue to feel this way, You are lonely, tired and want calm and connection .
Hurtful past experiences can leave lasting fingerprints—even if we didn’t realize how painful they were at the time.
You might be seeing the fingerprints of pain in your relationships such as feeling like you can’t trust the people closest to you or withdrawing even though you truly desire connection. Sometimes the fingerprints of pain are in our physical bodies: difficulty sleeping, upset stomach or headaches, tension or feeling constantly on edge.
These may be things you’ve been living with for a long time. You might have tried other strategies or even gone to therapy before to help address them, but they keep popping back up. You have a feeling that something from your past is still at play in your present, and you’re ready to address it at its origin.
Trauma can show up in obvious ways and not so obvious ways.
These memories can carry trauma responses into current daily life. Some examples are:
Violence
Verbal, physical, sexual abuse
Natural disasters
Chronic Illness in the family such as cancer, addiction etc.
Growing up with an emotionally distant parent
Divorce
Moving to a new state or country
Accidents
Death of a loved one
Being Bullied
Fingerprints of trauma can show up as:
Anxiety and depression
Fear of being rejected or alone
Fear of losing something you have or not getting something you want
A need to be in control
A need to be “right” all the time
Creating distance in relationships
Anger and bitterness
Developing co-dependence in relationships
People pleasing to your own self neglect
Low self-esteem, feeling unlovable
Staying small, unseen to keep yourself safe
Body pains & tension in your body.
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You can heal from trauma. You are not broken. You are becoming.
There is a hope at the end of the tunnel, even though it may sometimes feel like things will never get better. Working through the distressing experiences in a way that will not re traumatize you will remove the impact they have on your life today. You’ll feel lighter and empowered to show up as your strong, authentic, and beautiful self.
HOW TRAUMA THERAPY WORKS
Trauma therapy is a powerful piece of the healing process. With the guidance of a skilled and warm therapist, you can help the mind and body process these trauma memories in a safe manner that brings relief and transforms you.
Kimberlee Daughtry Lopez , LPC-S, RPT, EMDR, CGT utilizes the following methods to help treat trauma: EMDR therapy in weekly sessions or Intensives, DeTUR or Feeling State Protocol used with EMDR to help those struggling with the trauma of addiction/codependency, Sand Tray Therapy, Shamanic Breathwork, Reiki.
Lisa Pinkstaff, LPC, utilizes the method of Neurofeedback.
Laura Castillanos, LMT, uses massage therapy.
Scroll below for more information on how these methods are helpful to treating trauma.
Trauma Therapy can help…
The body feel lighter and more relaxed.
You see yourself and the situation with more compassion.
You begin to have a new found attitude and outlook on life.
Fear of people, the future, and insecurity begin to leave you.
You start to intuitively handle situations that used to baffle you.
Past regrets turn into opportunities to heal, grow and feel more connected with yourself and your loved ones.
Fresh energy arises for you to create a new life that is powerfully purposeful and meaningful.
You don’t have to continue to struggle alone and pretend that everything is FINE. Let us help you move through this struggle to discover a new you.
WE can help you get there.
Testimonials
“I wish I had known about EMDR so many years ago to help with many of my past military and other life traumas. However, I am so grateful that I am able to utilize it now, even years after traumatic events. The healing from EMDR has changed my life in so many ways then I can explain. It has helped me my marriage, as a mother, and with so many relationships with family, friends and coworkers. Being law enforcement, I recent my went through an extremely traumatic event and working with Kim with EMDR right away allowed me to heal in ways I never thought possible. This traumatic event was life changing… but working with Kim and utilizing EMDR has allowed me to heal and process in ways I honestly didn’t even think were possible. I promise you, EMDR is worth it, do not be afraid to try it.” J.S.
“Kimberlee has guided me through the darkest moments of my life, when I thought I would never be happy again. I’ve had therapy in the past, but nothing compares to her expertise and compassion I felt heard and deeply understood. Now, I feel like I’ve found myself and have evolved into a happier person. I can see a promising future. I am truly blessed to have found her.” . P.B.
“Kimberlee Daughtry-Lopez is a versatile professional with unique talents. We tried many techniques including CBT and EMDR, but I still had a lot of difficulty processing my experiences. She then offered to try a new technique called Shamanic Breathwork. Since I started these groups with her, I have made more progress in 4 months than 4 years of therapy! With her special talent as a shamanic minister trained under Linda Star Wolf, Kimberlee has created a safe space for growth and healing which welcomes anyone no matter who you are, what you believe, or where you stand in your journey of life.” Anonymous client
Our Methods used in Trauma Therapy are highlighted below.
Video created by Josh Daughtry. Go to Joshdaughtry.com for more information and see Josh’s work.
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EMDR is a revolutionary new therapy that has helped millions let go of painful experiences, memories, or beliefs. By utilizing the brain’s natural healing processes, EMDR therapy quickly heals many emotional problems and conditions which have been difficult and time consuming to treat in the past
WHAT DOES EMDR MEAN?
EMDR is an acronym for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, a therapy discovered and patented by Francine Shapiro in 1989. While walking through the park, Dr. Shapiro noted a healing effect from moving her eyes back and forth while simultaneously recalling a disturbing event.
Since that time, over 50,000 therapists have trained in this highly effective treatment and it has become the chosen treatment for persons suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
In spite of medical advances, some mechanisms of the brain remain a mystery. However, the amazing outcomes of EMDR treatment can be theoretically explained. Bilateral stimulation (created by eye movements or alternating tapping on the hands) activates the opposite sides of the brain allowing the brain to release and redefine emotional experiences that are “trapped” within the brain.
This type of stimulation resembles REM (rapid eye movement) sleep as our eyes move from one side to the other. It is during sleep that the brain naturally sorts out our experiences from the day, discarding useless information and transferring memories appropriately.
However, sometimes extremely negative experiences can get “trapped” or “frozen” in the brain and they are unable to resolve naturally which may result in nightmares, depression, anger, anxiety, or emotional disturbance.
Along with this “trapped” negative experience is the negative emotion, sensory information, and childlike or initial interpretation of the experience. Even though these negative emotions, memories or beliefs are “locked away,” they can still affect us greatly and are often triggered by various sensory input (sight, smell, touch, taste, or hearing).
We may see something, pick up a certain scent, or be spoken to a particular way and that memory or feeling is triggered, often without any understanding of why. When a negative memory is triggered, the neurological response is protection and the result is a state of hyper-arousal commonly referred to as flight, fight or freeze.
Stress hormones are released into the body and we find ourselves saying things without thinking or doing things that seem out of character. Most importantly, the initial and untrue negative beliefs about oneself are reinforced.
WHAT DOES EMDR DO?
EMDR assists to unlock these painful memories or beliefs as the eye movement or tapping stimulates the two hemispheres of the brain to communicate with each other. The bilateral stimulation simulates REM sleep, which is when the brain naturally attaches meaning to experience.
While awake in EMDR treatment, the brain is assisted in resolving feelings, beliefs or experience not yet resolved though the brain’s natural process. By focusing on the identified targets when paired with the bilateral stimulation, the negative feelings, beliefs or experience become desensitized, meaning they simple become less bothersome.
The feelings, beliefs and/or experience is then reprocessed and new meaning is attached to the experience or triggers. As the brain arrives at new conclusions, the original trauma no longer contains the negative emotional charge originally associated with it.
The triggers are now neutral, the interpretation of experience is now intentional and the beliefs about oneself now present hope instead of powerlessness.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
Sometimes only one session of EMDR can provide immediate relief from emotional distress. However, the length of treatment depends upon multiple factors.
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM EMDR?
EMDR has been utilized primarily in the treatment of trauma experiences such as physical or sexual abuse, car accidents, victims of crime, natural disasters, and severe loss or grief, or war veterans. Positive results have also been observed with panic and anxiety disorders, sexual dysfunction, chemical dependency, peak performance, depression, addictions sexual abuse panic attacks, dissociative disorders, grief and chronic pain.
Extensive research has shown EMDR as the most effective and rapid method for healing PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). In addition, EMDR can result in increased self-esteem, decreased feelings of depression, and a renewed spirituality.
By interacting with one’s interpretation of previous experience in life, EMDR has the ability to alter personality and personality disorders. EMDR has been utilized all over the world and proven effective with adults, children, and adolescents.
HAS EMDR BEEN RESEARCHED?
EMDR has become one of the most researched and validated treatments for PTSD and many other disorders since Dr Francine Shapiro’s first study in 1989. EMDR has been endorsed by the American Psychiatric Association (2004), the US Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the International Society for Traumatic Stress.
Dr Daniel Amen, author of NY Times Best Seller, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life (1998) recommends EMDR in his clinics and says “EMDR is a brain treatment that actually changes the Brain function.”
Additional information about EMDR can be found at www.emdria.org
Video created by Josh Daughtry. Go to Joshdaughtry.com for more information and see Josh’s work.
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Sandtray Therapy
Sandtray is a form of play therapy. Sandtray therapy is an expressive mode of therapy, for both children and adults, that involves the unfolding and processing of issues through the use of miniatures in the sand. Sandtray therapy is a nonverbal medium of communication that may be combined with talk therapies to enhance and give depth to the session content being presented.
Margaret Lowenfield first developed the therapeutic use of the sandtray and miniatures in the 1920’s. Dora Kalff, a Swiss Jungian analyst, expanded sandtray therapy in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Sand
Sand is the tool for this effective treatment modality. Our connection to this Earth is foundational. As we connect with the sand, we cannot help but feel the connection to the spirit within. Connections to rooted emotions are not merely assisted by the use of sand, it is the sand that creates the path. Sand is a means of expressing the very core of who we are.
Miniatures
Miniatures are the words, symbols and metaphors of a person’s nonverbal communication. It is through the use of the miniatures that people are able to express feelings, thoughts, beliefs and desires that may be too overwhelming for words. Or the miniatures are the symbols that provide an expression for that which is still beyond words. Sandtray allows the person to communicate through the use of miniatures and the completed creation in the sand.
Why Use Sandtray Therapy?
Sand tray therapy gives expression into emotional issues that can be stuck. For a person who is unable to talk about it, the sandtray provides a safe medium for expression. No creative or artistic ability is needed. The process of sandtray therapy enables people to consider new possibilities, some of which are not possible through verbal expression. Sandtray therapy is a forum full of self expression and self exploration. Sandtray therapy naturally provides boundaries and limits, which promote safety and control for the person. This is especially helpful for people who have experienced and trauma or crisis, where a sense of control and safety were lost. Deeper issues may be accessed more thoroughly and more rapidly through the sandtray therapy.
Sandtray awakens and regulates the brain’s limbic processes, where stuck painful emotions are stored. Sandtray therapy promotes brain integration or digestion of painful memories. New neural pathway templates are developed, effectively rewiring painful memories to be less painful and make sense.The miniatures with verbal conversation stimulates bilateral integration.
Once the tray or world is created, verbally discussing the contents results in left and right brain integration. Adding words to the story, which occurs in the left brain, where logic and language live, to the imagery and feelings of the right brain, actually strengthens and grows the corpus callosum, the connecting tissue between the left and right brain hemispheres. The result is physical relief of painful memories and an opportunity to create new meanings.
Video created by Josh Daughtry. Go to Joshdaughtry.com for more information and see Josh’s work.
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The Shamanic Breathwork ceremony is a powerful transformational journey that inspires you to reconnect with God, your higher power, or your own inner wisdom.
Shamanic Breathwork (SBW) has the potential for you to breath through emotional barriers of fear, stress, worry and overwhelm. Come lay down, rest your head, close your eyes and your will be guided to connect to your inhale and exhale until you are taken on a journey that goes beyond the depths of the ego mind to a state of being of your soul in the spiritual realm. You will soar into deep introspection that has been longing to be integrated into your true loving state. As old wounds and dysfunctional patterns are released and transformed, you will begin to regain lost parts of yourself and reconnect to the magic of who you truly are. Empowerment brings wholeness and healing back into your life, to the lives of those you love, and to the world at large. Through this process you gain greater perspective, wisdom, calm, hope and healing. The experience is personal to your own growth.
The SBW ceremony begins by establishing safe and sacred space through ritual of smudging with sage while offering a prayer for your experience. You will lie down on your mat with blankets and pillows to make you comfortable. As the drumming begins, you will focus on surrendering to your God or Higher Power, calling upon that which is most sacred and holy to you. As the drumming ends the you are invited to connect with rhythmic breathing and a chakra-attuned musical journey for one hour. As you use the power of deep connected breathing to create a natural altered dreamlike state, the Ego defenses are released and the journey unfolds in a variety of magical ways.
Each person’s Shamanic Breathwork journey is a highly individualized process and no two are ever the same. Some of the states of consciousness reported range from divine, bliss states and others to the struggle to be released from negative forces in the psyche. Old patterns of dysfunction may be brought to the surface. Addictions are sometimes transformed during this process, as feelings such as grief, fear, rage and anxiety are released.
The sound of the drum will bring you back from your journey. You will met with warm tea and chocolates as you slowing wake up. You will bring back highlights of your journey by putting them in a mandala drawing using oil pastels. Sharing the mandala is another way to digest and integrate your new medicine from your journey into your life.
There is ample support from Shamanic Breathwork Facilitators assist during the session to enable a safe journey for the participant. Venus Rising’s Shamanic Breathwork Facilitators have undergone this process many times in the course of their training and are loving guides for the participant’s journey. Kimberlee Daughtry Lopez and her husband, Edmundo Lopez are Shamanic Breathwork Facilitators as well as ordained Shamanic Ministers.. They have both trained with Linda StarWolf, founder of Shamanic Breathwork and Venus Rising, over the course of a year.
This is the essence of what Shamanic Breathwork is all about. Describing the process really does not do it justice. One must experience this powerful shamanic journey and its transformation directly.
Neurofeedback, Massage Therapy, and Reiki
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Lisa Pinkstaff offers this treatment at Breath of Hope. Set up a free consult today.
PTSD, Anxiety, Depression and ADHD can be extremely debilitating, but research shows that neurofeedback may be able to help ease symptoms, desensitize intense and disturbing emotions, “teach” the brain how to relax, and strengthen brain regions that activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes calm and relaxation, decreasing symptoms associated with these conditions.
Understanding Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback, also called EEG biofeedback or Neurotherapy, is an all-natural, non-invasive way to improve brain functionality. Although neurofeedback may sound complicated, the process is simple. Advanced technology monitors your brainwaves, records their activity, and uses audio and visual feedback to retrain and rebalance your brain. All you have to do is sit back, relax, and watch a movie or video or listen to music.
What Happens During Neurofeedback?
As you enjoy the video you’re watching or music you’re listening to, a computer measures your brain wave output via tiny sensors placed on your head at the beginning of the session. The sensors monitor brainwave levels. When your brainwaves are balanced, the computer “rewards” the positive brain activity with cheerful sounds. When your brainwaves get too high, the video you’re watching dims or the sound of the music decreases. Your brain recognizes both types of feedback and begins to crave the rewarding, positive feedback rather than the negative. As a result, your brain strives to stay in balance. The training and positive rewards “teach” your brain to function more optimally, which in turn, makes you less vulnerable to anxiety and depression. In short, neurofeedback uses the brain’s natural ability to learn new things, change, and grow to help you heal.
Other benefits of neurofeedback include:
Improved memory
Enhanced focus
Better mental clarity
More restful sleep
Improved mood
Decreased impulsivity
Neurofeedback Helps The Brain Regulate Emotions
Dealing with overwhelming emotions can be one of the most debilitating aspects of PTSD, anxiety, depression, ADHD . Neurofeedback combats this by teaching the brain to better regulate emotions.
As the sensors “listen” to your brainwaves, they provide both positive and negative feedback. The negative feedback (i.e. dim video or low music sound) “tells” the brain that your brainwaves have lost their balance. The brain responds by calming down.
Eventually, after about 3 or 4 weeks of sessions, the brain learns to stay balanced, helping you feel calmer and more in control. The effects are long-lasting because unlike some medication that provides temporary relief, neurofeedback actually changes the way your brain functions. So, instead of feeling completely overwhelmed by negative and distressing emotions, neurofeedback can help people regain control of their emotions.
Neurofeedback Teaches The Brain To Relax
People with PTSD live in a constant state of anxiety and have a hard time relaxing. As a result of perpetually reliving their exposure to trauma, their brains are constantly aroused. Fortunately, neurofeedback can “teach” the brain to relax. Neurofeedback combats the repetitive negative thoughts associated with PTSD by helping overactive brain cells calm down and by reversing stress-induced hyperactive responses. Every time the feedback is followed, the brain “learns” that calmness elicits a positive response. Subsequently, the brain relaxes.
Scientists have also discovered that neurofeedback can enhance the connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. The prefrontal cortex helps you respond to situations appropriately. The amygdala processes emotions and can trigger fight or flight mode. Anxiety weakens the connection between these two areas of the brain, making you hypervigilant, paranoid, and overactive. As neurofeedback training restores their connection, the prefrontal cortex partners with the amygdala, helping you respond rationally to your situation.
Neurofeedback Can Help Improve Sleeping Patterns
People with PTSD often struggle with insomnia. Between the invasive flashbacks, distressing memories, and terrifying nightmares, many people with PTSD avoid sleep or have a habit of not sleeping well. But neurofeedback calms brainwave activity and relaxes the mind. This allows people with PTSD to fall asleep faster and improve the quality of their sleep.
Sleeping well can also help relieve other symptoms such as:
Irritability
Anger
Hostility
Anxiety
Depression
Neurofeedback can also help people:
Improve their mood
Overcome guilt and shame
Rebuild their self-esteem
Combat nightmares and flashbacks
Learn to desensitize intense, disturbing emotions
Strengthen brain regions that promote cognitive health
Reach out to Lisa Pinkstaff to schedule a consult and help you with your mental health.
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If I could get my trauma therapy done by lying down and receiving massages, I’d definitely do it! Wouldn’t you?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Memory reconsolidation – the neurological process that underlies trauma healing – requires activating the memory and then repeatedly introducing corrective information, such as occurs in trauma healing methods like EMDR. Even so, massage therapy may contribute to positive outcome both during and after trauma treatment.
Massage therapy, the manual manipulation of soft body tissue to promote health and well-being, can provide relief from physical, emotional, and mental stress, and decrease levels of depression, anxiety, irritability, and other symptoms associated with trauma exposure (Collinge, Kahn, & Soltysik, 2012). Massage therapy has also been found to help clients with PTSD-related dissociation to be more in touch with how certain emotions manifest in physical sensation, and experience comfort and safety in their body (Price, 2005).
Massage is particularly relevant to trauma treatment because traumatized individuals often suffer from hyper-arousal and hyper-vigilance. In a state of stress and tension, their muscles may be constricted, and their bodies flooded with cortisol, a stress hormone that can be harmful with long-term exposure. Massage therapy has been shown to decrease cortisol levels while increasing hormones (serotonin and dopamine) associated with elevated mood (Field, Hernandez-Reif, Diego, Schanberg, & Kuhn, 2005). Massage therapy can also help to increase circulation, relieve some physical pain, and relax tensed muscles (Price, 2005). This relaxation can enable traumatized people to let go of their fight or flight stress response and attain a calmer state of being, which can be helpful both in therapy and in navigating daily life (Hatayama, Kitamura, Tamura, Nagano, & Ohnuki, 2008).
Laura Castellanos is a massage therapist who is trauma-informed and practices consent-based body work, to mitigate the risk of a client feeling out of control of the situation and their body (Frank, 2013). Feeling comfortable while someone is working on your body is important for anyone, and especially for those who have previously been trauma-exposed, and for whom a bad-experience massage could be retraumatizing. Conversely, a good-experience massage can feel nurturing, another potential source of healing.
Massage’s benefits can support the psychotherapy client’s stability between sessions, as well as their ability to tolerate the trauma work during the therapy session. Furthermore, even after successful trauma healing, some people find that their hyper-arousal symptoms persist, and then massage therapy can be used to promote a new habit of calm and self-regulation.
Schedule a free consult today with Laura Castellanos.
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Kimberlee Daughtry Lopez and her husband, Edmundo Lopez, are Level 2 Reiki practitioners. They both offer Reiki treatments upon request.
Reiki is a Japanese technique of applying and balancing the bio-energy or meridians (electrical patterns) in the body, mind and spirit. The Reiki Practitioner works with the body’s natural bio-energy. The Practitioner’s hands are placed lightly on or just above the client’s body, palms down, using a series of 12 to 15 different hand positions. Each position is held for several minutes, or until the practitioner feels that the flow of bio-energy – experienced as sensations such as heat or tingling in the hands – has slowed or stopped.
Reiki can do the following: bring about peaceful, deep state of relaxation, dissolve energy blockages and tension, support the well being of a person receiving traditional medical treatments that are debilitating (eg. Chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, kidney dialysis), supply universal life force energy to the body, stimulate the body’s immune system, help to relieve pain, stimulate tissue and bone healing after injury or surgery, increases vibrational frequency on physical, mental and emotional and spiritual levels.
Reiki also opens the mind to the necessity for taking responsibility for one’s life; to the joys of balance and wholeness. In short, Reiki is a holistic, self-help technique for directing natural life energy. Reiki is pronounced ‘ray-key’ in the United States. In Chinese, the word Reiki means Spirit Energy. At times, tools such as sound and aromatherapy may be used therapeutically.
Schedule a Consult with Kimberlee DaughtryLopez to set up a Reiki session.
The 5 reiki principles
Just for today, do not worry. …
Just for today, do not anger. …
Just for today, be humble. …
Just for today, be honest. …
Just for today, be compassionate toward yourself and others. …
Just for today, I will earn my living honestly.
FAQS
Common questions about Trauma Therapy
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The first session will begin by Kimberlee Daughtry Lopez, LPC-S, RPT, EMDR, CGT spending time getting to know you and what brings you in for counseling. From there we will set up a treatment plan to help you accomplish your goals. We will work on a unique plan with methods that best suit you.
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We will decide together what works best for you. Ideally, we begin with weekly sessions, then stepping down to every other week, once a month to completion.
Or if you have a chunk of time or weekly sessions do not fit your schedule, Kimberlee can schedule intensives to heal faster and go deeper. See EMDR Intensives for more information.
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Schedule a free 15 min consult. I will answer any questions you have and we can see if we are a good fit for you.
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Kimberlee Daughtry Lopez charges $140 per 50 min session. Kimberlee accepts Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance and Tricare. She has limited openings on each panel.
You will need to contact Lisa Pinkstaff and Laura Castillanos for their prices.
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Kimberlee Daughtry Lopez LPC-S, RPT, EMDR, CGT does accept Blue Cross Blue Shield and Tricare, but has limited spots on each panel. She is mostly private pay. She can provide a superbill to your insurance to help you claim any out of network benefits.
Lisa Pinkstaff and Laura Castillanos doe not accept insurance for their services.
Kimberlee Daughtry -Lopez is a certified EMDR therapist through EMDRIA.