Therapy for Parents and Partners: When Your Family or Relationship is Impacted By Trauma
Trauma usually impacts more than the “victim”.
- As a couple, you might feel stuck or held hostage by the past
- As a family, you might feel broken and disconnected
- As a parent, you might feel guilty or unsure how to help
These problems are normal. When one person in a system is impacted, the whole system is also affected.
But, we’re here to help. You won’t have to choose between a trauma therapist and a couples therapist specialist, for example. We have counselors trained in both.
Parenting a Child With PTSD
There’s No Rule Book For How To Parent When Your Child Has Been Traumatized
Luckily, though, there is help. You don’t have to struggle through this alone. We help parents to understand what to expect and how to help. A trauma therapist can offer support so that you can support your child as they heal.
Couples: Supporting a Partner With PTSD
All You Want Is To Know How To Help
Loving someone who was sexually abused, assaulted, or has a history of abuse of any kind can be tricky. You love them more than anything in the world. But it can feel impossible to know how to show it.
We help you to know the difference between what helps and what hurts. Your relationship
Family Trauma Therapy: When One of You Has Experienced Trauma
The Whole Family Can Heal After Trauma With The Right Help
You’ve come to the right place. You don’t have to live with high amounts of family conflict anymore. At Hope For The Journey, we help families to learn how to communicate. By doing so, they can build back trust, and navigate a new way of supporting each other after trauma.
Many parents and partners struggle with…
- confusion
- knowing how to build trust
- exhaustion from the ups and downs
- feeling blamed / guilty
- wanting to help, but not knowing how
It can be hard not to take things in a personal way. It can feel lonely to be in a relationship with so many walls in place. You want to help but don’t know-how.
Help For You When Your Loved One Needs Sexual Assault Counseling
Yes, loving someone who was hurt can be difficult. The bad news is you can’t “fix” them. The good news is this: there are things you can do to help. And with that help, they can more easily do the hard work of healing themselves.
The first step is understanding how the rape or sexual abuse is affecting your child or partner. By doing so, you can better understand how it is affecting your relationship. Do they have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? Do they struggle with body image and self-esteem?
Once you understand how the symptoms of sexual trauma affect people, it can become much easier to understand what is happening with your partner with PTSD. So, when their mood shifts suddenly and they either go hot or cold super fast, you can able to understand that it is not about you. No, you can’t heal them or be their therapist. But you can learn how to support their hard work in individual treatment.
If there is anything good about having PTSD, it is that it is very treatable. It has patterns that are easy to recognize once you know what to look for. We believe in equipping our clients and their loved ones with the tools to recognize those patterns. By doing so, they can know what to do on their own.
How?
It is not your job as a parent or a partner to heal the other person at all. Your loved one will need specialized treatment. This will allow their brain, body, and heart to heal. But as a support, you can be very helpful along that journey.
Help For YOU When Your Child Or Partner Needs Anxiety Help
You can learn to help with two simple steps:
- Understand how PTSD, anxiety, and depression are impacting your child or partner (and that it is not your fault).
- Learn what helps both of you to settle down in the moment and practice using these skills.
Once your loved one is triggered, it can be very hard for them to remember what to do to calm themselves in the moment. Everything in their brain and body is telling them they are in danger. They are in panic mode. This happens when something reminds them of the trauma. So, in their bodies, they are in life or death mode. But, in reality, they are perfectly safe and you were only trying to hug them, for example.
Clearly, it would be easy to feel upset when you are trying to give a hug and the other person is freaking out. But, explaining you are not trying to hurt them when their body is telling them they are in danger won’t work. Instead, their bodies need to actually feel safe. Once that happens, their logical brains can click back on and they once again can understand the difference between you and whoever offended them.
Our Couple/Family Clinicians Help You Understand the Signs of a PTSD Reaction.
Advanced Clinician Katy Harmon, LCSW, EMDR
Advanced Clinician Heather Hammock, LMFT, EFT, EMDR
Advanced Clinician Sophie Chudleigh, LCSW
Trauma usually impacts more than the “victim”.
- As a couple, you might feel stuck or held hostage by the past
- As a family, you might feel broken and disconnected
- As a parent, you might feel guilty or unsure how to help
These problems are normal. When one person in a system is impacted, the whole system is also affected.
But, we’re here to help. You won’t have to choose between a trauma therapist and a couples therapist specialist, for example. We have counselors trained in both.
We teach concrete, simple steps that help your loved one’s nervous system to settle back down. We basically teach you to coach them. The more they can calm themselves, the stronger they become. You feel empowered because you can finally do something that actually helps.
PTSD can wreak havoc on relationships. The good news is you can learn the skills to support yourself and your child or partner in healing. With increased understanding, most people feel more connected and committed to each other. Conflict reduces. Life can become easy and playful again. You can have the relationship you’ve always wanted.
Don’t Struggle
Alone
Other Services Offered At Hope For The Journey
Therapy for parents isn’t the only service we offer. We offer a variety of services from our Round Rock, San Antonio, and Austin, therapy offices. These include therapy for sexual assault, anxiety and depression, anger management, domestic violence, PTSD, and EMDR. Our team also provides support throughout the state via online therapy. We also support the LGBTQIA community and family members of all ages with children and tweens, men, couples, and teens and young adults. Contact us today to learn more about our team and community involvement!