Effective trauma therapy from our expert team of trauma-sensitive therapists.

Our skilled trauma therapists all hold a masters degree and are trained in a variety of different modalities to help clients in their healing process. Our therapists are all EMDR trained and IFS informed. They will utilize diverse approaches such as EMDR, IFS parts work, somatic therapy, art therapy, TF-CBT, CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), ACT (Acceptance and Commitment, ERP (Exposure Response Prevention) and psychodynamic approaches.

Individual therapy is considered a one-on-one process between the therapist and the client. Therapy starts with building trust and rapport in a safe and secure place. In this place, you will confront your fears, worries and vulnerabilities. It is a place to express your desires, dreams, goals while admiring your strengths and acknowledging your very unique personality. It is here that you can be your true self, full of vulnerability, full of strength and yet embrace the salient nature of humanity. Taking the path to a new you can feel overwhelming and scary, yet you are encouraged to keep walking. Through your journey, you will find the sunlight and embrace the warmth of safety. Everyone has their own journey and you get to create your own path.

The Process

At Irimiya Trauma Therapy, Inc. we welcome you in for an initial trauma assessment. During this trauma assessment we will ask you questions about your past childhood experiences, past relationships (friends, peers, partners etc.) and about your current symptoms. Your therapist will review your trauma assessment questionnaire you completed and ask any relevant and follow up questions. This assessment process can last anywhere from 1 to 3 sessions. After the initial trauma assessment, your therapist will continue to build trust and rapport with you and begin to work with you on past trauma issues to focus on the core of your symptoms. Trauma therapy can be a lifelong journey with occasional breaks, but on average, we see clients from a year to 5 years. Some more and some less.

Individual Therapy

Irimiya Trauma Therapy, Inc. offers therapy services for adults, teens and children (age 4+) for many trauma-related issues. Individual Therapy is one-on-one therapy between the Therapist and the client. The main goal is to help individual’s daily function improve, to develop skills necessary to reduce symptoms and to build healthy strong interpersonal skills to improve healthy connection and relationships. This collaborative approach allows the client to feel heard and use their voice. Sessions are typically about 50 - 53 minutes in length and are held weekly.

Focus of treatment includes, but not limited to the following:

  •  Trauma (Abuse, Domestic Violence, Death/Loss, etc.)

  • Sexual Trauma (Rape, Date Rape, Incest, Molestation, Childhood Sexual Abuse, etc.)

  • Dissociative Disorders (Dissociation, Depersonalization and Derealization Disorder, Amnesia, Dissociative Identity Disorder and OSDD etc.)

  • Adult Survivors of Childhood Trauma (Physical, Sexual, Emotional and Neglect)

  •  Complex- PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)

  •  Attachment Trauma (Trauma in the womb/after birth)

  •  Depression and Anxiety

  • Relationship Issues (Toxic relationships, codependency and narcissistic abuse)

  • Grief and Loss

Trauma Therapy

Efficient trauma treatment begins with a trauma-informed therapist. A trauma-informed therapist understands the impact trauma has on an individual somatically (in the body) and psychologically (in the mind). When an individual works with a trauma-informed therapist, they can feel reassured that the therapist is aware of the complexity of one’s suffering, emotional pain and how it can manifest into a variety of symptoms and affect a person’s mental health. A trauma-informed therapist will have likely heard explicit, horrific and unimaginable stories from survivors. Please know, your story is welcome and there is never a story too “small” or too “much” to be heard.

Trauma-Informed Therapy Treatment is usually addressed in 3 stages:

  1. Establishing Safety: The focus here is to stabilize individuals and prepare individuals to process through their trauma. Addressing safety issues such as suicidal/homicidal ideation and/or attempt. Learning how to reduce dissociation is important. Providing coping skills to help you through trauma work is crucial and critical as well.

  2. Processing: The focus here is to process through the memories, images, thoughts and feelings. If you prefer not to talk about the trauma, EMDR would be a great fit because it focuses on somatic responses and talking about the trauma is not necessary.

Reconnecting through Integration: The focus here is to reflect on the abundant amount of work you have accomplished and focus on integrating oneself into a new person, feeling empowered, confident and assertive.

Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)                           

EMDR is an integrative psychotherapeutic approach used to relieve psychological and physical distress. This approach helps in alleviating distressful emotions, images, memories and negative core beliefs.

  • EMDR helps to relieve trapped trauma in the body. Trapped trauma can look like uncontrollable twitching, aches, pains, muscle tension, shaking etc. EMDR can help process through body memories which can occur when you’re processing through trauma. EMDR can also help unstuck memories trapped in the body.

  • No. The benefit of EMDR is working with the body, which is where the trauma has been trapped. The individual does not have to talk about all the details and can work through the trauma by identifying feelings, sensations and limited details (ex. I was in my bedroom when it happened).

  • In talk therapy, the Therapist actively listens as the individual discusses their thoughts, feelings, behaviors etc. The individual is supported as the Therapist provides a non-judgmental safe place for the individual to discuss trauma details. This has great benefits for many. However, many individuals have a difficult time talking about the trauma and get stuck in feeling frozen, scared and often dissociate. This is very common. With EMDR, the Therapist will focus only on body sensations and feelings and use Bilateral Stimulation with hand buzzes or headphones to help desensitize the sensations and feelings to help reduce trauma related somatic symptoms.

  • The Therapist will review the basics of how EMDR works, answer your questions, develop a treatment plan and goals, and obtain permission to proceed with EMDR treatment. The Therapist will ask you a set of questions which can include identifying your negative core belief, an adaptive positive belief, the intensity of your negative belief and other questions. The Therapist will utilize Bilateral Stimulation with either hand buzzers which the individual will hold in the palms of their hands or wear a set of headphones that will give a bell sound. The Therapist will be observing your body language to check for dissociation and to determine how present you are in the session. EMDR processing will continue until the past experience and negative core belief has been applied as the identified positive belief.

  • EMDR is NOT hypnosis. The individual is awake and aware the whole time and is in control. The individual will have one ear in the Trauma Room and one ear in the Therapy Room, so the individual brings up the trauma memory in their head (Trauma Room) and listens to the Therapist (Therapy Room).

Somatic Therapy

Somatic Therapy (ST) is a body-oriented, holistic form of treatment that focuses on the “felt sense” of traumatic experiences. ST focuses on sensations and feelings held in the body. By focusing on the somatic (body) sensations, you become aware of physiological triggers and learn how your body speaks to you and how to listen to what your body needs. This type of approach is beneficial to individuals that are disconnected from their body and have a difficult time identifying sensations in their body. 

Unlike traditional talk therapy, somatic therapy incorporates physical awareness and body-based techniques to help individuals process trauma, reduce stress, and restore emotional balance. By tuning into bodily sensations, movements, and patterns, clients learn how unprocessed emotions and experiences are stored in the body—and how to safely release them. Somatic therapy is based on the idea that the body holds onto trauma and stress, even when we’re not consciously aware of it. These experiences can manifest as physical tension, chronic pain, emotional dysregulation, or behavioral patterns.

IFS (Parts Work)

Parts Work is a powerful therapeutic technique that is used to notice, feel, give voice to or permission to and name, in order to understand our internal world. Our internal world can be identified as our inner critic, sensations and/or feelings in our body, and other different parts of us. Parts Work helps us understand the many complexities of our internal world and help us unravel our patterns that we often feel trapped in. We all have different parts of our Self such as a younger part, adult part or a part that holds fear or worry. This does not mean we have DID or MPD, but this means if we can explore the different parts of ourselves whose roles have felt overwhelming, then we can help those parts relieve the pressure and develop a sense of rest and wholeness.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a transformative, evidence-based approach to psychotherapy that helps individuals heal by working with their internal “parts.” Developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz, IFS is based on the idea that the mind is made up of different sub-personalities or “parts,” each with its own thoughts, emotions, and roles. Rather than viewing these parts as dysfunctional, IFS sees them as protective and well-intentioned—even if their methods are no longer helpful. This process is often called “parts work” because it involves gently identifying, listening to, and healing these internal parts to create more inner harmony.

Trauma-Informed Couples Therapy (T-I CT)

In (T-I CP), we look at the whole picture, rather than what the couple is bringing into the therapy room. We explore each partner’s past experience in relationships starting with their parents in order to develop a full understanding of their patterns. Attachment styles are explored and compassion is built through working on honesty, trust and developing a sense of safety. We have worked closely with Couples struggling with intimacy issues related to past sexual trauma, couples with both individuals or one individual that has DID, infidelity, trust and communication issues. Sessions are on average between 60 – 80 minutes and held on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

Group Therapy

Healing together, never alone.

Group therapy is a time to begin the healing process of coming together with other adults who have been impacted like yourself. It is common to often feel ashamed, alone and embarrassed when you are not connected to others with similar experiences. Group therapy provides an opportunity for you to come together and reach out to others who have experienced a similar trauma.

  •  Women’s Support Group: Adults Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

    This group is for Adult Women who self-identify as being sexually abused as a child (incest, rape, sexual abuse, molestation, etc.).

     Women’s Sexual Trauma Support Group

    This is group is for Adult Women who identify as being sexually assaulted as an adult (rape, date rape, drug rape, sexual assault/harassment, etc.).

    Note: If you have been both sexually abused as a child and as an adult (very common) and are unsure which group would be best for you, please email or contact a therapist to discuss further. Through the initial assessment together, a solution will be created.

  • Provide a safe environment for women to join and support each other, Share personal struggles related to sexual trauma, Identify challenges you struggle with daily as an adult, Explore challenges with memories, Develop knowledge about sexual trauma, Learn and apply skills to help reduce symptoms.

Email: info@irimiyacounseling.com to inquire about our next group

Empower, Flourish, Thrive, Survive, it's all possible

Strength is the ability to be vulnerable. Strength is asking for help. Strength is keeping hope when it seems hopeless. Strength is motivation when you have no direction. Strength is choosing to love yourself even when you feel unlovable. Strength is displayed in many ways, but it's the choice to move forward even though it hurts that encompasses internal strength.