What Is Trauma-Informed DV Counseling At WRC?
By The WRC/LPC
The WRC is an organization that recognizes the wide-spread and varied impact of trauma on our clients. We also understand the potential everyone has for finding their own pathway to recovery. It is our goal to practice trauma informed care as we empathize with each person’s unique perspective and story. While we cannot ever say that we know exactly how someone else feels coming out of a domestically abusive life, we can relate to where our clients have been with an understanding of how difficult the first steps are to take toward freedom. We take your presence seriously and are here to guide and empower you to keep pressing forward.
We realize… All people experience some sort of traumatic event in their lives.
We recognize… The signs and symptoms of what trauma looks like
We refrain from… Re-traumatizing our clients through victim shaming, gaslighting, projecting.
We respond to… Instead of “react” to our clients. We approach them with care and concern not only for their physical safety but consider their mental health and emotional stability as additional priorities.
As a licensed professional counselor, I am trained in and have been practicing trauma focused cognitive behavioral therapy for about twenty-five years. I recognize that every individual that walks into the WRC has taken a huge first step toward their own personal journey from a life of abuse (Applause and cheering). I also recognize that trust is a huge issue and coming into a space with expectation of telling the darkest secrets of your life and that they are about to be exposed is horrifying. No one wants to be judged for loving some who turned out to be the wrong person. That, I assure you is not my job. What I do as a trauma focused therapist is gently open the door for conversation about what has happened TO you, rather than ask what’s wrong with you, and allow you the freedom to be heard. You matter. Your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors matter and no matter what you have been told prior to coming into my office, you are smarter, stronger, and more capable than you have been led to believe by your past. With trauma focused services, I allow you the space to process your story at your own pace. We build trust, discuss your safety, and then dig a bit deeper into the chapters to find out how you got to the WRC. Hopefully, as we work together you will feel empowered to embrace new ways of approaching relationships, heal those deep seeded roots of your past, and lead a more aware and confident life.
There is a domestic violence support group which meets on Tuesday evenings from 5:45 to 7:00. If you would like more information on group, please call the number below so I can explain a little more about “group” services before attending. Group is not in a lesson type format, nor do we have a specific weekly topic. It is member led, and sometimes we explore difficult things related to domestic violence that can be quite triggering.
If you need of counseling services, please talk to your WRC advocate, or call my office line (405) 701-8738. Currently, there is approximately a 30 to 60 day waiting period. We can refer you to other capable sources for services to meet urgent counseling needs.