Reclaim You- How To Be In Relationship with Trauma Survivor

 

Season 2 : Episode 2

Relationships with Trauma Survivors with Laura Gordon

 

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In this conversation, Sarah and Laura discuss relationships with people who have experienced trauma. They discuss the importance of safety in relationships with individuals who have experienced trauma and the need for patience and understanding. They emphasize the significance of self-care and seeking support for both the person who has experienced trauma and their loved ones. They also discuss the challenges of being in a relationship with someone who has experienced trauma and offer strategies for supporting them. The conversation emphasizes the need for patience, compassion, and seeking support in navigating these complex dynamics.

Takeaways:

  • Creating safety in relationships is crucial for individuals who have experienced trauma.

  • Being in a relationship with someone who has experienced trauma requires patience, compassion, and understanding.

  • Seeking support for oneself and the person with trauma is essential in navigating these dynamics.

Thanks for listening to Reclaim You with Reclaim Therapy!

To learn more about Reclaim Therapy and how to work with a therapist on the team, head to https://www.reclaimtherapy.org.

Be sure to comment, like and subscribe here, or on YouTube and come follow along on Instagram!

  • Sarah (00:12.366)

    Hey everybody, welcome back to Reclaim You. Laura, we're season two. Yeah, yeah. So I thought it'd be kind of fun to check in with everyone as we're rolling out season two. Everybody's coming back after a nice month break from recording and the podcast to revisit this year in this season of life, because last year was a long time ago.

    What does reclaim you mean to you these days?

    Laura Gordon (00:52.5)

    Yeah, good question. I was just kind of like thinking, what did I say before, right? Like, you know, I wonder, I'll have to go back and listen. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about this idea, you know, of reclaiming self.

    And I think this came up probably with a client recently or in my own sort of like practice of meditation. And I have a practice where I do a meditation mindfulness sort of sit reading and then writing.

    But when we talk about reclaiming ourselves, some people get a little like, I don't know if I want that. So, right? Like I don't, and so what I look at it is it's reclamation in the sense of reclaiming the possibility of.

    who you can and always could be, but that which got in the way, you know, whatever the trauma was, whatever the experience were, so that when we are taking the steps into therapy, you know, when we're at this impasse where it's like, there's this huge part of me that...

    keeps making the same mistakes over and over again, or keeps struggling in the same way, or just can't seem to move past something in my life. And then another part of you that's like, get over it, you're fine, but but but but, and they're sort of like at odds with one another.

    Laura Gordon (02:31.668)

    And then there's this third aspect that comes into play, and that's therapy. Like when a person is ready to enter into therapy, that becomes this reconciling point, right? That in therapy, we learn how to be safe in relationship. We learn how to be vulnerable. We learn how to really look at ourselves and treat ourselves with compassion in doing so. And so that out of that arises,

    is not the same self, you know, but you are a transformed self, right? And all of the parts of you that were all at odds with one another are now integrated. And it's the integration itself, right? That creates this new hole in this new person. And I think that's, that's what it's about is we, we're not going back. Some people are like, I don't want to talk about the past. I don't want to talk about my trauma. Well,

    We have to do some of that, right? Like we can't ignore it. And there are various ways that we work with it.

    And we don't always have to like go piece by piece and bit by bit either with everything. But the practice of coming to therapy even can be healing, right? Just the practice of sitting in the room with someone and showing up for yourself and learning to be safe and starting to be vulnerable. And sometimes it's three steps forward and a million steps back. But over time, right, that like the arc is leading toward that healing and that that

    integration of self into this newly transformed self. So, you know, when I talk about the reclamation of self, it really is, it is that integrated transformed self that I think we are reclaiming as we should have always had access to it, but for which life got in the way.

    Sarah (04:32.878)

    beautifully put. You're welcome. You're welcome. So it feels appropriate given what you just said in terms of like being in relationship with yourself and being in relationship with other people, with your therapist goes right in line with what we're talking about today. And that's being in relationship with folks who have experienced trauma in their lives and

    how to do so in a way that, I don't know, is supportive for you and for your person. And it can be tricky because trauma is so tricky and so tough and can really impact relationships with self, with others so significantly.

    Laura Gordon (05:22.196)

    Yeah, for sure. And different people respond to trauma in different ways. So, you know, a relationship with one person who has a significant trauma past might look different than a relationship with another person.

    Sarah (05:37.614)

    Yeah. Yeah, so that's what we're diving into today. Yeah, where should we start?

    Laura Gordon (05:45.844)

    I always like to start, I think, with safety.

    Sarah (05:47.95)

    Mm -hmm.

    Laura Gordon (05:52.052)

    Being in relationship, I would say by and large, is an unsafe place for folks who have experienced trauma. It can be unsafe in different ways, right? So like we often see folks who are...

    isolated, they pull away, they don't get close, right? They don't rely on anyone like I'm independent. Like if you think about, you know, those folks that you know, or maybe perhaps you who like, you don't ask for help, you know, and if we dig into that, why aren't you asking for help? Well, because probably people disappointed you in the past and haven't come through. And so you rely solely on yourself. So there can be this like pull away this like, like hypervigilant independence.

    this isolation and loneliness. So just to get to know someone can be difficult. And if we push too hard, the odds are that person is just gonna close up more. The opposite of that, which also happens is the person who is like, you know,

    my gosh, my gosh, I'm needy, needy, needy, I needy, needy, needy, needy, like save me, save me, save me, right? Like that can happen as well, in which case our tendency sometimes is to be like, go away, right? Like, which is the very thing that their behavior is responding to from the past, right? Like somehow they were abandoned in some way emotionally, physically, what have you. And so us pulling away like that only...

    further causes the same distress that then leads to the same behaviors. So like, how do we create safety for this person? You know, first of all, if someone who is very like isolated decides to try and step into a relationship with someone in whatever way that looks, right? That's sacred. I mean, that's huge.

    Sarah (08:01.006)

    Yeah, that's huge.

    Laura Gordon (08:03.796)

    And I, yeah, I don't think we can, I don't think we can overemphasize like how important it is for us to honor that, you know, and that this is a huge decision. They're making themselves vulnerable. And so it's really important that we, we treat this as something that's, you know, fragile, right? Not that they're fragile, right? They've survived. Like, I mean, people have had trauma.

    Sarah (08:26.89)

    Yes, yes.

    Laura Gordon (08:31.252)

    Like I say this to my clients all the time like the the shit you've had to go through like holy shit Like you are a survivor, right? And sometimes we think they're weak there, but no no all of these behaviors are because like they've had to survive and so You know to really consider like what is safe like and and it's gentle right like I Think about you know

    I don't want to equate human beings to animals, although we are animals at our heart. But I've done a lot of work with rescued dogs and cats, and they come with trauma. And I learned pretty quickly that if I went in too hard, too fast, that I got bit. Right? It was not helpful, or they ran away.

    Sarah (09:19.182)

    Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yep.

    Laura Gordon (09:25.172)

    Like I literally ran away and I, you know, I had to chase after them versus like sitting. And I think Parker Palmer says it best. He says like, we sit quietly and we wait for the shy soul to show up.

    Sarah (09:36.622)

    Mm.

    Laura Gordon (09:38.484)

    This is a very, very, very wounded, scared soul who is beginning to step out. And so how do we just hold that very gently and compassionately and allow them to be as they need to be without trying to force them to be something else? I think that so often comes up in relationships, doesn't it? Like we want the person to change and we spend all of our energy trying to get them to change.

    And in doing so, often it just creates more of a divide. And certainly if you're sending the message to someone who is in a relationship who has a lot of trauma that they need to change, I mean that's further exacerbating a shame and blame. Like this deep sense of like, I'm not worthy, no one loves me, you know.

    So safety is so important and you'll learn that, right? Like it's like a dance. Like some of my clients, it takes years for us to find a way to be safe because of the extent of their trauma, right? Like, and really how I, as a therapist think about it, and I'll say this probably as a friend too, is like to just keep showing up and holding space.

    Sarah (10:59.502)

    huh.

    Laura Gordon (11:01.108)

    And here we are, and however you are here today is perfectly okay. It was people in my life who allowed me to be as I was without trying to change me and just loved me despite all of the ways that I was acting out.

    that provided those sort of steps toward my own healing. And I think that's creating safety for people. That's what's so important. Without safety, we can't really move anywhere else.

    Sarah (11:34.574)

    Yeah, yeah. And it's hard, right? Because for lots of folks who have experienced trauma, especially complex trauma, right? That, what am I trying to say? Like, unsafety, is that a word? The lack of safety? There we go, yeah. That the lack of safety is what feels normal and may be safe.

    Laura Gordon (11:49.396)

    Lack of safety.

    Sarah (11:55.342)

    Right, so it feels so complicated because we want to create and be with people in a different way that really is like secure safety and genuine safety. But when someone's used to just feeling like the world is on fire and relationships are dangerous and having to protect themselves and put up walls, that feels super safe. So showing up in a different way can create so much tension.

    Laura Gordon (12:19.796)

    Yes, so it takes time, right? This is like, this is why we encounter people and you know those people who just really you meet them and you're like, my gosh, like, whoa, like there's just a lot of like anger or a lot of good or a lot of this and literally are putting up this very protective shield of selves.

    Sarah (12:21.518)

    Mm -hmm. Yeah.

    Laura Gordon (12:45.428)

    because they've been so hurt and wounded. And so yeah, like that's gonna be continue to be the behavior, right? Like until there's enough consistency, like I said, that could take forever, but you're right, you're right. Like that feels safe to them. And so when we're like, you don't need to be that way anymore, the odds are the behavior is gonna go up before it starts to settle. So I think that's a really excellent point, yeah.

    Sarah (13:12.814)

    Yeah, yeah. And then caring for yourself as the person who's in relationship with someone who's experienced a lot of shit in their lives. Taking care of yourself and understanding your own needs feels equally as important, right?

    Laura Gordon (13:26.196)

    bless. Yeah, yeah seeking the support that you need.

    is one of the things that I was thinking about. There are great places for those of us who are in relationships with folks who are struggling to seek support, both as a friend and family member, with other friends and family members in some sort of support group setting, or if this is someone we're close to, having a therapy session with them and their therapist, if that's where they're at, and they feel safe with that, and they ask for that, or seeing our own.

    therapists and working through that with them, because inevitably it's going to trigger things in us, regardless of what our past is. And so how do I navigate that on my own in a safe place for me where it's not...

    I'm not just getting myself into a situation where I'm triggering this person in my life and then they're triggering me and this is all that we do. And then no one wants to live like that. And then we both feel really crappy. So yeah, seeking support, taking care of yourself, setting boundaries. And the person at first when we set boundaries with them is not going to like that by and large. It's either going to further fuel, well.

    By and large, you're gonna be like, there you go again, right? Like someone else abandoning me, someone else doing this to me. So like it might, they might be angry, they might be, they might act out in ways like that, or they might just like cut off completely and isolate. I mean, there's a whole host of ways they might become really dramatic about it. And how do we stand our ground in a way that is gentle and compassionate?

    Laura Gordon (15:20.98)

    asserting that this is what we, you know, this is what I need, but I'm not, I'm also not saying that it's because of you, right? Like, I'm not blaming you because that's all they're hearing and that's tricky, right? You know, how do you...

    Sarah (15:33.454)

    Yeah, yeah. What's an example? Like, what's an example of that? Let's try to think of an example to like play that, play that through a little bit of like, knowing that folks who've experienced trauma in their lives, relationships are hard and they may get triggered and act out and things like that. And then being in a relationship or partnership or whatever it is with someone setting a boundary. Yeah, let's kind of like play through it if we can.

    Laura Gordon (15:58.836)

    Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

    Laura Gordon (16:04.916)

    Something that comes to mind to me, like, you know, let's say there is some sort of like moment where...

    I can't think of a specific, like, something that might happen, but like, let's say I'm the friend or I'm the family member or I'm the person in this, you know, who is sitting with this folk, you know, sitting with someone who has been traumatized and has a trauma history and something happens that's really hurtful to me. I have a right to assert myself and to say, you know, I really didn't appreciate that.

    Sarah (16:15.15)

    Mm -hmm.

    Laura Gordon (16:41.204)

    So one way I could go is like, what the fuck? What is your problem? Screw you. Another way I could go is just cut off and not ever talk about it with them. I wouldn't suggest either of those ways are very helpful.

    A different way to go might be to instead, like, how can I detach myself a little bit from my stuff enough to be able to both assert myself effectively and do so in a way that's not going to cause further undue harm, if you will.

    So what would it be instead to be like, hey, so like, it seems like you're, it seems like you're really upset today. And I'm just wondering like, what's going on? You know, is there something you need to talk about? Like that's so foreign to so many people. They're like, wait, you're not going to like.

    Sarah (17:33.422)

    Yeah.

    Laura Gordon (17:37.492)

    cancel me from your life? Like what? Like I had situations where I was so ashamed that I was like isolating. And what was super helpful is when someone, you know, the person with whom that something had happened would reach out and say, I'm just thinking of you and I hope you're okay. And, and let's talk about this. Like when you're ready. That's not easy to do. It's a skill. But

    Sarah (17:59.726)

    Right, right, it's not.

    Laura Gordon (18:04.724)

    That's where your own, like, need, you know, working that out on your own with a trusted other, with a therapist, might be helpful.

    But yeah, I always think about like, let's be curious instead of automatically going to this person was trying to hurt me, this person was trying to do this, which tends to be our default, especially if we've been traumatized, instead to be like, hmm, curious. Like, it's really curious that that came up. How can I approach this with curiosity and compassion? And that presents a whole different way of being and doing for this person and can be amazingly healing over time.

    Over time.

    Sarah (18:42.414)

    Yeah, yeah. Overtime, right, like not a one time and like, you're healed, I was nice to you, we're compassionate with you, right? It's like, no, stepping outside of shame and blame over and over and over again can create just even like a soft pathway for something different for people.

    Laura Gordon (19:03.828)

    Yeah, and the shifts are soft and like, sometimes like we see like we're feeling that like, wow, and then they pull away and, and I always think to myself, I'm thinking through the lens of a therapist, but I think as well as a friend as a family member, like, okay, like, there's a reason that they pulled away. And I'm concerned for this person and for their health and well being. And so,

    I want to check in on them. Hey, you know, we've been missing you lately. We haven't heard from you. And we miss you. There's a reason you're in a relationship with this person. I mean, like, if this is not someone you like and not someone like, OK, then maybe that's not meant to be a relationship that you're in. You know, don't get caught in your own caretaking and needing to save the world, right? That's a whole nother realm. Go see a therapist. Right? Like,

    Sarah (20:01.166)

    Yep.

    Laura Gordon (20:02.804)

    But especially in families, you know? And I think that sort of leads into like how we react and respond in other ways, which we can get into a little bit more, but I wanted to see if you had anything else to offer.

    Sarah (20:23.086)

    Yeah, no, no, I, yeah, let's get into that. Let's get into that.

    Laura Gordon (20:30.164)

    So we work with trauma and eating disorders, disordered eating, and so we see behaviors that can be really scary. So certainly folks who are struggling with disordered eating behaviors who are in full, just like the full throes of.

    an eating disorder, I think those of us who are really close to them and love them most, it can be terrifying for us. People who are self -harming can be terrifying.

    Sarah (21:00.878)

    Yeah. Yeah.

    Laura Gordon (21:09.044)

    people who are talking about, you know, who have suicidal ideation are talking about, you know, harming themselves in that way. Again, terrifying. And our tendency when we're terrified is not to be like, okay, let's be curious about this. Our tendency is to be like, my God, I gotta help them, right? Like, right? Yeah, and there's a way to like, it's delicate, right? Like it's a dance.

    Sarah (21:12.078)

    Yep.

    Sarah (21:22.662)

    Yeah, I want to fix it. I want to fix it. I want to fix it. Yeah.

    Laura Gordon (21:37.172)

    But when we, so I let Janina Fisher, I think, put it really well. She's like, the promise of suicide, right? She put it that way, which at first you're like, what? What the hell are you talking about? But when I talk to my clients, if they're self -harming, if they're having suicidal ideation, that's passive, right? I mean, active suicidal ideation where they have a plan and all, take action.

    Sarah (21:51.662)

    Janina. Yeah.

    Laura Gordon (22:08.34)

    and make sure you're getting that person professional help. This is not your job to manage this. However...

    You know, what you can do is try and understand that oftentimes these types of behaviors and ways of thinking are places that feel safe for this person, right? If I hate every aspect of my life, including myself, it's a lot easier for me to get through the day if I think, well, I can always kill myself tomorrow, right? Which sounds awful to the untrained ear.

    but it's actually like a way to sort of like regulate and like stick it out. Self -harm is a way, like self -harm has this way of this person, you know, or addiction, like I don't want to feel, I don't want to feel because feeling is painful. So what am I going to do to not feel? I'm going to numb out and I'm going to use drugs, alcohol, other things to numb out or...

    I never feel, I'm always numb. I hate the fact that I'm so disconnected. I want to feel something. And so I might harm myself in order to feel something. And people can engage in both ways. And so to understand that like,

    this is a person trying to figure out how to regulate their nervous system, how to find a sense of safety in what is a very unsafe existence. And rather than us responding with terror and further amping things up, which then tends to like cause them to feel like, again, I'm a terrible person, I hate myself, like now I'm causing all this problem in my family. Like, you know, and I see that the clients are like, I'm so sorry I said that to you, like I shouldn't have done that to you.

    Laura Gordon (24:01.03)

    you I'm like so it yes family members as friends you know as a person in relationship when we're hearing that type of language

    to try and stay calm as much as possible. And again, to understand that there are extremes that folks have had to go to to survive. It doesn't necessarily mean, it's an escape, right? It's a way to find safety. It doesn't mean that this is something that they intend to complete. You know?

    And I think it's still good then to say, hey, maybe it would be good for you to talk to someone. Right? And if you're like, sometimes we just got to freak out and pull the plug and like, and then, you know, like, it can be it's also we can repair like when we misstep, or when there's like this backlash from us responding in some way, there is an opportunity to repair that relationship. And I think it's also understanding that it might take time.

    Sarah (24:49.326)

    Sure.

    Laura Gordon (25:07.412)

    But repair is possible and healing is possible in the relationship, in ourselves. It takes a lot of patience and perseverance.

    Sarah (25:16.078)

    Yeah. Yeah. And that idea of, you know, I say just, but it's not just that the idea of just staying, right? Just staying and holding the care and the concern and even like wanting desperately to like fix it or make someone feel better and make it go away. Like if it was that easy, right, we would all, you know, fix things and it's not that easy. So it's that staying and just being present and available as much as in is in your capacity, right? Like taking breaks, taking care of yourself.

    But when someone's deeply, deeply suffering, there's not a lot of fixing that can happen. There is a lot of like co -regulation and availability and holding space, not advice giving any of those things that can really move the needle for people just to feel heard, you know, and seen.

    Laura Gordon (26:03.86)

    Yeah, by trying to take away their pain, like if I'm trying to fix it and trying to make it go away, in fact, I'm invalidating in a lot of ways what's going on. It can feel really dismissive. And this is someone who is suffering and this is the way that they're communicating that to you. And so.

    Sarah (26:16.462)

    Mm -hmm. Yeah.

    Laura Gordon (26:27.188)

    How do we learn to sit with others in their suffering without trying to take it away? And maybe that invites us into our own understanding of our relationship with suffering, grief, pain. How do we feel with that, generally speaking? Are we always trying to make it go away? Might there be a learning there for us?

    Sarah (26:54.35)

    Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

    Laura Gordon (26:57.012)

    Oftentimes a person like some of the most difficult people in our lives, you know a wise wise friend of mine once said this to me and it just echoes that sometimes the most difficult people in our lives they are put there they're teachers like you know that we can learn as much as we can we can learn about ourselves and and and and do our own sort of journey of growth and healing as we're in relationship with another person who might be challenging at times to be

    be in a relationship with for us, not intentionally.

    Sarah (27:33.678)

    Yeah.

    Hmm.

    Laura Gordon (27:37.748)

    What is it to look at someone like, if I look at this person as a teacher, how might I shift my perspective and treat them differently? And myself, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, if I look at...

    Sarah (27:47.086)

    and myself differently, right?

    Laura Gordon (27:55.316)

    Just so you know, as it is, if I look at this as not someone who is being maliciously angry or whatever, but a person who is literally terrified and fighting for their life, which is often what's going on, even though everything might seem fine in their life, they're living somewhere else. If that's the case, then...

    Sarah (28:12.494)

    Mm -hmm. Yeah. Yep.

    Laura Gordon (28:23.412)

    How do we create that calm, centered space to just let them be as they need to be? And eventually, that co -regulation, as you said, will start to happen.

    Sarah (28:41.262)

    Yeah.

    Yeah, it's so hard. It's so hard to be in relationship with people who are suffering. Because like we said, you don't want to see the people you love and care about suffering so deeply and feeling so kind of like helpless and powerless to help them change it, right?

    Laura Gordon (29:02.1)

    Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's really...

    It is sad that we live in a world where...

    have endured such terrible things. But it's also, for me, hopeful that we live in a world where healing is possible. Like, harm that was created by relationship.

    healing is also possible. And often, I mean, that's the way like we heal in relationship as much as we've been harmed by relationships. Like, that's where the turn rate, that's where the transformation occurs. Like this thing that used to be so scary now becomes the thing that becomes safe and healing. That's transformation. With time and attention. And we can't do it on our own. I mean, none of us can. We need each other.

    Sarah (29:42.766)

    Mm -hmm. Yep. Yep.

    Sarah (29:54.958)

    Yeah. What time? Yeah. Yeah.

    Sarah (30:04.462)

    No, of course, because relationship is the thing. Relationship is the thing.

    Sarah (30:12.878)

    Anything else you can think of?

    Laura Gordon (30:18.228)

    No, as I'm writing a bit about this, Lena, for me, it was the three S's that really came to mind, safety, space, seek support, well, sort of. And just, you know. Being mindful of your own triggers, learning what those are.

    Sarah (30:25.902)

    Laura Gordon (30:38.228)

    And, you know, when if that's coming up for you, thinking about like what would be healthy for me in this situation, like what's the best? What's the best way for me to be present to this person while I'm also attending myself, which we've talked about? So, yeah, but safety space, seek support.

    Sarah (30:59.214)

    I was just watching Pluto smell your candle. Sorry. He was. He was up on the table smelling your candle.

    Laura Gordon (31:02.26)

    was he?

    Laura Gordon (31:08.276)

    You're filling the can, don't you like it? Is there everything?

    Sarah (31:11.342)

    I was like, don't catch on fire.

    Laura Gordon (31:14.932)

    He usually doesn't get, that's funny, because he usually, I mean I light it every day, he usually doesn't get the air, but I guess he's enjoying it today. He's... There he is, yeah. He's had his own trauma.

    Sarah (31:20.334)

    I know, I was just like watching him. I was like, what is he gonna do?

    my goodness, sorry. That was distracting. I know, I know.

    Laura Gordon (31:32.348)

    I mean that's what pets do.

    And humor, like, here's the thing, like, what a wonderful example of how, like, we can, it doesn't always have to be heavy either, right? Like, we don't always have to, like, hey.

    There's a way to balance sitting with creating space and also living life. Let's go and do this thing together. That would be really great. And it might help to have a person who starts to show up for you and help you to sort of step out of the house, step out of the cave that we often and all the walls, that it's okay as well. Just go have some fun. I mean, let's go get some ice cream.

    you don't want to go out? So rather than me being like, you need to get out of the house and start to nag you and then you feel awful and you're shutting down more and so being like, well, why don't I bring ice cream to you? Right? Think outside the box. There's always a third way and a fourth and a fifth. I mean, there's infinite ways if we're willing to start to see more broadly.

    Sarah (32:40.014)

    Yeah, yeah. So say your three S's again. So how to be in relationship or how to, I'm trying to think of like the good way to, yeah, how to be in relationship with someone who's experienced trauma. What are your three S's?

    Laura Gordon (32:55.38)

    Safety.

    creating a space that is safe for them and also for you.

    space, you know, not only creating that space, but also sometimes allowing space for processing for people to sort of get their bearings. It takes time. And then seeking support for yourself, for them, for others who might be, you know, impacted. Safety, space, support.

    Sarah (33:29.454)

    Love those. Awesome.

    Laura Gordon (33:32.148)

    I'm all about those things to try and remember.

    Sarah (33:35.418)

    -huh, yep, to make it easy. -huh. That's for sure. To ground you. Yeah. Pull you back into something. Yes, yeah, like the big rocks, right? Like worry about your big rocks. Yeah. Anything you wanna add before we wrap up?

    Laura Gordon (33:38.196)

    Yeah. It's much more complicated than three S's, but three S's are a way for us to like... Yeah.

    Laura Gordon (33:56.724)

    We're here for you. Right? And there's other great folks out there that are here for you. You know.

    If you're looking for assistance, looking for trauma -informed folks, folks who are trained and understand this, I think it's really important. And that's not to say that other therapists can't be helpful. They absolutely can be. But when we're dealing especially with some significant complex trauma, it might be helpful to sit with someone who can offer that perspective. And...

    Yeah, so I think, you know, we're here for you and there, you don't have to be alone in this. No matter who you are in the relationship, you don't have to be alone. So yeah, give us a holler, give us a shout.

    Sarah (34:52.526)

    Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you so much. And next week, Abby will be here giving a little tool. She wants to share a little tool with everyone, do a lot of talking. So this will be a little concrete and something that you can hopefully use in your everyday. So that's coming next week. And thank you, Laura. And until then, take good care.


Reclaim Therapy is a trauma focused therapy practice that provides therapy for trauma, eating disorder treatment, EMDR Therapy and Therapy for Complex PTSD.

Our team is passionate about helping people reclaim their lives from diet culture, body shame and the impact of trauma.

We would love to support you as you Reclaim YOU and the life that you undeniably deserve.


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