Specialties
Safe Haven Trauma Services is a trauma-specific group private practice that provides psychotherapy and related services for those impacted by all types of traumatic life experiences. We also provide supportive services for parents and caregivers that are grounded in attachment research. At Safe Haven Trauma Services, we believe trauma is any experience that overwhelms a person’s capacity to cope. Each of us process experiences differently and what may be traumatic to one person may not be to another. We also believe that healthy attachment can provide a buffer against trauma that could occur throughout a lifetime.
We work with Adults, Children and Teens, and Families. See below for a list of our specialties.
Parents and Parents To Be
Trying to Conceive
Trying to conceive can be a stressful, anxiety inducing experience for a variety of reasons. Maybe you feel nervous about if you’ll be able to get pregnant. Maybe you’ve experienced a loss and feel fearful of another loss. Maybe you’ve been trying to conceive for a while, but having trouble getting pregnant. Or perhaps you experienced a lot of trauma in childhood and are afraid of passing on “issues” to your children.
Pregnancy Counseling
Okay, you’re pregnant, now what?? Many parents experience stress and anxiety around being pregnant for a variety of reasons. You may be fearful of something being wrong with the baby. Maybe you’re afraid of losing the baby because of a past loss or just because your mind tends to go to worst case scenarios.
Postpartum Counseling
Okay, baby is here! Now what?? Do you feel sleep deprived, overwhelmed, and inundated with advice from any and everyone? Do you find yourself wanting to trust your instincts, but fearing judgment from those around you? Do you want the best for your baby, but feel scared and overwhelmed with the new task of raising an actual human?
Parenting Through the First Year
The first year of life is crucial to your child’s development. Sometimes it can feel daunting and scary if we truly realize how important this time is. Healthy attachment and bonding through the first year can set your child up for a lifetime of success, both relationally and in school. Our babies come into the world incredibly vulnerable, trusting little beings. You are their answer to absolutely everything, which sure can feel like a lot of pressure!
Parenting a Toddler
Toddlers are emotional little beings that are sure to push ALL of our buttons. They are needy, reactive, and they really can’t always communicate very well. And how do we respond? Often by being reactive. Our culture often expects toddlers to be able to behave like little adults. Words like manipulative and demanding are often used. Our toddlers are starting to learn ways to get their needs met and they don’t always let us know what they need in the most polite of ways. Many times they let us know through tantrums, fibs, hitting, biting, etc. We start to think they have behavioral issues and we wonder where our sweet little one has gone to.
Teens
Raising children and teens is tough, maybe one of the toughest things a person does in a lifetime. Our children push our buttons, trigger our own issues, and are sometimes just confusing. It can be hard to remember what it was like being a child or teenager. Not to mention, raising children today presents itself with a unique set of challenges. Technology and screen time provide a new set of difficulties that you may find difficult to navigate with your child.
We use a connection-based approach to work with children from infancy through the teenage years. Often when there are behavioral concerns, emotional difficulties, and/or other challenges, leading with connection can help. At Safe Haven we believe that connection is key in healing. Without connection, our children and teens are left feeling isolated and alone, navigating the world without the support they need. Children and teens can be prone to connecting through peer orientation. While friends are important, friends shouldn’t be guiding your child in their decision making and how they navigate the world. They need to have strong attachments to wise adults, like yourself, to grow and thrive. We help to strengthen or restore the vital connection that your child needs with you.
Depression in Teens
Help your teen go from feeling alone and disconnected to living more connected, purposeful lives.
If your teen is isolating and not wanting to spend time with friends or family, they may be experiencing depression. They may express feelings of hopelessness that sound like, “What’s the point anyways?” Or “It’s always going to be this way, nothing ever gets any better.”
Self Harm+Suicidality in Teens
Help your teen go from emotionally overwhelmed and hopeless to hopeful and fulfilled.
Self-harm and Suicidality can be downright terrifying as a parent. Knowing that your child is harming their body can be heartbreaking. Knowing your child contemplates ending their life can be beyond scary. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare.
Trauma in Teens
Help your teen go from guarded and fearful to feeling safe and connected.
Trauma shatters a person’s world. It disrupts their sense of safety and connection in the world. It leaves people feeling on edge and fearful.
Trauma Specialties
PTSD
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is often caused by a traumatic event where there is actual or threatened serious injury, death, or sexual violence.
Dissociation
Often those with complex trauma have learned to use dissociation as a way to cope and survive. If the trauma is now over, many times individuals need to learn grounding skills and how to live in the present.
Complex Trauma
When trauma is repeated and long-term, the result is complex trauma. This type of trauma is often relational, meaning it stems from how you were treated by other human beings…
DID/OSDD
We specialize in assessment and treatment of complex dissociative disorders. DID and OSDD are often missed in treatment settings due to lack of graduate training in assessing and treating dissociative disorders.
Depersonalization/Derealization
Depersonalization is a feeling of being detached from one’s own body or feeling outside of one’s body. Derealization is the feeling that the world is not real. People describe feeling as if they are looking at the world through a fog or from behind a glass wall.
Narcissistic Abuse
This type of trauma can sometimes go unnoticed for years or even decades. It is often subtle and covert, but over time has a tremendous impact on people. Whether you are a partner or a child of a narcissist, you may often question yourself and not trust your own judgement.
Extreme Abuse
We are also able to treat individuals with the most complex of histories who have experienced events that are unfathomable for most. Complex trauma can include extreme abuse that is sadistic and cruel in nature, perpetrated in an intentional, organized way.
Other Trauma Related Concerns
Anxiety
Trauma can greatly impact your ability to stay calm and have feelings of peace. It can cause significant anxiety in the form of generalized anxiety, panic attacks, OCD-like symptoms, agoraphobia, etc.
Addiction
Addiction comes in many forms. Often times, something that started out as innocent or fun, turns into a way to numb intense emotions, difficult childhood memories, trauma, or other painful experiences.
Relationship Issues
We frequently work with individuals who struggle in relationships or have experienced trauma in past relationships that may have been toxic or abusive. All humans long for a sense of connection and belonging. Relationships are essential for living a happy, fulfilling life, but often times wounds from the past wreck havoc in current relationships.
Depression
Trauma can impact your ability to feel happy, fulfilled, and find meaning in life. Trauma often leads to symptoms of depression, which can feel completely debilitating.
Somatic Issues
Survivors of trauma often struggle with somatic issues as a result of their traumatic experiences. Somatic symptoms can take on various forms. This may include things such as body memories, unexplained pain, headaches, muscle tension, etc.
Crisis Issues
Suicide is a complicated and common issue that impacts people from all walks of life. For some, suicide is an occasional, passing thought. For others, suicide is a more constant thought. Some people have done extensive planning about how they might kill themselves, while others may have attempted suicide once or on several occasions. Many individuals struggle with some form of suicidality, which includes suicidal ideation, plans, and attempts.
Other Specialties
Creatives
At Safe Haven TS we really enjoy working with those with creative interests. With our location being in Music City, we often work with musicians, artists, singer/songwriters, and other creatives. We highly value intuition, creativity, and curiosity, which we tend to see as common characteristics in creative people.
HSPs
Individuals that are Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs) tend to be overwhelmed easily, sensitive to criticism, and very much aware of subtleties in their environment. HSPs typically have complex inner worlds. HSPs are often deep thinkers, knowledge seekers, who are frequently plagued by anxious hearts.
Transgender & Gender-Nonconforming People
Individuals who are transgender and/or gender-nonconforming have unique insights and often face common challenges as they move through the world. At Safe Haven, we are sensitive to the ways gender identity intersects with trauma and healing.
People of Color
Due to the racial inequalities and disparities in the United States, people of color experience the world differently. People of color must walk through a world where structural racism makes it difficult for them to find supportive environments and equal opportunities that allow them to thrive and provide for themselves and their families.
Racial Trauma
An individual who directly or indirectly experiences an emotionally painful, impactful, and uncontrollable racist encounter is at risk for developing race-based traumatic stress. The mental and emotional injury caused by encounters with racial bias and ethnic discrimination, racism, and hate crimes is called racialized trauma.