Therapy

It also does not have to be one big event. A long stretch of not being safe as a child, an emotionally unpredictable household, years in a job where you saw things nobody should routinely see — these produce the same nervous system, and they respond to the same treatment.

—  Single-incident trauma — accidents, assault, medical events, sudden loss

—  Complex and developmental trauma from childhood

—  PTSD, including in first responders, healthcare workers and veterans

—  Trauma in adolescents and children (ages 12+ for most of our clinicians)

—  Domestic and intimate partner violence

—  Trauma-linked anxiety, depression, addiction and dissociation

This is where our team is genuinely differentiated, and it is worth being specific rather than listing acronyms. Between us we hold training in four distinct trauma modalities, which is unusual for a practice of our size in the Twin Ports.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). A structured, well-evidenced talking approach that works on the thoughts and beliefs trauma leaves behind — particularly effective with adolescents and young adults. Carly Sandmann, Charles Fai and Dave Lindlbauer all work this way.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). Uses bilateral stimulation while you hold a memory in mind, which appears to let the brain finish processing something that got stuck. You do not have to describe the event in detail, which is why it suits people who cannot face talking it through. Connie Rabideaux and Aurora Abbott are both EMDR-trained.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). Developed out of EMDR, using smooth-pursuit eye movements and memory reconsolidation. Often works in fewer sessions than traditional trauma therapy. Miranda Stenstrup is ART-trained.

Brainspotting (BSP). Based on the finding that where you look affects how you feel — a fixed eye position is used to access material held below conscious, verbal processing. Dave Lindlbauer is trained in Brainspotting.

Read more about how each of these actually works on our EMDR, ART and Brainspotting page.

The most common fear people bring to trauma therapy is that they will be made to relive the worst thing that ever happened to them, in a small room, on a Tuesday afternoon. That is not how any of this works. Good trauma therapy starts with stabilisation — building the capacity to stay grounded — before it goes anywhere near processing. You control the pace. You can stop. If a session goes somewhere difficult, your therapist's job is to bring you back before you leave the room.

We see clients in person downtown at 11 East Superior Street and by video across Minnesota, which matters for trauma specifically — the Range, the North Shore and the smaller communities around us have very limited access to trauma-trained clinicians, and telehealth closes that gap. EMDR, ART and Brainspotting can all be delivered effectively by video.

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