.png){kind=small}
Therapy for Trauma
When you experience trauma, it can affect your life in so many ways. This is true whether you experienced “Big-T Trauma” (a single unsafe experience like a car crash) or “Little-t trauma” (ongoing unsafe experiences, like growing up in a chaotic home.)
Maybe your symptoms are more easily recognized as trauma - such as flashbacks to a traumatic moment, or panic when you experience something that reminds you of your experience. But you might also be struggling with problems maintaining healthy relationships or even identifying healthy relationships and safe people. Trauma can make it hard to trust your instincts, feel close to others, manage your feelings without imploding or isolating yourself down, or value yourself in the way that you deserve.
​
Whatever your experience, you deserve the chance to heal. You deserve a therapist and a team that listens to what you need and uses that to inform your treatment with proven therapies that help most trauma survivors. A compassionate trauma therapist can find the right approach that will help you heal from trauma and live a life free from the past.
At PlayfulLeigh Psyched, we provide trauma therapy using a variety of evidence-based strategies such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, Child Parent Psychotherapy, Trauma-Focused CBT, just to name a few, and a personalized care plan to help you heal and feel supported. Our highly skilled and trauma trained therapists will guide you through your recovery journey providing you what you need, from where you feel safe.
Ready to get started, or curious to learn more? Click the button below to reach out!
We help adults navigate challenges in their lives.
There are so many things that you never knew about being an adult, until you arrived here. That in itself, sends many people into a tailspin. The year we experienced in 2020 revealed the gaps in how we think we manage and how we actually manage. Research found that anxiety rates increased at least 40% in Spring 2020. That means that before the global pandemic, people only thought they had healthy coping skills when in reality they were kind of just hanging on by a thread. The pandemic was the weight that made the thread snap.
​
Post-traumatic growth.
During traumatic and stressful events, it can feel like nothing will ever feel safe again and nothing good can come from it. In some cases, you're right - nothing good comes from it and it remains challenging to see growth following a trauma.
In many cases, however, we can find a growing point after experiencing something hard. We call that growing point, post-traumatic growth. It looks like removing the stigma from mental health therapy, and allowing everyone to seek therapy may be post-traumatic growth on a societal level. This may even be what brought you to this page.
​
Our trauma services vary depending on the event that you or your child experienced.
We provide trauma intervention that is tailored to what you need. Some clinicians are trained in evidenced trauma interventions such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR), Child Parent Psychotherapy, and Trauma-Focused CBT for children, and several others.
​
Rape.
This word can be almost as upsetting as the action. That is why we say it - rape, to take the power away from it. One of the most important things for you to know after you have been raped is this was not your fault. No matter what you were wearing, no matter whether or not you said, "no," no matter how many things you have done in past that you regret, someone raping you was not your fault. You couldn't have seen it coming. You couldn't have stopped it. Rape is the unwanted, forced penetration to mimic sexual intercourse. Penetration can include vaginal, anal, or oral and be with a body part or an object. If you are raped or sexually assaulted, there are a few things that may help you feel safer moving forward:
-
Get to physical safety as soon as possible.
-
Call 911 or your local police station
-
In many areas, you can file a police report, even if you decide that you do not want to prosecute. Calling the police right after the rape, increases your chances of finding the rapist and for prosecution should you want that eventually. ​
-
-
Get to the nearest hospital or emergency room and request having an exam with a rape kit.
-
They will check you for injuries, sexually transmitted infections and may offer medication to prevent pregnancy depending on your situation and state.
-
-
While you wait, contact someone you trust who can meet you at the hospital and wait with you, if you can.
-
This wait could take a long time. You can also speak with someone at PlayfulLeigh Psyched about starting with one of our therapists. 202-838-PLAY (7529)​
-
-
Do not wash, comb, or clean any parts of your body.
-
Your instinct may be to do so because many people want to remove the physical sensations and scents that were left by the rapist.
-
-
Remember, this was NOT your fault. We are here to help you.
​
Sexual Abuse.
We tend to reserve this category for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. In most United States territories, a person under the age of 18 years old who is forced to engaged in sexual activities by an adult (usually a person who is over 18 years old and more than 3 years older than the child) is considered to have been sexually abused. Children are sometimes abused by a child (at least a 5 years age difference). This varies between states depending on the age of consent for sexual acts. At PlayfulLeigh Psyched, we are concerned with helping you work through your thoughts and feelings about your sexual abuse to help you establish or maintain healthy adult relationships. Your care and healing are what matter to us.
​
Sexual Assault.
Often used interchangeably with the word rape, sexual assault is usually any forced sexual act up until the point of penetration. If penetration occurs, we use the term rape. If you are ever assaulted, please refer to the above steps as soon as possible.
PlayfulLeigh Healing
Trauma Recovery? >
Often in our society, adults think that they can simply "get over" things that happened to them. In the Black community, there remains the notion that strength means not showing feelings of sadness or pain. For Black people who identify as women, we frequently believe that there is strength is masking pain. As a community, we raise our boys to "man up," "stop crying" and "keep their feelings to themselves." This fosters the belief that they can only demonstrate stoicism and anger. Let this way of thinking stop here and now. All of us have a full range of emotions. It is time you learn what to do with the feelings buried deep inside.
Trauma.
For psychological health, a trauma is any event that made you think that you might die or where you thought that someone else might die. You can experience post-traumatic symptoms even from learning about an event. You do not have to be physically present at a traumatizing event for it to impact you. That's our empathic brain at work. Additionally, there are many types of events that can cause you to have trauma symptoms such as events concerning race, sex, childhood experiences, gender, nationality, and so many more. If you are bothered by something that happened to you or something that you learned about, please contact us.
Important Policies
For Emergencies
If you are in a life-threatening situation, do NOT use this site.
-
Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a free, 24-hour hotline:
-
1-800-273-8255. Your call will be routed to the crisis center near you.
-
-
If your issue is an emergency, call 988 or go to your nearest emergency room.