Trauma Therapy at Hawaii Island Recovery: Comprehensive Healing for Emotional Well-Being

Trauma affects every part of daily life, and it can continue to impact people, their families, and their communities. Hawaii Island Recovery is prepared to help you engage in effective trauma therapy using a combination of evidence-based treatment and the serene healing potential of the beautiful big island of Hawaii. 

Trauma therapy is a form of psychotherapy that addresses past traumatic experiences and their current effect on daily life. Addressing trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and their effects on feelings of anxiety, depression, and substance use is difficult. Having professional support and a community of peers to overcome the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual impact of trauma is the beginning of a comprehensive healing journey.

Trauma and substance use disorder (SUD) can be intimately linked, and addressing them in tandem is necessary to overcome each of their effects. Hawaii Island Recovery is ready to help you explore not just the effects of trauma on daily life and mental health but also its impact on the development of addiction to drugs or alcohol. These substances may temporarily push down the negative feelings of trauma but still leave them unaddressed and often worsen over time. We are ready to help you address the use of drugs or alcohol as a coping strategy and empower you to explore healing from substance abuse while developing new ways of coping with the emotional effects of trauma. 

The first step in overcoming trauma is confronting it and its effects. Hawaii Island Recovery creates a safe and supportive community in a calming, natural Hawaiian atmosphere to help you begin to talk about these profound experiences. The professional and spiritual support available at Hawaii Island Recovery can help you engage in effective trauma therapy to identify, confront, and overcome the effects of trauma on your emotional health. 

No two people will experience trauma in the same way, and your needs and goals in treatment may be different than your peers. Identifying the signs and symptoms of trauma in yourself or a loved one can be the first step to effective and personalized trauma treatment. 

Trauma affects both body and mind. Some of the most common physical signs of trauma include:

Trauma can have just as many psychological symptoms as physical symptoms, and both must be addressed for truly comprehensive and effective healing. Some of the most common psychological signs of trauma include:

Experiencing violence, abuse, neglect, or any other form of physical or psychological trauma can have foundational effects on the well-being of children. It can continue to impact their mental health, perspectives, spiritual health, and more as they grow into adulthood. From causing behavioral changes to creating difficulty regulating emotions, increasing the risk of development of mental health disorders, challenges managing relationships in childhood and adulthood, compromised academic performance, and self-destructive coping strategies, addressing childhood trauma is crucial at any point in life, either addressing it in childhood or processing its effects as an adult. 

There is no single form of trauma, and each person will experience trauma differently, with unique effects, symptoms, and memories. Exploring the types of trauma and each of their unique effects on your life is part of a comprehensive healing journey. 

This form of trauma describes a single, if profound, traumatic experience that has lasting mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual impact. Car accidents, being a victim of assault, witnessing an armed robbery, or living through a natural disaster can all develop this form of trauma. These experiences often fundamentally reshape how a person feels and perceives the world and impact relationships, spiritual beliefs, and more. 

This form of trauma develops over time as a person is exposed to multiple traumatic experiences. These traumas can often be multiple instances of similar events. Military personnel on long tours or multiple deployments to active war zones, being victims of repeated sexual assault, witnessing domestic violence, or living in violent neighborhoods can all expose an individual to multiple instances of trauma. These repeated stresses are difficult to heal from as such perspectives and events can become normalized despite their traumatic nature. 

Trauma that occurs repeatedly, especially during childhood or developmental years, is called complex trauma. This form of trauma typically involves multiple instances of interpersonal traumas. Neglect, child abuse, domestic violence, sexual abuse, being a victim of discrimination, and more can all affect a child’s emotional well-being, relationships and communication skills, and feelings of self-worth. These complex childhood traumas can lead to mental health disorders and other challenges as children grow into adulthood.

Finding the right approach to trauma therapy is a personal journey. Hawaii Island Recovery is ready to work with you to explore your needs and goals for effective, comprehensive healing. 

While trauma therapy is a personal journey, these programs commonly start with proven, evidence-based modalities like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). However, these forms of psychotherapy are further supplemented by Hawaii Island Recovery’s approach to holistic healing, bringing in community support, spiritual guidance, unique nature-based treatment and oceanic healing opportunities, and cultural engagement to challenge the effects of trauma. 

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR, is a proven successful form of treatment to address PTSD that can help a person process and navigate the effects of trauma. Hawaii Island Recovery has trained professionals who are ready to help you explore its healing potential for yourself. EMDR utilizes bilateral stimulation, either through tapping or visual cues, tracking the stimuli with your eyes while engaging in effective talk therapy to address past traumatic experiences. This kind of guided therapy combines support, psychotherapy, visualization, mindfulness, and more to explore new ways of seeing and processing traumatic events. 

CBT and DBT can be utilized to address trauma by helping you effectively manage emotions while also exploring new perspectives, encouraging each person to explore their present in a new light. This approach to trauma therapy can improve emotional resilience while also engaging in effective group therapy sessions and overcoming other challenges, such as addiction and other self-destructive behaviors. 

Recovering from past traumas takes time. The professionals at Hawaii Island Recovery are prepared to help you break down your journey into stages of healing to make the most of your recovery efforts. 

Feelings of safety are profoundly affected by traumatic experiences, especially in children. Feeling unsafe or uncertain, either physically or emotionally, can make it difficult to talk to others or develop trust. We begin your journey by working with you to create a place of safety, acceptance, comfort, and stability that is necessary to engage in effective treatment.

During this stage, you begin to share your traumatic experiences in a safe environment with a trained professional. This is where you will first begin to put words out loud about traumatic experiences, and this can be a difficult and intense time. Feelings of guilt, shame, anxiety, depression, grief, and more are all common during this time. While uncomfortable, it is a necessary and important step in healing. 

Trained professionals are necessary to ensure a safe space to help a person accept these challenging feelings and provide emotional, mental, and spiritual support while planning the best approach to personalized care. 

This stage of healing marks genuine change, where you begin to leave behind thoughts, beliefs, and other effects of trauma and step into a new lifestyle and perspective. Processing and accepting past traumas while taking control of the present is the hallmark of this stage of recovery, with exploring forgiveness either to others or to yourself being a profound goal. This stage can also come with addressing the effects of trauma on the family and reconnecting with loved ones, friends, and family.

Trauma therapy will always be a personal journey, and it can be rocky. However, Hawaii Island Recovery can help you explore your path to healing in a safe and sympathetic environment. 

The professionals at Hawaii Island Recovery use strategies to help you overcome your unique challenges, with self-exploration, mindfulness, spiritual healing, and more all being part of a comprehensive goal of understanding yourself and the role trauma plays in daily life. 

Effective coping and grounding strategies are utilized in tandem with mindfulness practices to develop safe ways to identify and process feelings of anxiety, depression, guilt, grief, and more. Personalized self-care outlets, routines, and goal-setting, along with communication skills and a community of peers, can further the effectiveness of your coping strategies. 

Self-blame and guilt are common when addressing trauma, regardless of whether you believe you were at fault or not. Engaging in self-care, EMDR, and talking with professionals and peers can help you challenge these feelings and regain a positive self-image. These therapies, combined with spiritual healing and nature-based experiential therapy, can restore self-esteem and spiritual beliefs and create a positive perspective of yourself. 

Both individual treatment and group therapy are used to address trauma, and Hawaii Island Recovery’s focus on community and the spirit of aloha is highlighted through facilitating healing and interpersonal relationships. From helping you practice communication strategies to community involvement and peer support, we can help you connect with others, either in treatment or with friends, family, and loved ones at home.

Having professional support to overcome trauma is paramount, and our team can help you identify, process, and overcome the effects of trauma on your life as well as its impact on your mental health and use of drugs or alcohol. 

Nobody has to overcome trauma alone, and having a community of peers can create a compassionate and sympathetic environment. Talking with peers overcoming trauma, addiction, and more can help you explore your best approach to healing. 

Having a community can also empower you to explore your best practices and beliefs in recovery, with our dedicated professionals ready to adjust each treatment plan to find what works best for you and your goals. 

The natural features of the big island of Hawaii create a calming, peaceful, and safe atmosphere for exploring your healing journey. Hawaii’s beautiful ocean, flora, and fauna promote spiritual healing and freedom for a holistic approach to your needs in treatment. 

The professionals at Hawaii Island Recovery engage in both trauma-informed treatment and effective addiction treatment, helping you understand the connection between them and challenge the use of drugs or alcohol at the same time. This comprehensive approach to healing ensures that Hawaii Island Recovery is the last call you will have to make in your journey to a transformed future. 

Overcoming the effects of trauma in daily life is challenging, and recognizing the signs and symptoms of trauma is just the first step toward change. At Hawaii Island Recovery, we are prepared to help create a trauma-informed treatment plan to address your experiences for a healthier future. For more information, call us today at (866) 390-5070.