October 2018

 
Candace Finds Healing Decades After Her Trauma          
     
Now in her mid-40s, Candace knew it was finally time to reach out for help after years of anxiety, depression, nightmares, flashbacks, and panic attacks. The childhood and adolescent verbal, physical, and sexual abuse she had faced, followed by an abusive previous marriage, were preventing Candace from living a happy, healthy life for both herself and her children.  
 
Upon her first visit to the Crisis Center for counseling, Candace was assessed to have trauma in the clinically significant range. She was determined to find healing, and put all of her energy into her counseling sessions and the "homework" she was given between sessions. Candace's therapist was trained in Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR); with the use of this technique, the counselor helped Candace to reprocess her traumatic memories. 
 
Candace's trauma symptoms were recently reassessed and her results showed that she'd had a dramatic reduction in her trauma symptoms. She is still working with her counselor, but continues to see improvements in her self-esteem and in relationships with her fiancé and children, and is also having positive interactions with colleagues and customers at work. Candace's new hope is to write a book about her experiences so she can share with others the importance of seeking trauma-focused counseling, even if it is decades after an initial trauma.