Feel Heard and Understood from the Start
Feeling heard and understood gives you hope right from the get-go, is life-changing, and improves your quality of life because you start to make decisions that are more aligned with your authentic self. None of that is possible, though, without a solid therapeutic alliance and relationship.
Simply put, you need to like your therapist, feel comfortable opening up to them, and there needs to be a certain amount of rapport and trust built in order to dive into the more difficult therapeutic work of trauma resolution.
Setting the Tone
The therapist’s job is to set the tone for the therapeutic work by providing a safe and non-judgmental space, while also bringing in some well-timed humor or laughter so it doesn’t always feel heavy and upsetting.
Therapy is hard work, but that doesn’t mean you can’t laugh sometimes or talk about positive things that are going well.
In fact, talking about negative stuff the entire time is actually de-stabilizing for a traumatized nervous system, so at the beginning of the therapeutic journey it’s common to do some important stabilizing work to prepare you for the deeper trauma processing.
This type of positive resourcing is vital to help stabilize someone who has suffered from some type of traumatic stress.
What to Expect When Working with Us
The period of stabilization often includes assessing resources or improving coping skills, while also getting a solid self-care routine in place. Once you feel things have stabilized a bit (or you feel it in regards to symptom reduction or less nervous system activation) then we can guide you towards identifying and processing some key traumatic events in your life.
You may not even know what those traumatic events or situations are, and that’s ok; our job is to be really good at helping you figure out what you’re wanting to shift in your life and then helping you identify what might have created the roadblocks to you living authentically.
Once we pinpoint some of the barriers or themes that get in the way, (for instance the limiting beliefs such as I’m not good enough, I have to be perfect, my needs are not important, etc.) then we can start to put a plan together to get to the root cause and clear the events that created the limiting belief or theme.
Sure, we want you to not feel so triggered and we want you to feel better overall, but the goal of therapy should not only be to decrease or eliminate symptoms. Symptom reduction is great, but if you want meaningful and long-lasting change, you need good therapy that will also shift problematic patterns and beliefs at a deeper level than what your average therapy experience will provide you.
What People Are Saying
Thank god Kristen recommended EMDR to me. Before it, I genuinely didn’t think I was going to ever feel better, but after only about 2ish months I’m functional again. Also, I like that she said “We’re not trying to make you see your trauma in a positive light, we’re just trying to turn it into a memory that doesn’t hurt you anymore” because I was worried I’d have to act happy by the end of EMDR therapy. But no, the memory still sucks but it really doesn’t hurt anymore!
Kristen is amazing. Very present and I love what she said in our first session—that her goal is to learn what it’s like to be me and to walk alongside me. I feel a difference since working with her and am so grateful to have found your practice and Kristen!
I have been seeing Kristen Gallien for a few months and she is wonderful! She makes me feel heard and understood and has been a wonderful support! I’m so grateful I found her!
I have been seeing Ashlie for almost a year and a half. She almost feels like a friend that I can talk to but one that offers good advice. I like having her to bounce my feelings off of and having her guidance to navigate personal and business situations. I’m feeling pretty good about things in my life right now, but I look forward to our 2x per month sessions and being able to talk things out with her.
Ashlie is amazing 💙 I find myself referencing things she’s said to me, and she’s opened my mind to a lot of belief patterns I had that I wasn’t aware of. She’s also very open-minded to recommending or referring you to any other therapy methods she thinks might benefit you. I think my favorite thing about her though is she’s honest and direct, yet very in tune to take things at my pace, and never pressures me to do any type of therapy or have any type of conversation I’m not ready for. 💙
I’ve been with Ashlie for at least 3 years. (If not more?) I’ve made great strides in my therapy! I’m a childhood trauma survivor. I spent most of my life simply surviving. After another traumatic event, I finally sought help. Ashlie helped me understand my trauma. She explained the reasons for my inner turmoil. She was patient and supportive. I felt accepted and safe. I have said many times that Ashlie saved my life and I’m grateful for the tools she provided me. I was very lost for very long and Ashlie led me through the darkness. I have more work ahead of me and I know I can count on Ashlie to see me through the rest of my journey. “Thank you” doesn’t encapsulate the gratitude I feel for you. You helped me find true happiness!
Absolutely life changing! Katie (Osgood) is amazing and I’m so happy to be working with her! I’ve told all my friends about her!
Things are going really well with Katie (Osgood). My daughter really likes going to see her and it’s great to see her high comfort level with an adult. Katie is wonderful.
