Trauma-informed Care:
Healing Starts When You Are Heard
Our Ethos: From “Wrong With You” to “Happened To You”
At Whisper Creek Counseling, our commitment to Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) is the foundation of every service we offer. TIC is not a single technique; it is a clinical and organizational framework that changes the fundamental question we ask:
This approach recognizes the widespread impact of trauma on your mind, body, and spirit. It is a promise to never shame you for your coping mechanisms or symptoms, but to see them as survival strategies—your brain and body’s best attempt to manage overwhelming pain. Healing begins when you are seen, heard, and believed.
Telehealth Counseling
Telehealth counseling brings the calm, supportive presence of Whisper Creek directly to your secure space, ensuring you can easily access and maintain the forward momentum of your therapeutic journey.
Individual Counseling
Individual therapy at Whisper Creek is a private space of calm and reflection, guiding you to gain clarity, develop resilience, and confidently move toward your goals.
Couples Counseling
Couples therapy at Whisper Creek offers a calm, neutral ground where you and your partner can safely navigate difficult issues and collaboratively build forward momentum toward a healthier, more connected future.
The Core Therapeutic Approach
Our commitment to Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) is the foundation of every session. TIC is an organizational and clinical framework built on a commitment to safety, choice, and collaboration, ensuring we actively resist re-traumatization.
Guiding Principles of Our Care
These six principles shape every interaction you have with Whisper Creek Counseling:
Safety:
We prioritize your physical and emotional safety. Our space and process are designed to be calm, predictable, and non-threatening.
Trustworthiness & Transparency:
We build trust through clear, open, and consistent communication, explaining our process, fee structure, and professional boundaries upfront.
Collaboration & Mutuality:
We recognize that you are the expert of your own life. We partner with you to set goals and ensure shared decision-making guides the pace and direction of your treatment.
Empowerment & Choice:
We highlight your strengths and resilience. You always have the choice of what to discuss, when to pause, and which therapeutic methods you prefer to use.
Peer Support:
We foster a therapeutic relationship where you feel understood and validated, supporting the idea that healing happens within connection.
Humility & Responsiveness:
We actively move past cultural stereotypes and biases, recognizing the impact of historical and systemic trauma. Our approach is always sensitive to your unique cultural context.
Trauma-Specific Modalities
While TIC provides the container of safety, we use effective, proven modalities to facilitate the processing and healing within that container:
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing):
Directly addresses the way traumatic memories are stored in the brain, helping them lose their emotional charge and become integrated as a simple part of the past.
Somatic & Mindfulness-Based Techniques:
Teaches you to recognize how trauma is stored and activated in the body (e.g., tension, numbness). These tools restore your nervous system’s ability to regulate itself and feel safe in the present moment.
Trauma-Informed Cognitive Approaches:
Helps you identify and challenge the negative beliefs (“I am unsafe,” “I am broken”) that trauma leaves behind, replacing them with a more accurate, empowered narrative.
Psychoeducation:
Provides you with knowledge about how trauma affects the brain and body. Understanding your symptoms is the first step to reclaiming power over them.
FAQs:
What is Moral Injury, and do you treat it?
Moral Injury is the deep distress resulting from perpetrating, failing to prevent, or witnessing acts that violate deeply held moral beliefs. Unlike PTSD, it is rooted in shame and guilt. Yes, we offer specialized treatment to address the associated spiritual, psychological, and emotional distress.
What is "faith-based integrated counseling"?
This means we respectfully and thoughtfully incorporate your faith, spiritual beliefs, or resources into the healing process only if and when you desire it. Our center is welcoming and inclusive of all faiths and backgrounds, and this integration is always optional and led by you.
Do you accept health insurance?
At this time, we do not directly accept health insurance. However, we are happy to provide you with a detailed receipt (Superbill) which you can submit to your insurance carrier for potential out-of-network reimbursement. We are currently in the process of credentialing with Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare.
Do you offer affordable payment options?
Yes, we are committed to making care accessible. We offer a Sliding Scale Fee Structure based on household income to ensure our services are available to those who need them.
Do you offer ADHD Assessment?
Yes, we provide both ADHD Assessment for adults seeking clarity and diagnosis, and specialized ADHD Treatment to develop executive functioning skills, time management, and emotional regulation strategies.