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Believe in Yourself Again with Identity Trauma Therapy

Updated: Dec 2, 2023

Hi friends,


It’s me, Carolyn Lee. Today, we’re going to put together the concepts of

EMDR Therapist Carolyn Lee, LMHC explains concepts of identity development and trauma, in a way that show how related the two processes are, and how treatment for both can be one of the same.

Because you now have the foundational understandings of Identity Development and Trauma Therapy .


The therapy I provide treats something more encompassing than the effects of any specific horrific event or internal adjustments, in response to external ones. In other words, I treat what gets caught in the crosshairs of peoples' external experiences and how they internalize their perceptions of them (however conscious or unconscious).


What’s at this intersection is ‘Identity Trauma.’

EMDR Therapist Carolyn Lee, LMHC explains identity trauma. It is a sense of struggling to feel like yourself, because something(s) you experienced held information that made you question aspects of who you are and what you are capable of.
EMDR Therapist Carolyn Lee, LMHC explains that when trauma occurs to one's sense of self, the mind and body put up walls to protect one from being or embodying a reality where the information that made them question themself is going to feel more true than the one where they believe in themself.
EMDR Therapist Carolyn Lee, LMHC explains how when ones experiences identity trauma, the mind and body go into protection mode to prevent more information from new experiences being gathered that could potentially prove the undesirable reality, of what one fears becoming, more true than the reality where they believe in themself, their capabilities, and trust their own judgement and identity.

When our mind and body responds to upsetting situations, they put up walls that are great for preventing potential damage from any new, similar-feeling situations in the future. However, in doing so, they also limit those experiences that could potentially promote our self discovery and growth.


If this level of “protection” continues for long enough, we miss out on more and more experiences for growth, while inevitably continuing to collect the occasional, potentially traumatizing ones.


Eventually, we’ll have more evidence supporting our beliefs stemming from experiences with fear and avoidance than those with opportunity and growth.


What can result from experiencing trauma like this is that feeling like we’re living in an empty shell of who we used to be.


What’s more is that

  1. Insight is often not enough to fully heal it. For some people, having insight into their issues can be like knowing they’re scared of the dark, where the lights are, and how to turn them on, but being frozen and unable to do so. In these cases, it’s like their bodies were still untrusting, simply refusing to let them act, despite knowing their visceral fear responses were running haywire AND having the skills to sooth and regulate them.

  2. While somewhat informative, social media is lacking in what it teaches us about the effects of trauma that run deeper than an overly sensitive survival response and an unconscious level of confusion between past and present circumstances. The effects I’m talking about involve the ones that create or aggravate previously inflicted insecurities within our sense of self, or identity.

When combining these two points with the concept that our sense of self can experience traumatic shifts, like our mind and body can, there is a gap in healing.

EMDR Therapist Carolyn Lee, LMHC explains a healing gap between focuses of trauma-informed mental health treatments. Therapies today focus on trauma's effects on the body, emotions, thinking patterns, and survival response symptoms, with less focus on trauma to one's sense of self, or identity.

This was a turning point for me, and possibly for you, that had to be faced.


That said, having a notable reputation for helping people successfully overcome plateaus in talk therapy, EMDR presented itself as the perfect Therapeutic modality match for me to personally receive, and eventually professionally practice.


What I learned, and continue to learn, is just how broad, yet practical, the applications of EMDR can be in enhancing the effects of all life experiences, stages, and functioning levels of mental health.


EMDR’s broad healing effects are almost paradoxical, because of their working in a way that hyper-focuses on rectifying and strengthening the positive influence of something that most mental health situations have in common- meaning about one’s sense of self, or identity.


EMDR challenged me to reflect on what I had learned in previous professional settings and what I had learned about myself in general. This ultimately lead to supporting a belief that I think I had been harboring all along, though was too nervous or ashamed to admit, especially so at the beginning of a blossoming career. As it were, here it is:

Trauma Therapist Carolyn Lee LMHC explains thatTrauma occurs within everyone, but is referred to differently based on what professional advice someone comes across and what they interpret it means about their experience, level of control, and identity. Therefore, identity trauma is the result of any type or number of life experiences, leading someone to question their worth, capability, lovability, responsibility, sense of control, trust, choices, or even assessment of safety..

Identity Trauma is just a temporary plateau in one’s overall identity development process- and more importantly, one that EMDR Therapy can helps people move through, when learning about the problem and “just talking it out” more falls short of producing the healing results that are really desired.


Friends, THIS is my passion, and what it means to me to be an Identity Trauma Therapist, as opposed to a Trauma Therapist.

EMDR Therapist Carolyn Lee, LMHC pants trauma therapy in a more approachable and inclusive light.

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