ABOUT PRESENT AWAKENINGS
Present Awakenings was founded in 2021 by Stacy Rhoades, LCPC as a practice focused on helping adult clients heal from trauma and loss. At Present Awakenings, we have witnessed significant progress made by our clients through mental health therapy and, especially, through EMDR therapy. We know that change is hard work, includes processing through intense emotions and body sensations, and that it is worth it. We help our clients believe and achieve this as well. We know that each individual is the only expert of themself, their life, and their values, and only they know what is best for them. We don’t judge anyone for their values or beliefs and work to “look through their windows” with empathy. We value being authentic, transparent, and honest with our clients. We strive to provide high-quality therapy and are always growing our skills and knowledge.
OUR SPECIALTIES
At Present Awakenings, our therapists specialize in helping clients heal from trauma and loss. Some of our clients come to us with a thorough understanding of how what they have experienced connects to their present; others just know that they are not living the lives they want to be living and don’t understand how they got here. For some, what has happened to them has caused depression symptoms, anxiety, PTSD, or dissociation. For others, what they notice most is not liking themselves, feeling very out of control or trapped, not feeling safe even when things are safe, or having a hard time connecting with others.
At Present Awakenings, we specialize in helping clients who are experiencing symptoms of:
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PTSD
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Complex Trauma
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Depression
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Anxiety
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Bipolar Disorders
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Dissociative Disorders
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Complicated Grief
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Personality Disorders
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Low Self-Worth and Self-Esteem
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Relationship Difficulties
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And more
Which may have been caused by things like:
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Sexual assault or abuse
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Physical assault or abuse
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Emotional abuse
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Emotional and Physical neglect
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Abuse in Relationships, including Narcissistic Abuse
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Parental Abandonment
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Medical Trauma
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Accidents and/or natural disasters
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Attachment Issues
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Loved Ones with Addiction Issues
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Bullying, Harassment, and/or Social Isolation
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Being a First Responder or a Veteran
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And more
WHAT IS TRAUMA?
​Trauma is often defined as an event that overwhelms one’s ability to cope and continues to impact you despite the passage of time. Trauma can impact how you feel about yourself, your ability to be safe, your agency in the world, or how you connect with others. Like everything in life, trauma comes in a whole spectrum of intensities. Sometimes it’s life shattering, identity shattering, can’t leave your house without overwhelming fear and numbness, and haunts both your waking and sleeping life. Sometimes, it’s an emotional wound that you can live with, but every time it gets touched it hurts and your life begins to revolve around trying not to have anything touch it. Sometimes it can be buried for years, even decades, until something opens it all back up and overwhelms your present. Trauma is not one thing in particular, but the name we give to the things that continue to harm us.
WHAT IS TRAUMA THERAPY?
When clients begin therapy with us, it’s not uncommon for them to think “I don’t have trauma.”, “It wasn’t that bad.”, “I just need to get over it.”, “If I was just stronger (or better, or less sensitive, or smarter, etc.), it wouldn’t bother me.” However, as we work together to unravel the threads of their experiences, we come to see how awful those experiences truly were, how deeply their experiences have impacted them, how they needed and deserved more help (even if they don’t believe that in the beginning), and how they did they best they could at the time (again, even if they don’t know that yet). We begin our work ensuring they are safe in the present and have the coping skills they need. We then delve into the past to process past experiences from a present perspective, and in doing so, relieve depression, anxiety, dissociation, hypervigilance, the need for maladaptive coping skills (like substances, self-harm, and eating disordered behaviors), negative self-talk, and more. Once we’ve cleared past trauma, we process through the grief and loss, not only for people or things that were lost, but for time, innocence, or former versions of themselves. We then work on rebuilding the client’s life to one they want to have, not just one focused on trying not to feel pain.
WHAT IS EMDR?
EMDR is an evidence-based therapy best known for its ability to reduce or eliminate trauma symptoms; research has shown it to be highly effective with many presenting concerns including trauma, anxiety, depression, OCD, chronic pain, addictions, and other distressing life experiences. EMDR is founded on the neurological theory of Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) which recognizes the human system’s innate ability to heal itself. Just like a cut will scab over and the skin will regrow together, our emotional hurts will heal themselves. However, just like sometimes a cut that’s too deep needs intervention to help it heal (like getting stitches), sometimes our emotional wounds are too deep and need assistance to heal. EMDR allows those deep emotional wounds that are stuck in an unhealed state to be reprocessed and healed returning us back to our own innate understanding of our worth, ability to connect, and find safety.
EMDR uses bilateral stimulation via either visual (eye movements), auditory (alternating sounds), or tactile (alternating taping on either side of the body) means to help stimulate the brain’s ability to move through emotional wounds. EMDR Reprocessing is different from traditional talk therapy and other forms of trauma processing. When ready, the therapist and the client will choose a memory that is continuing to negatively impact the client, and the therapist will guide the client through connecting to the memory and moving through the troubling material. It doesn’t require extensive talking about what happened, just feeling through it. Many clients seek EMDR because it is known to help lessen the time it takes to reprocess memories as compared to other trauma processing methods. Clients also like EMDR’s focus on healing from trauma, not just managing symptoms.
For more information about EMDR therapy, reach out and request a consultation with us! Or visit the EMDR International Association’s (EMDRIA’s) website here.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
3166 N Lincoln Ave, Suite 214A
Chicago, IL 60657