Erin Scully

LMHC

One of my specializations is working with trauma and PTSD. There are many types of events that can be classified as traumatic but the most important thing to remember is that the client gets to decide what has significant impact. No one else can tell you what has contributed to your experience of trauma. Two of the main distinctions with trauma are “Big T” and “Little T.” “Big T” traumatic events are what most people would classify as a traumatic event. These include major car wrecks, natural disasters, sexual violence, or seeing someone die. Any one of these can contribute to the development of PTSD symptoms and they typically happen as one isolated event. An important thing to remember about trauma is that an event can still be traumatic even if the person experiencing it is never physically harmed. “Little T” traumatic events are those that tend to have a more personal meaning and may not be traumatic to others. This can also be a long-term traumatic environment such as an emotionally abusive parent relationship or romantic partner. These types of trauma are less obvious and can affect a person’s development especially if they occur within childhood. Survivors of these types of trauma may have more difficulty coming to terms with and processing through abuse because the abuse can be covert. Trauma can affect many different areas of a person’s life including mood, cognitive functioning, and even physical ability. I want trauma survivors to know they aren’t crazy and there is nothing wrong with them. Each person handles trauma differently and I would like to help each person heal in their own unique way.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) is a movie that has a lot of personal and professional significance to me. This science fiction movie depicts two people who erase the memories of one another after a painful breakup. The story follows the main character, Joel’s, experience of the memory erasure process and his realization that he doesn’t want to forget his ex-partner, Clementine. The two find their way back to each other as it is a positive love story. This movie has informed my therapeutic approach as well as my personal philosophy because the moral of the story is that it is difficult to appreciate the positive in our lives without also experiencing the negative. We may miss out on love or powerful life lessons if we forget every hardship and loss. This is not to say that we deserve negative things to happen to us- it is more about the purpose we can find within the negative thing or experience. Sometimes purpose is the only way to get through the day, especially when suffering from anxiety, depression or trauma. Purpose can give us hope. And this is how I approach my therapy practice- with hope. Hope that we can heal, hope that we can love and cherish our family and friends, and hope that things will get better.

I like to have a collaborative approach with clients and set realistic goals that work well with that client’s lifestyle, schedule, and skill set. I trust that each individual client is the expert on their own life and I aim to make each person feel comfortable enough to tell me what they do and do not need to create the most successful and attainable goals possible. I am flexible and encourage clients to tell me if a goal needs to be adjusted or changed completely. I trust that clients want to put in the work to feel happier and healthier which is why I believe it necessary to create space for them to do so. Typically, I would begin the treatment planning portion of our time together during the second and third sessions after I’ve gathered history from the client. This timeline allows them to become more comfortable with me. From there, I can continually assess progress toward those goals and determine if adjustments need to be made. Although therapy is ultimately goal-oriented, I do not want to sacrifice a therapeutic relationship by focusing too heavily on set goals. If a client is ever having a crisis or needs to change directions in their treatment, then I want to support them where it is most needed at that time. I am always open to and welcome feedback.