Counseling for Teens Archives – La Luz Counseling

Can EMDR Really Help You Heal from Trauma?

Jun 24, 2025

WRITTEN BY: BRITNEY VINCENT, LPC

You might not realize it, but trauma could be showing up in your life in quiet, persistent ways—anxiety that won’t go away, irritability you can’t explain, or a constant sense of being on edge. Can EMDR Really Help You Heal from Trauma? We’ll explore how those symptoms might be more than just stress—and what healing can actually look like.

You might not realize it, but trauma could be showing up in your life in quiet, persistent ways—anxiety that won’t go away, irritability you can’t explain, or a constant sense of being on edge. Maybe you’ve learned to power through it, telling yourself it’s just stress or that you should be over it by now. But what if those symptoms are actually signs of unresolved trauma?

Many people don’t recognize how past experiences still shape their present. That lingering heaviness, disconnection, or fear—it’s not in your head, and it’s not your fault. The good news? Healing is possible.

In this post, you’ll discover what PTSD really looks like, learn about EMDR—a research-backed therapy that doesn’t require retelling every painful detail—and explore how it might be the path to freedom you didn’t know you needed.

What You Didn’t Know About PTSD (But Need To)

PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, isn’t limited to soldiers or combat survivors. It affects people who’ve experienced or witnessed any type of trauma. This might include abuse, neglect, loss, violence, car accidents, medical trauma, or overwhelming stress.

PTSD symptoms may include:

Nightmares or flashbacks
Avoiding reminders of the event
Hypervigilance or feeling unsafe
Emotional numbness or disconnection
Mood swings or irritability

These responses aren’t signs of weakness—they’re signs that your brain is trying to protect you. The problem is, trauma can cause those protective systems to stay “on” long after the danger is gone. That’s where EMDR can help.

Can a Therapy Without Talking Really Heal Trauma?

If you’ve been carrying the weight of trauma, you don’t have to keep holding it. You don’t have to keep wondering if things will ever feel better—or if this is just how life has to be. Healing is possible, and support is available and it’s not something you have to face on your own.

At La Luz Counseling, an EMDR-trained therapist can provide a compassionate space to explore what’s been holding you back and walk with you toward healing. If you’re curious about EMDR or wondering if it’s right for you, we’d love to talk. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to learn more about EMDR and see if it’s the right fit for your healing journey.

3 Reasons Why Some Therapists Don’t Accept Your Insurance

Jun 18, 2025

One of the first questions our front office hears when someone reaches out is:
“Do you take insurance?”…And our answer? No, we don’t.

That might sound surprising—maybe even disappointing at first. But have you ever stopped to wonder why some therapists don’t accept your insurance? This blog will review 3 reasons you don’t want your therapist to accept your insurance.

Believe it or not, insurance companies have a lot more control over your therapeutic experience than you may realize. Here are three major reasons why we’ve chosen to keep them out of the therapy room—and why that might actually be a better decision for you.

1. You’re Required to Be Diagnosed—Immediately

Most people don’t realize that insurance companies require a mental health diagnosis after the very first session—100% of the time.

That means even after just one meeting, your therapist must assign a formal diagnosis that becomes part of your permanent medical record. While that might not seem like a big deal for someone who has long-term mental health struggles, it’s not that simple for everyone.

For example, many of our clients come to us with symptoms related to trauma. Trauma doesn’t always show up in obvious ways—it can look like depression, anxiety, anger, sleep issues, or mood swings. One session isn’t always enough to distinguish between, say, major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress. We believe in getting the diagnosis right, and that often requires more time and a deeper understanding of your full story.

When insurance dictates that a diagnosis be made right away, it can put unnecessary pressure on both client and therapist to rush a process that should be thoughtful and individualized.

2. Kids Can Be Labeled for Life

Now imagine that same pressure—only with a child.

We work with many children and teens who are simply going through life transitions: starting school, adjusting to changes at home, or learning to cope with big feelings. Sometimes, what they’re feeling doesn’t require a clinical diagnosis—it just needs time, support, and guidance.

But when insurance is involved, even a 5-year-old might receive a diagnosis like Generalized Anxiety Disorder just to justify treatment coverage. That label goes into their medical record and could follow them long after they’ve grown out of the struggle. We don’t take that lightly.

Mental health isn’t always a lifelong condition—especially in children. Sometimes, it’s just a moment in time. And we believe that moment deserves care without unnecessary labels.

3. Insurance Can Disrupt or Control Your Progress

When you use insurance, your care is subject to coverage limitations, billing errors, and approval processes. It’s not uncommon for claims to be denied over the smallest technical mistake—leaving you stuck with a bill or an interrupted therapy schedule.

Worse, when someone loses insurance or changes providers, therapy may have to stop altogether. Imagine finally gaining momentum in your healing, only to lose access to your therapist because your plan changed.

When therapists don’t accept insurance, none of that happens.
There’s no need to switch therapists if your coverage changes.
There’s no waiting on approvals.
And you and your therapist can decide together how often you meet, how long you meet, and what direction your sessions take—without a third party getting in the way.

Final Thoughts: Empowering You to Make the Best Choice

At the end of the day, your mental health care should feel safe, consistent, and personal. So the next time you hear that a therapist doesn’t accept your insurance consider wisely your next move. Whether you choose a therapist who accepts insurance or not, the most important thing is that you’re making an informed decision—knowing exactly what to expect.

For us, not accepting insurance is one way we protect your privacy, prioritize accurate care, and ensure nothing gets in the way of your progress. If that sounds like the kind of experience you want, we’d be honored to support your journey.

The Benefits of Virtual Counseling: Therapy That Fits Your Life

Aug 21, 2024

WRITTEN BY: JENNIFER PATRICK, LMSW

Have you ever felt like life’s challenges are piling up, leaving you stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed? Maybe you’ve considered therapy but hesitated because of the time commitment or the thought of going to a therapist’s office. That’s where virtual counseling, or telehealth counseling, comes in. You can use your computer, phone, or tablet, right from the comfort of your own home. This is especially helpful when you’re strapped for time.

Easy Access, Anytime, Anywhere

One of the biggest perks of virtual counseling is its accessibility. You can easily connect with your therapist at a time that works for you. Whether you’re at home, at work, or even on the go you, as long as you have a device you can have your session. This flexibility makes it easier to fit therapy into your life than to fit your life into therapy. This means you can get the help you need without the added stress of time constraints.

Comfort and Privacy

Talking about your feelings can be tough. Doing it in a space where you feel safe and comfortable can make a big difference. Virtual counseling allows you to choose the space that feels best for you. This could be your favorite chair at home, your car where you know it’s quiet and secure or any other private space. Plus, without the worry of running into someone you know in the waiting room, you can focus entirely on your session. For those with social anxiety or a fear of being in public, virtual counseling is a great option. It lets you have therapy without the extra stress of being in public. You can be yourself more easily in a private and cozy space.

Consistency, Even in Uncertain Times

Life can be unpredictable. Sometimes circumstances make it difficult to attend in person therapy sessions. Virtual counseling ensures that you can stay connected with your therapist, no matter what’s going on in the world. Whether school aged kiddo is home unexpectedly or you’ve only got an hour to attend therapy before your own work commitments, virtual counseling allows you to still have therapy without missing other important commitments. However, it’s important to be sure you are in the state where your counselor is licensed, even for virtual sessions. Our counseling doesn’t cross state lines which means you can’t be out of state when you have your therapy session.

Proven Effectiveness

But does it work? The good news is, YES! Research has shown no statistical difference in outcomes between virtual and in person counseling. Virtual counseling can help you manage stress, anxiety, depression, and other emotional challenges. It’s just as effective as in person sessions. It’s a great tool that can help you learn new coping skills, gain insight into your thoughts and emotions, and improve your overall well-being.

A Therapy Experience Tailored to You

Virtual counseling isn’t just about convenience. It’s about creating a therapy experience that works for you and your busy schedule. It allows for a personalized approach. Whether you’re looking for a deep dive into your emotions or a session with a touch of humor to lighten the load. Your therapist can meet you where you are (literally and figuratively). This helps you navigate your mental health journey with the support and guidance you need.

As you start your therapy journey, we would encourage you to think about the words from Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” In times of hard times, these words can be a source of comfort, reminding you that you are not alone. Whether through your faith, your therapy, family or both, there can be hope and healing ahead.

If you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or just need someone to talk to, give virtual counseling a try. It’s an accessible, private, and an effective way to take care of your mental health, all while fitting seamlessly into your life. Virtual counseling could be the key to feeling better and living a more balanced, fulfilling life- whether you’re in your pajamas on the couch or dressed in your best business casual during a lunch break.

Anxiety Attack Symptoms

Oct 17, 2022

Anxiety attacks are scary and confusing. Your mind races, your body reacts negatively and you fear something is wrong. Many go to emergency rooms, urgent care clinics or hospitals to see what’s going on. This article will talk about common symptoms of an anxiety attack and how to calm down before getting some extra help from a mental health professional.

What is an Anxiety Attack?

An anxiety attack is a problem that begins in your thoughts. I know, strange right? The thoughts you create in your mind can come out through your emotions, which then comes out through your body. If you think anxious thoughts, you feel anxious feelings, which then leads to anxious actions or in this case, an anxiety attack. An anxiety attack is felt in the body, but starts with the racing thoughts.

Common Symptoms of an Anxiety Attack.

The following are symptoms of anxiety attack:

increased heart rate,
increased temperature,
heart racing,
feeling on edge or fearful,
racing thoughts,
shortness of breath, and/or
feeling as though you can’t breathe.

What does an Anxiety Attack Feel Like?

An anxiety attack will make you feel you can’t breathe and like there is something pressing firmly on your chest. Anxiety attacks are described by many as a stroke or small heart attack. It feels like your chest is in pain and something is wrong with your heart or lungs. You can’t catch you breath and begin to hyperventilate. Others times you feel you can’t breathe and worry you will pass out. Worse yet, is the fear of dying. These are the reasons many often go to a medical place first.

It’s usually with loads of medical testing and negative results doctors find it was likely an emotional or mental issue. It’s easy to understand when you take a step back. Look at the list of anxiety attack symptoms above- much of it involves your heart rate and breathing. Key word, heart and lungs. While we don’t have direct control over our heart and lungs, we do have control over something that controls those things.

How to Calm an Anxiety Attack

Breathing. Seems so simple right? Breathing is a quick way to control your heart rate. Deep belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing is really helpful, especially on the front end of an anxiety attack. While it’s helpful to use deep breathing during an anxiety attack, for better results, use it before hand.

Essentially, when taking a deep breath in you make your belly go out, but keep your chest the same. When letting the breath out, you deflate your belly (like an empty balloon) while keeping your chest the same. Belly breathing is only one of many coping strategies to control an anxiety attack. Your counselor can help you find more ways.

Remember the mind is where the anxiety is beginning. The body is just the innocent bystander who got dragged along. If you want to learn how to control your anxiety, reach out to us today. It can be very difficult to manage anxiety all by yourself. It doesn’t have to be an anxiety attack every day or nearly every day before you get extra help. There are ways you can control your anxiety without anxiety controlling you.

Am I an Anxious Person?

Sep 19, 2022

Ever wondered, “Am I an anxious person?” Have you questioned, does my anxiety feel like everyone else’s? Why does it seem like my anxiety is higher than most? Perhaps your loved ones around you have pointed it out. They’ve mentioned you seem uptight and have a hard time calming down. Maybe you seem lost in space almost like you’re zoned out. If this sounds like you, here are some ways to know if you are struggling with anxiety.

Anxiety versus Feeling Anxious

As a reminder, everyone feels anxiety to some extent or another. There’s a difference between feeling anxious and having anxiety. Someone who feels anxious, has a moment of anxiety that comes and goes like any other feeling. When someone has clinical anxiety, the feeling of anxiety is overwhelming, exhausting, and sometimes debilitating.

Duration, Intensity, Frequency

Clinical anxiety is something that gets in the way of every day life. For an anxious person we look at 3 things: frequency, intensity and duration. When a person is frequently anxious, anxious thoughts usually take up the majority of the day and happens every day. Intensity looks at how severe the thoughts are: are the thoughts realistically worried (ie: I’m worried my daughter will get on the wrong bus since it’s her first week of school) or irrationally anxious (ie: My husband and I should book two sepearate flights so if one of us dies in a plane crash our kids will still have one parent)? And lastly is duration: how long do anxious spells last? Hours? Minutes? Days?

For an anxious individual, the thoughts can be so overwhelming that it’s hard to focus on anything else but the anxious thoughts. Those around you may notice it’s hard for you to calm down or unwind. It makes it difficult to stay focused, organize, and on task with things you have to. For many, anxiety keeps you up at night. You have overwhelming thoughts of all the things that could go wrong tomorrow and highlights the things you feel out of control about.

Physical Symptoms of Anxiety

For many, anxiety can lead to physical symptoms like an upset, stomach, headache, and muscle tension. Many often experience, heart palpitation, earning creased heart rate, which feels a whole lot like a physical condition. Read more about that here.

Write Down Your Anxious Symptoms

One way to determine if you’re an anxious individual is to pay attention to the thoughts you are thinking. Take inventory of how often you experience these thoughts, how intense they are and how long the last. I know, this sounds like a counselor thing to say, and it is. Listen to your thoughts. Are they fear-based? Irrational? Overwhelming? Only you can tell. You are the only one who can hear the thoughts. Pay attention to the thoughts you think. Write them down and go from there. Email us if it’s seems too much to tackle alone.

What is Trauma?

Sep 6, 2022

WRITTEN BY: MARQUIA CALDWELL, LPC
“Trauma is much more than a story about the past…trauma is re-experienced in the present, not as a story, but as profoundly disturbing physical sensations and emotions that may be associated with memories of past trauma”

-Bessel van der Kolk, a trauma expert

When mental health professionals talk about trauma and mental health, we are talking about an emotional or psychological injury. Trauma is a response to an experience that overwhelms an individual’s capacity to cope, often as a result of dangerous situations or life threatening events. This can be a single event or multiple events. These experiences cause a negative impact on the mind and heart. There are various forms of trauma such as, but can include the following:
- - - Abuse (sexual, physical, and emotional),
    - Life-threatening accidents or illnesses,
    - Violence in school or the community,
    - Domestic violence (witnessing or experiencing),
    - National disasters,
    - Acts of terror,
    - Public health crises such as COVID-19,
    - Loss of a loved one, especially when sudden or violent in nature,
    - Refugee or war experiences,
    - and Neglect.
  Noticeable signs when struggling with trauma can include:
  Trauma writes itself on the mind and body of survivors. This means our actions, reactions, and behaviors are a result of our painful experiences. Each traumatic experience is unique and can manifest in lots ways such as PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, Substance Abuse, Eating Disorders, Chronic Pain, Increased chances of experiencing life-threatening conditions, Relationship and Social Issues.
  
  “Our traumas do NOT define us; they are just a PART of who we are.”
  
  Recovery and Support
  
  Recovery with trauma is a journey. Think of having a deep cut on your arm. There are options presented to us to heal this cut. You can leave it alone and let it heal on its own, clean it and cover it, or go to a professional to close it up. When it comes to emotional wounds, most cover it up and hope for the best. However, sometimes when we think things are healed, we realize it didn’t quite heal right.
- Re-opening wounds can be part of the process of healing, and with counseling, this is oftentimes the case. There are various forms of counseling and psychotherapy to help survivors cope with their traumatic experiences. Along with therapy, doing enjoyable activities/ hobbies and surrounding oneself with a positive support system is incredibly helpful in coping with trauma as well.
- If you’re not sure where to start, but know you have experienced trauma, don’t wait for things to get harder or worse. Remember, getting help for trauma doesn’t have an expiration date. Even if traumatic things happened “a long time ago,” your heart can still find healing today.

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