Written Exposure Therapy

Write Your Way to Healing

Change how your story is lived out everyday. Schedule a consultation now.

You can't help but wonder, "Would I be different if it didn't happen?"

You keep that moment buried inside like an atomic-bomb time capsule. Any sort of quake can set it off. The runaway reactor will cause catastrophic damage to everyone you know if it ever makes its way out. They don’t deserve to feel the wrath you bring upon yourself. That cocktail of rage, embarrassment, and self-loathing is too unstable to mix with the Colorado Rockies’ air.

You don't know where to start.

How much of the story do you need to share? Will they understand any of it? How can you explain how you feel into that situation of vulnerability? The questions sting and your friends don’t even know they’re hurting you. So you keep going on your weekend hike hoping they won’t notice how you play it off with a self-deprecating joke and deflect back to their problems. You’ve been better at fixing other people anyway. You certainly don’t want to retell it again with another therapist.

But the memories don’t stop intruding. You can’t help but feel the panic you did back then, the helplessness. Maybe it passes quickly this time, but you are still at the mercy of that trauma. Even labeling it like that feels gross, but it’s true. You’ve never been the same since then.

So you distract yourself with your friend’s problems and the outdoors.

The beautiful views above the tree lines don’t fix what’s beneath, but they provide a nice distraction for the time being. Other times you just help your friends fix their problems, knowing you don’t take your own advice sometimes. But at least you might be able to prevent what happened to you.

It's time for you to be the hero of your story.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from stories, it’s that what is hidden needs to be revealed for any revolution. Even if others know, the memory is still split, detached like a nightmare you wished never happened. It’s terrifying to think about reliving that event again. You need a guide to bring you to the end of a chapter filled with fear and avoidance.

You need to rewrite your story and write your way to healing.

Your Guide for the Journey

Hey there! I’m Tim, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, nature-loving poetic, and a rooted dreamer. There is no better place to feel lost in your own life than on my therapy couch, whether it be virtual, in-person, or in the more than human-built world.

There is only so much that creative journaling and good ol’ time in the outdoors can do to get found again. I work by outlining the map of your mind, learning where you want to go, and teaching you to navigate the rough terrain. I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Work who uses talk therapy, creative expression, and nature exploration to guide others to healing.

I’m not here to fix you, but guide you to the path you’ve been looking for all along. Whoever told you you were broken can respectfully fuck off. You do not need to receive that energy.

What Is Written Exposure Therapy?

Written Exposure Therapy (WET) is an evidence-based treatment that comes from the Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense. I think that makes it super awesome, but you be the judge. First, here’s a little background information that will help.

How Does it Work?

Treatment is 5 session longs, and sessions are only 30 minutes long. The client writes the trauma from start to finish the entire time. The creators of this treatment, Denise Sloan and Brian Marx (Written Exposure Therapy for PTSD. 2019), have shown that WET is just as effective as other evidence-based trauma therapies with a significant decrease in dropout from clients.

Written Exposure Therapy works by exposing the client to the traumatic event in a safe environment. This is a core component of trauma work and is done to some degree in all evidence-based treatments for trauma. Most of the work is done through imaginal exposure, thinking or retelling the story to some degree.

Who Do You Recommend This For?

This works really well for clients who are able to identify a singular traumatic event that has caused an unhealthy impact in their life. It can range from a car accident all the way to sexual trauma, and anything in between.

I do not recommend this as treatment for complex traumas. These kinds of the trauma of developmental traumas are due to their upbringing (growing up in a dangerous environment, ongoing parental abuse or neglect during childhood). The focus of this intervention is to stay focused on a singular traumatic event, and ongoing events like this are better treated through other trauma therapies.

How Else Do Your Treat Trauma?

I have found that complex traumas, painful memories, and other “little T traumas” are effectively treated using Internal Family Systems Therapy, or IFS. It follows the same premisise of exposure through imaginal experiences. The key difference is that IFS therapy allows for an exploration of coping patterns and emotions that some other therapies like EMDR don’t get to. IFS therapy is an evidence-based approach.