Trauma Solutions Counseling

10/28/2025

What Makes a Good Therapist?

When you’re looking for a good therapist, it’s not about credentials, techniques, or letters after a name. It’s about their heart posture, how they show up, how they listen, and whether they reflect humility and truth.

Good therapists don’t settle for surface explanations or validation. They listen for what’s not being said, the pauses, the tension, the ache underneath the words. They hear the bodies screams for help. Proverbs 18:13 reminds us, “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.” True curiosity is key, they seek understanding, not control.

They’re not afraid of what’s messy or unresolved. They understand that healing doesn’t happen on a timeline and that sometimes the most powerful thing they can do is to just simply be. Romans 12:12 says, “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”
They trust the process, the client, and God who works in the unseen.

The best therapists are kind but still speak truth. They don’t flatter or rescue; they hold space for grace and accountability.
Ephesians 4:15 calls us to “speak the truth in love” that is what healing requires.

And lastly, They’ve sat with their own pain and allowed God to meet them there.
They’ve wrestled with their story and let it shape their compassion. Psalm 139:23-24 says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”
It’s that personal transformation that gives their presence depth and their counsel peace.

Because the best therapy isn’t about fixing people, it’s about walking beside them and seeing them for what might be the first time in their lives. It’s about teaching them to see themselves the way that you do, the way that Jesus does.

It’s about creating space where honesty, grace, and growth coexist. And when done well, it reflects the heart of Christ, meeting people right where they are and reminding them they’re not alone.

10/18/2025

10/17/2025

Invisible Wounds Before the Uniform

Do you find yourself constantly doing more just to feel good?

Do you feel like no matter how hard you try, it’s never enough?

Do you crave the thrill, the mission, or the next challenge, because slowing down feels lazy?

If so, you’re not broken. You’re human.
And your brain may have learned long ago that doing equals safety.

When we grow up in chaos, stress, or unpredictability (what researchers call Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs), our nervous system becomes wired for high alert. The body floods with dopamine and adrenaline during action and cortisol during stress. Over time, those chemicals become familiar, even comforting, and sometimes are mistaken for love.

So when life finally gets calm…your brain might start telling you, “Something’s wrong.” Stillness feels foreign. Safety feels suspicious. It’s not necessarily a mental illness, it’s how the brain has been wired to perform.

This is especially true for many veterans and high-performing professionals who learned to survive by staying in motion. The mission never stops, you keep going, searching, moving until the body and soul finally say, “enough.”

Healing begins when we teach the nervous system that peace isn’t danger, it’s repair.

Through somatic awareness, parts work, bilateral stimulation, and faith-based methods, we can help the body unlearn chaos and rediscover what true safety feels like: grounded, connected, loved, worthy and free.

💛 You don’t need to earn your worth through doing. You were worthy before the uniform, before the mission, before the pain.

10/14/2025

Mental health doesn’t have to be hard.

It becomes hard when we fight what we feel.

Our emotions are messengers, not enemies.
They are signals from the body saying, “Something needs attention.”

But when we resist, suppress, or question our emotions, when we tighten against sadness or silence our anger, the body interprets that resistance as danger.

That’s where the real shifts begin to happen. Our nervous system goes into protection mode. Stress hormones rise.
And over time, these patterns can actually influence our genes, not by changing our DNA sequence, but by turning certain genes on or off through a process called epigenetics.

Epigenetics is how our lived experiences, especially emotional ones, communicate with our biology.
When we live in states of chronic resistance (stress, shame, suppression), the body adapts for survival.

But when we allow emotions to move through, to be seen, named, and felt, the body begins to adapt for healing instead.

Allowing emotions doesn’t mean becoming them. It means giving them space to exist.
And that space is what shifts the epigenetic expression from defense to restoration.

So maybe mental health isn’t about “fixing” ourselves. Maybe it’s about letting ourselves be, long enough for the body to remember how to heal.

10/14/2025

Neuroscience just confirmed what so many people with ADHD have always known:
The ADHD mind isn’t scattered, it’s strategically expansive.
It doesn’t lack focus, it sees everything at once.

A new study presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology found that people with ADHD often score extraordinarily higher in creativity, especially when they allow their thoughts to wander deliberately.

Researchers identified two kinds of mind-wandering:
• Spontaneous: when thoughts drift without control.
• Deliberate: when the mind chooses to explore.

It’s that deliberate wandering that fuels innovation. The same thing society tells ADHD brains to “control” might actually be their greatest advantage.

Neuroscientists call this activation of the Default Mode Network, the brain’s creative engine that sparks when focus softens and imagination takes the lead.

Psychologists call it the incubation effect, when stepping away allows the mind to connect ideas logic never could.

As Dr. Han Fang from Radboud University explains:

“People with more ADHD traits, like inattention, hyperactivity, or impulsivity, scored higher on creative achievement. Those who allowed their thoughts to wander on purpose showed even greater creativity.”

In other words…the ADHD brain isn’t broken.
It’s brilliantly wired for discovery.
Where others demand order, it finds pattern.
Where others see distraction, it sees connection.

ADHD isn’t a deficit of attention.
It’s a surplus of perception, a mind that thinks in layers, senses what’s coming before it arrives, and fill the gaps between ideas most people don’t even notice.

When guided with awareness, the wandering mind becomes a compass.
It’s not the end of focus..it’s the beginning of discovery.

Researchers have discovered that ADHD’s hallmark mind wandering might actually boost creativity. People who deliberately let their thoughts drift scored higher on creative tests in two large studies. The findings hint that mindful management of mental drift could turn ADHD’s challenges into crea...

09/17/2025

Next Wednesday (Sept 24)! 💙 Join us in supporting Open Door Mental Health, Inc. as they help expand access to quality, compassionate care for military-connected and underserved communities. See you there!

We’re so excited to announce Open Door Mental Health’s very first local fundraiser!

📍 Task Force Pizza – 1826 Lewis Turner Blvd, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32547
📅 Wednesday, September 24th
⏰ 4:00–9:00 PM

When you dine with us, you’re doing more than enjoying great pizza—you’re supporting our military-connected community and helping provide barrier-free, compassionate mental health care for those who serve and their families.

Can’t join us in person? No problem! You can still support the cause by going to https://live.givebutter.com/c/ODMHPizzaNight to make a donation toward the fundraiser. Every gift makes an impact!

Every slice—and every donation—makes a difference. Let’s come together as a community to show our support and make this first fundraiser one to remember!

09/08/2025

Now accepting new clients!
Trauma Solutions Counseling provides compassionate, trauma-informed mental health care for children, adults, couples, and military families. Our clinicians specialize in nervous system regulation, parts work, and evidence-based therapies to help clients heal from past wounds, overcome stuck patterns, and restore balance in mind and body. Located in Fort Walton Beach, we offer in-person and telehealth counseling designed to support lasting change and empower you to step into a life of peace, purpose, and resilience.

Reach out today to schedule your first appointment.

348 Miracle Strip Parkway SW,
Suite 24, Fort Walton Beach, FL

📧 Email: admin@traumasolutionsllc.com
📞 Phone: 850-498-6858
🌐 Website: www.traumasolutionsllc.com

09/06/2025

Emotions are our God-given guides. If God gave us emotions, then they are meant for our good. When we make choices that align with His design for us, our emotions affirm and encourage us. When we step off course, our emotions signal that something is wrong.

The challenge is that our minds can confuse us, convincing us that something harmful is good or that uncomfortable emotions are simply bad. The truth is, the mind can be deceived, but the body never lies. This is why cultivating a strong mind–body connection is so vital.

God created us with a natural alignment between mind and body, but sin and worldly distractions can hijack that connection. This is where guilt, shame, unworthiness, etc. creep in. Over time, we often ignore or suppress these signals until we find ourselves in situations we regret.

The work of healing is to retrain the mind–body connection, so we can listen, feel, and discern God’s guidance more clearly. As we restore that alignment, we gain the ability to course-correct our actions and live in greater peace, purpose, and freedom.

09/05/2025

Love spending time and networking with others businesses in the area Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce First Friday Event.

And this time we won tickets to the Burgers, Bourbon, and Beer Festival thanks to Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast

09/03/2025

Now open and accepting new clients!

Whether you’re navigating anxiety, trauma, or life transitions, we’re here to support your journey toward healing and growth.

You don’t have to do it alone.
Reach out today to schedule your first appointment.

348 Miracle Strip Parkway, Suite 24, Fort Walton Beach, FL

📧 Email: admin@traumasolutionsllc.com
📞 Phone: 850-498-6858
🌐 Website:

Mental Health, Veterans, Military, EMDR therapy

08/08/2025

We’re excited to be part of the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce! It’s inspiring to see such an amazing community of people and businesses working together for the good of our area. We can’t wait to see all that’s ahead!

What a great August New Member Luncheon today!
Congratulations to our newest members on taking the next step in growing your business and getting connected through the Chamber.

Doberman Garage Doors
Black Dog Realty Group, LLC
Timberman Roofing
REAL Travel
Trauma Solutions Counseling
Bin Busters of the Emerald Coast
Alicia Hollis Vacation Rentals
Kizuna Counseling, LLC
Gentiva Hospice
Andy & Stephanie Bueno - LPT Realty
Lamar Advertising of Pensacola-Ft. Walton-Destin