Seeking Safety
Help for Trauma & Substance Use
When we feel ‘stuck’ in a painful event it can affect our everyday lives making it difficult to focus, control our anger and maintain relationships.
Learning New Ways to Cope
Sometimes when we experience or witness one or multiple disturbing or frightening events, the thoughts and feelings from those events can linger. Often, these thoughts and feelings can begin affecting our everyday lives, causing us to
- avoid situations or people that remind us of the event;
- isolate ourselves from loved ones;
- find it difficult to express or feel love;
- have nightmares or difficulty sleeping;
- be quick to anger and have trouble controlling our negative emotions; and
- feel “on edge” or “ready to snap” a lot of the time.
To cope with these feelings, many of us turn to drugs and alcohol to feel better. Unfortunately, this often only makes things worse in the long term.
What is Seeking Safety?
Seeking Safety is a supportive group led by a skilled facilitator that guides participants through difficult discussions and topics. Together, participants learn new tools to help navigate everyday life and manage the affects of trauma. Through Seeking Safety, you can learn to build a life of wellness and stability. Seeking Safety is also available as individual, one-on-one sessions.
The Seeking Safety curriculum is EDUCATIONAL. Participants don’t share details of their experiences; instead we focus on how to deal with the PRESENT. Seeking Safety empowers you by teaching you how to care for and accept yourself, and trains you on using new coping strategies and tools to deal with unwanted emotions and feelings in a healthy and safe way.
Join a Seeking Safety Group
Seeking Safety meets twice a week for 90 minutes and is also offered as individual sessions. For more information, please contact:
Leslie Mastbaum
Phone: 704-374-0762, ext. 3712
Email: lmastbaum@centerforcommunitytransitions.org