Trauma Therapy Unpacked—Mosaic Pathway’s Approach

Tune in to this episode of Project Red Cord Chronicles, “Trauma Therapy Unpacked—Mosaic Pathway’s Approach,” featuring special guest Scott Stolarick. Discover how evidence-based clinical interventions, grounded in a strong foundation of trust, can profoundly support recovery and restoration. In this conversation, you’ll gain insight into practical, real-world strategies for caring for individuals impacted by trauma—including support that extends to families and the broader community. Don’t miss this impactful episode.

Special Guest-Scott E. Stolarick, LCPC, CCTP

Owner/Director            

Mosaic Pathway Counseling

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You're listening to Project Redcord Chronicles, a podcast of the Renee Jones Empowerment Center. Tune into this episode of Project Red Core Chronicles trauma therapy, unpacked Mosaic Pathways approach featuring our special guest, Scott Discover how evidence-based clinical interventions grounded in a strong foundation of trust can profoundly support recovery. And restoration. In this conversation, you'll gain insight into practical, real world strategies for caring for individuals impacted by trauma, including support that extends to families and the broader community. Don't miss this impactful episode. I'd like to welcome to this special episode of Project Red Court, Scott Steller. Uh, he is the owner and director of Mosaic Pathway Counseling, and we're very excited to have you here as our guest today. Scott, thank you for joining us. Oh, thank you for having me, Renee. I appreciate it. Can you share a little bit, maybe we'll start off where you give, uh, maybe your website and where you're located for our office. Sure. Yeah. I am located in northern Illinois, lake County, Illinois, near the Wisconsin border. The city is Gurney. Mm-hmm. And my website is www.mosaicpathwaycounselingalloneword.org. Okay, perfect. Because we got a worldwide audience, so we want That's great people, great. Um, to hear all this information and if they wanna get in touch with you Very good. You know how to go to your website. So we're gonna start off by, I'd like for you to share a bit about your professional journey and what led you to specialize in trauma therapy. Yeah, great. I, you know, I started, in the early nineties working in, uh, corrections as a counselor in our local, jail here in Lake County. Mm-hmm. And, uh, shortly after that, I took, uh, an outpatient position in a not-profit non-for-profit agency. And signed on to work with, uh, court ordered sex offenders to evaluate them and to treat them. And working in those two populations with court ordered clients and the incarcerated setting. I really got,, a good experience with. Uh, how much trauma exists in various forms and in various people, and it, it kind of shaped my journey, uh, to, to present day to really wanna focus on. Trauma treatment, treatment of, of addiction, and all different, different kinds of presenting issues that seem to have a trauma thread running through them. Okay. That's great. So I guess that kind of goes into my second question about what inspired the development of Mosaic Pathways approach your approach to trauma treatment? Yeah, I, I've always used. In my career, the example of a mosaic in working with people who have experienced trauma, and by that I mean encouraging them to not necessarily look and define themselves as the trauma that they've caused, the trauma that they've experienced. I've worked with them to understand that it's part of the larger picture of who they are. It doesn't define them exclusively. Mm. So that's kind of how I came up with the, the name of my practice as well as kind of as, as well as the trauma infor informed approach that I take. That's wonderful. When people hear the word trauma, they often, think of extreme events. How do you define trauma in your clinical work? Yeah, it, it certainly, it certainly can result as a byproduct of extreme events, but with everyone being different and everybody's experience level to life being different, trauma can be something that. Uh, you know, in impacts your day to day in some degree. Mm-hmm. Um, it could be something that creates, a recurring trigger within you, and it could take various forms in, in our work we call it, big T or small t traumas to help people categorize, but it could literally mean anything that has a recurring adverse impact. Okay. Thank you for that. You know, in our work, we work with victims and survivors of human trafficking and we're always trying to, make sure that when we do educational presentations, we want people to understand about trauma and its impact. Yes. Um, so my next question is, how does trauma affect the brain and body in ways that people might not immediately recognize? That's a great question. Tra trauma on the. Very microscopic level does change the brain physically., It, it, it creates as many experiences do new neuro pathways. That information travels through rapidly, slowly. It's like a, a road that opens on the, streets or the cities. And we're not aware of that. Certainly it's not something that's, that's, that's visible to the eye. But it, it changes the brain physically as does healing that trauma. And in terms of the, the body, I, I think trauma is very connected to the somatic experience when it is untreated and really lingering in the lives of those who struggle with it. It can surface in any way, shape or form, depending on that individual. It could vary from gastrointestinal issues to, you know, heart palpitations, indigestion, headaches, body soreness, lethargy, all different ways it can show up. Uh, individuals may not make that connection, that that's the potential cause. Thank you for that. Um, what are some of the common misconceptions about trauma and recovery? Well, I, I, I think misconceptions could be that if you can't see it, it's not there. You know, I think I, I think. Trauma is often paired with physical injury, and that's certainly the case. Mm-hmm. Uh, but one misconception could be if someone is functioning in their day-to-day life and it's not readily apparent to those who know them on a more superficial level that it's just not there. And recovery from trauma. I think a misconception could be that you don't. You don't need to recover, it just goes away. Yes. And, and I think it's important to understand that, processing or reprocessing trauma is a big part of actually, uh, recovering from it. Yes. So how can unaddressed trauma show up in everyday behaviors, relationships, or even in leadership roles? Oh, wow. Yeah, that's a great question. Everyday behaviors, again, depending on the nature of the trauma, it could show up, for an individual if somebody raises their voice, if someone yells, uh, if, if someone engages in quick movements or, doesn't denounce themselves before coming into a room or. Shuts the lights off in a room. Those could be just common garden variety examples. In relationships, again, depending on the nature of the trauma, it could, impact someone sexually. It could affect intimacy and the cultivation of healthy intimacy. It could affect communication, disclosure, emotional closeness. And in leadership positions, I think all of those that I just mentioned apply. But it could result in a leader mis misusing their power, directing people inappropriately, showing favoritism of some people over others and just not recognizing. What certain people may trigger in you to cause you to treat them a certain way. Wow. That's really good. Thank you for that. Yeah. When we think about clinical interventions and trust, why is trust so fo foundational and trauma therapy Absolutely foundational? A lot of the time, certainly not every time, but in a person to person. Trauma situation. Meaning, you know, it doesn't involve if somebody falls down and slips or if somebody chokes on a piece of food or if someone is, you know, bit by an animal if, and, and in person to person trauma. I, I, I think. Trust is violated many, many times and it's, it's, it's taken advantage of. So when you're a clinician and you're taking a trauma informed approach, you have to really understand that building trust, building engagement,, and being clear and transparent and assuring someone that the environment is safe. Is just a beginning step to try to get to these important things because in many situations, those things were violated or never existed to begin with. Yes, that's very true. What clinical interventions have you found to be especially effective, in trauma treatment? I'm a, I'm an EMDR therapist. I'm trained in levels one and two. Mm-hmm. And I do use that in the, the treatment of trauma, if someone requests it or if they're receptive to a suggestion to use it. Mm-hmm. But, and it is very effective, but I place a lot of emphasis on the informed consent process prior to it because it's a different modality of care as opposed to your traditional talk therapy paradigm. Okay. And can you give her, for those who may not be familiar with that, can you give like a brief description of what that is? Sure, sure. EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization Reprocessing. And it operates under the premise that bilaterally stimulating each side of your brain helps to reprocess and better organize experiences that otherwise find themselves to be tangled or crystallized in kind of a bad place. So introducing them as a target. Using either eye movements through following a light on a light bar or tactile stimulators that they hold that vibrate from one hand to the next. Or headphones that bounce an audio signal from one ear to the next. As they're thinking about the traumatic event, they do sets that involve those kinds of stimuli. And what it does is it gradually reduces the intensity. It may increase it at first, but it gradually reduces it to a place where a more adaptive and healthy, memory or stimulus is attached to the traumatic event. Wow. That's great. Thank you for explaining that. Oh, sure. So people can understand. How do you balance evidence-based practices with individualized care? Yeah, you know, using EMDR as an example,, the making sure. Everyone who wants to do it completely understands it. You know, it can be an intense process. It can get to issues very quickly. So understanding of. The treatment plan is critical as well as tolerance. Everyone is in charge of their own treatment path and if something is uncomfortable for them, they have the autonomy to stop, to take a break, to do progressive relaxation exercises, to debrief,, to change course. So I think understanding of the model of treatment is one thing as well as. Taking cues from the client in terms of their level of comfort or discomfort is very important. That's great. So also, what does safety, both emotional and physical look like in a therapeutic setting? Yeah, that's another good question. I, you know, I, I put a lot of time and attention into how. My office space looks in terms of calm, soothing, non-threatening, not overstimulating. I want the room that those who are in my care walk into to feel like it's a welcoming place physically. I, I think that they wanna feel like. It's just them and me, and there's going to be no intrusions. There's going to be no, interruptions. So physical safety has a lot to do with kind of how they perceive the environment around them, but that's only one component. for me, the emotional safety piece is attunement. I really wanna make sure that I'm paying close attention. To how they're responding to the process and letting them know that they're completely welcome at any given time to stop, to ask a question, to verbalize confusion. Any, anything. The floor is theirs, and I think that empowerment and attunement contributes greatly to the emotional safety that I, I want to build with people. That's wonderful. When I think about, practical strategies and community support, what are some practical strategies that listeners can use to better support someone who has experienced trauma? Yeah, I think, just the process of awareness and attunement. So for example, if a friend or a family member. Has experienced something traumatic. It's important to look at it through their lenses as well, not just through your own, because you may not be on the same page with that person. Mm-hmm. Uh, in terms of how you would experience said situation. Yeah. So I think attunement, being very aware of its existence, being aware of symptoms that are. Connected to trauma, being aware of just, providing a holding environment and empathy as well as supporting them in the pursuit of professional care. That's great. How can families and communities become more trauma informed? Oh, wow. Great, great question. I think by. Tuning into podcasts like yours., I think there's a lot of wonderful information out there, in our media, especially today about trauma and its impact on people. Mm-hmm. I, I, I think, media as it sometimes doesn't do a great job, can also do a good job of education. I think there's a lot of reading material. Out there that's, directed specifically to trauma, to understanding trauma and trauma care. I think, tuning into television shows that talk about trauma or movies that address trauma, going to workshops for the community that are held, that talk about trauma informed care, if people are in therapy themselves, asking their therapist about it. Because it's, it can be everywhere in various shapes, sizes, and forms. And I think if we all think about it. In detail. We've all probably experienced it at some level in our own lives, so I think doing a self inventory of, gee, you know, how does this apply to me and what have I experienced in life that could potentially be traumatic and how can I. Best use that to understand myself and others who are experiencing trauma. Absolutely. And then my last question in that area is for leaders or caregivers that are listening, what are warning signs that someone may need professional support? Yeah. I think if some, if you notice, you know, a, a lot of isolation perhaps from someone, if you notice, excessive hyper vigilance, hyperbolic responding overreacting to things that may seem mundane to the casual observer.. You know, large reactions in general to situations that may seem more you, know, generic. Responses to certain genders versus the other gender. Maybe uncomfortable around men, but more comfortable around women or the reverse, anger, you know, un unnecessary anger in the workplace could also show, That there are symptoms underlying, of trauma. And I think knowing that, you know, it's okay to check in with people, yes, it's okay to sit down with somebody and ask how they're doing and if, if they're okay, and if support can be offered in any way versus just steering clear. Of somebody and saying, oh, well that person is kind of prickly. We gotta avoid them. Or you know, they're a little standoffish, you gotta stay away. I think you're just creating isolation., And. Pigeonholing someone into a workplace character that may not be accurate for who they really are. Yeah, that's really good. Thank you for that. Sure. When we think about, recovery and restoration, what does restoration truly look like for someone walking through trauma recovery? I think restoration can mean that. The issue, the traumatic incident, or all the derivatives from it in their life, they know exists. They know it exists in their past. It is there as a reference point and something that they can. Think about from time to time, but keep moving forward. It's not a pothole in the road that they drive on, figuratively speaking any longer. It's something that they know, they drive over, but it doesn't cause a big, you know, thud or damage or fear any longer. It's something that they could face and talk about, but. Recognize was unhealthy and something that they should boundary against and protect themselves from. So, I think those are signs of health, the ability to talk about it. Whereas before, maybe it, it wasn't talked about the ability to remember it in its entirety. And know that it's there and in the past now legitimately that they've gotten care. So restoration and recovery can take. Take the form of those examples, but there are many, many others as well. Yes. That's good. How do you help clients, rediscover hope and resilience after deep wounds? Yeah, that is a tough one. That is a tough one., I think that comes hopefully early in the process. Not always. But I think knowing that. Somebody cares them knowing that somebody cares about what happened to them, knowing that somebody is willing to completely listen and believe what they have to say, knowing that they know they're not alone, that other people in the world have likely experienced what they experience, and letting them know that they can get to a place that. Doesn't feel someday like it does today. Yes. And I think that's, a big part of it. One, one of the, one of the dynamics that I hold in very high regard, when someone is traumatized, if indeed it's part of the equation. Is how the first person they tell responds to them. If the first person they tell doesn't believe them, dismisses it Blows it off disregards, then that kind of really ties some more knots into the trauma equation that the clinician has to be aware of. However. If the first response is one of healing and one of acceptance and care and non-judgment, then I think the journey for the person who has that trauma is easier. Yes, that's true. That's true. Very true. What are some small but meaningful indicators that healing is happening? Sometimes it's nothing big, but it could be something. Yeah. Yeah. I think, well, it, let's use the example of a, an abusive relationship. Okay. If someone makes the choice to leave that relationship, it's, that may not be very small. It may be very huge in fact, but. That's definitely a sign. If someone starts to feel confident in limit setting behavior and boundaries with a person in their life that is abusive, that's a great sign.., When someone is able to see. Bits and pieces about themselves and their mosaic, if you will, that possess value and worth. That's a great sign. Regular attendance in the therapy process is a good sign. Commitment to the therapy process is a good sign. Disclosure of more information and not. Having as much fear of confronting that information is a good sign., So there's just a lot of ways it can also go, it could go, in the example of how someone presents themselves. Okay. If they start, taking better care of their health, better care of their hygiene, better care of their. Physical presentation, you start to notice those things when someone is healing. Yes. That's really good. Yeah. Thank you for that. Sure. And if we wrap up and just got a couple more questions Sure. If listeners, take away just one key insight from this conversation, what would you want it to be? I would want it to be to anyone who is experienced, a single event, trauma or multiple event traumas that does not define who you are. It doesn't define your existence as a human being. And think about the mosaic. Think about your entire picture as a human being and it contains numerous, beautiful, shiny pieces that are all in relationship with one another. And some you may not consider beautiful. Some you may consider plain, some you may consider gorgeous, and yeah. They're all the picture, they all tell the tale of who you are, but they tell it together. One single event does not define your existence. Yes. I love that. Thank you for that. And then our, my last question is how can listeners continue learning about trauma-informed Care and Mosaic Pathways work?, I'll go back to my website. There's a lot of information that can be gleaned about me, my practice, what my office looks like, my sort of more personal side outside of being a therapist. The website is a good resource for that, and my website is www dot mosaic pathway. Counseling all one word, mosaic, spelled M-O-A-S-I-C, and.org at the end. Okay, great. Wonderful. Scott, I want to thank you for joining us for this special episode of Project Rare Core Chronicles, and giving us all this wonderful information and we look forward to maybe having you back again, to further our conversation. So thank you for joining us today, Renee. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it, and I'd love to come back anytime you'll have me. Thank you. Thank you.