No trauma too big or too small

A local non profit group realizes that not everyone who needs help can afford it.

The nonprofit All PointZ Inc. plans to offer healing from trauma using a combination of therapeutic techniques rather than focusing on one specific style, regardless of its clients' ability to pay.

Their overall goal is to treat the core of the trauma rather than its symptoms, said Taylor Holder, a sociologist and vice president of All PointZ.

"We're different than traditional therapies. The idea of this is to have a very finite intervention to help with a specific problem," he said. "It's different because we need different if we want it to work."

The idea behind the name All PointZ is that the program will treat people from all walks of life coming from all points from A to Z.

"I do not care where you came from, I care about where we're going to take you," Holder said.

Some of the treatment methods to be used will be imagery and sensory modalities, behavioral methods, subjective and objective system screening and biofeedback.

People can be affected long-term by various types of trauma from being in a car accident to serving in a combat zone.

"Trauma has affected everybody's life," Holder said.

The program will focus on treating foster children and adults who have aged out of the foster care system, military veterans, sexual abuse victims and domestic violence victims, among others.

As a foster child who aged out of the system himself, Holder has first-hand experience about the trauma that can cause. Nationwide 30,000 foster children age out on an annual basis and 30,000 more run away, he said.

"These kids are expected to be able to function as adults, but they don't even have the life skills to function," Holder said.

Although every person is unique and the situations surrounding a trauma vary from person to person, there is a physiological aspect of trauma that can be treated, said Victor Barnes, psychiatrist and president of All PointZ.

The program recognizes that although it will provide a type of therapy, it will not always provide the answer to every client's therapeutic needs. All PointZ's trauma-focused therapy is one piece in the overall therapeutic process.

"We're not saying that this is therapy, this is all you need," Holder said.

All PointZ hopes to work not only to neutralize the effects of the trauma but to diffuse the feelings of shame, Holder said.

"If you've had a traumatic event - leave the shame at the door," Holder said.

Barnes said an important aspect of the treatment is the destigmatization of treatment itself. There should be no shame involved in seeking treatment for a traumatic event, he said.

So far, support from the community has been great, Holder said.

"These things cannot happen without people understanding the need exists in the community," he said. "The response we've had from the community has been phenomenal."

The program has been in the works for more than two years, and although there's a light at the end of the tunnel it still has some hurdles to cross before it can begin accepting clients.

"If the community will help fund this then the community will see the outcome because we're in the community," Holder said.

Holder said he started the program with Barnes because he believes in it.

"I do this because I passionately believe in what we have to offer and I know that we can really make an impact on people's lives." Holder said. "We really want to make a difference in people's lives and we want to build a program that other people can implement in their communities."

For more information on All PointZ visit www.allpointz.org.

Contact Jacksonville/Onslow government reporter Molly DeWitt at 910-219-8457, or mdewitt@freedomenc.com. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment.