CHATTANOOGA, TN – MARCH 2016 – On March 10 at noon on Richmont Graduate University’s Chattanooga campus, the new Richmont Trauma Center (RTC) will host an Open House to introduce itself to the community. Anyone in the public is welcome to participate in the Meet and Greet with trauma therapists and hear about the mission and goals of the Center. The RTC will officially open for counseling services on March 14 and is currently accepting referrals and inquiries.
“Many individuals who have experienced trauma in their lives continue to experience the fallout of the painful experiences for many years,” says RTC Director Dr. Jeff Eckert. “The Richmont Trauma Center has been developed to provide intentional services for those who may feel hopeless and as if they have nowhere to turn to find healing.”
The clinic will exist under the broader umbrella of Richmont Graduate University. In addition to Dr. Eckert, RTC staff will include Kelli Currin, Dr. Rebecca Green, Dr. Bill McGee, Dr. Erica Skidmore, Dr. Jay Spalding, Meaghan Warnock, and Michael Williams. Individual, marital, and family outpatient trauma services will be provided with a treatment-team approach to dealing with a variety of trauma-related issues and clients. Therapeutic groups will also be available, as will monthly trainings for community therapists.
“We are humbled and grateful to be able to open the only trauma center of its kind in a 50-mile radius,” says Richmont President Bob Rodgers. “The wounds caused by trauma have far-reaching consequences that are not always readily visible. At the Richmont Trauma Center, we aim to bring healing and relief to those who struggle daily with trauma-inflicted pain.”
“Complex trauma,” often the most difficult to overcome, refers to prolonged abuse or neglect occurring during developmentally vulnerable times and resulting in severe mental and/or physical illness. Untreated complex trauma has been linked to lifelong impairment; criminality; adoption of high-risk behaviors, such as drug use and multiple sexual partners; heart disease; homelessness; joblessness; suicide; divorce; violence; living in poverty; and higher probability of early death (www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy). These are just a few of the aspects of “fallout” to which Dr. Eckert referred. At the RTC, healing, restoration, and transformation will be accessible, no matter a person’s past.