Trauma & PTSD
Trauma refers to a deeply distressing or disturbing event that overwhelms an individual's ability to cope with the emotions and stress associated with it. It can result from various experiences, such as physical or emotional abuse, accidents, natural disasters, witnessing violence, combat situations, or other life-threatening events. Traumatic events can be one-time occurrences or prolonged and repetitive, like ongoing abuse or combat exposure. Most of us will experience at least one trauma within our life.
There are many ways that trauma can affect a person:
Emotional changes: feeling numb, intense emotional outbursts, difficulty expressing feelings
Relationship challenges: difficult trusting others, increased conflict, isolation
Decrease in sense of self: helplessness, shame, guilt, low self-esteem
Behavioral changes: avoidance of reminders, feelings, and thoughts
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can develop after someone has experienced a traumatic event or events. However, not everyone who has experienced trauma will have PTSD. It is estimated that about 6 out of every 100 people will have PTSD in their lifetime. (https://www.ptsd.va.gov/). Symptoms of PTSD include:
Avoidance of emotions as well as reminders of the trauma
Re-experiencing the trauma in the form of nightmares or flashbacks
Increased anxiety, anger, and sleep problems
Changes in beliefs about yourself, other people, and the world
My Approach
I will first complete an assessment to gather information about what you are experiencing and identify the best way to help you.
I have expertise in a variety of different treatments for PTSD including:
Cognitive Processing Therapy
Prolonged Exposure
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
COPE
STAIR
Each of these treatments will help you process your trauma, understand your thoughts and feelings, and learn new ways of coping.
PTSD treatment is not a one-size fits all. Determining the best treatment for you is very important. Using your input and my clinical expertise, we will come up with a plan together that will best suit your needs.
There are other types of experiences that don’t fit into the categories above that people experience as extremely distressing and traumatic, such as divorce/break-ups, race-based stress, religious suffering, intergenerational trauma, adoption, etc. Significant changes can occur such as difficulty managing emotions, issues with trust, low self-esteem, and avoidance. These experiences can have a lasting impact on our emotional well-being and can be important to understand from a trauma-informed perspective. I will work with you to find the best approach to address these experiences and make meaningful change.
