Trauma may impact you very differently depending on the nature of what happened to you, how long you may have endured the trauma, how old you were when something happened to you, and the resources that were available to you, among other factors.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a common response to trauma, but by no means the only possible consequence of trauma. With PTSD, some symptoms you may experience include being easily triggered by reminders of the trauma (e.g., having flashbacks and nightmares), avoiding situations that remind you of the trauma, experiencing negative thoughts about yourself, and generally feeling hyperaroused or irritable.
You may also struggle with depressed mood or mood instability, relationship conflicts, difficulty managing anger, phobias and other symptoms. Many people who have PTSD also develop problems with substance use or struggle with other impulses such as binge eating. In my practice, I work to address co-occurring disorders together whenever possible.
I hope to help you begin to unravel the impact of trauma in your life. Sometimes this means helping you find ways to manage the strong emotions that come up related to having been victimized, as well as feelings of instability. We may talk about what happened to you during treatment, but only when you are ready and in a manner that makes sense. This trauma processing phase of treatment may occur at different times during treatment. Helping you to feel stable may be an important first step.
Although there are many components to good treatment for traumatic stress, and much informs my work, here are some of the specific modalities that I draw from:
Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE)
Seeking Safety (SS)
Concurrent Treatment for PTSD and Substance Use Disorders (COPE)
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)
Eye Movement and Desensitization Therapy (EMDR)
Skills Training in Affect and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR)
Dialectical and Behavioral Therapy skills (DBT)
Stress Inoculation Training (SIT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Mindfulness
