What I Help With
PTSD & Trauma Counseling
Have you experienced a Traumatic Event?
Emotional and psychological trauma is the result of extraordinarily stressful events that shatter your sense of security, making you feel helpless in a world that feels dangerous. Psychological trauma might leave you struggling with upsetting emotions, memories, and anxiety that won’t go away. It may cause you to avoid certain situations. It may also leave you feeling numb, disconnected, and unable to trust other people.
Traumatic events are emotionally distressing. Whether yours is a trauma with a capital “T” or a lower case “t”, the traumatic event can sometimes get hardwired into the brain. Over the course of time, your brain may then interpret other events that feel similar to the original traumatic event and this then leads to a trauma response and/or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Not everyone who experiences a traumatic event will develop PTSD because each of us will have our own subjective experiences of a traumatic event. Our brain interprets and reacts to a traumatic experience before we are able to make meaning from it.
Some common symptoms of Trauma & PTSD :
- Recurring Thoughts of the Event
- Shock
- Difficulty Concentrating
- Anger and Irritability
- Mood Swings
- Panic
- Guilt
- Shame or Self-Blame
- Sadness or Hopelessness
- Anxiety and Fear
- Restlessness/Agitation
- Sleep Problems
- Nightmares
- Withdrawing from Others
- Feeling Numb or Disconnected
- Situational Avoidance
Sometimes, traumatic experiences get stuck in the brain and the body, becoming knotted up into a mess of memories, emotions, and physical responses. The good news is that the brain is capable of healing (rewiring) and EMDR therapy can help you to heal from psychological trauma much like the body can recover from physical trauma. PTSD and trauma counseling can help. I offer convenient online therapy sessions, so reach out today.
I practice EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapy, a scientifically, empirically proven treatment for trauma and PTSD. The EMDR protocol actually helps the brain to unwind and reprocess trauma memories, so that the brain can get back to processing information more clearly and easily. Of course, EMDR won’t erase your memories of a traumatic event. But the impact of those memories shifts so that they no longer have the same debilitating effects.
Whatever the cause of your trauma, and whether it happened years ago or yesterday, you can make healing changes and move forward with your life. As an EMDR therapist, I can help you navigate your way back to mental health.
It’s not always easy to ask for help – yet you’ve taken the first step. The next step…let’s schedule a time to talk so I can hear what’s troubling you and so you can get a good sense of me and if I feel like someone who you can work with.
