Trauma and grief are the equivalent of the right-hook and uppercut of the universe’s emotional sledgehammer. Whenever one lands a blow, the other one will inevitably follow, and chances are that most of us will experience some degree of trauma and grief in our lifetime.
Trauma is an experience or situation that is a threat to our physical or emotional safety over which we feel little or no control or that overwhelms our capacity to cope with it.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition that develops after an individual has experienced or even witnessed a devastating event or series of events. Sydney Hills Counselling in Sydney’s Hills District offers in-person and online Trauma and PTSD therapy. You may also qualify for Victims Services Counselling. This will depend on the event you experienced or witnessed and when it occurred. Please email us at [email protected] for more information.
Why you should consider trauma therapy
When we experience trauma, our brains need time to process the event to make sense of the experience. If an event is beyond our ability to understand, or if the trauma is repeated over time, our brains can have difficulty effectively processing the trauma.
Many victims of childhood abuse, domestic violence, or other violent crimes can develop PTSD, as well as military and emergency services personnel. PTSD often develops in individuals after exposure to a single or numerous traumatic events and begin to cause the individual to feel unsafe in their current life, even after the traumatic event/s have passed.
Conversely, individuals with PTSD may experience a numbing of emotions, that is, a loss of interest in usual activities. In addition, many people experience feeling depressed or guilty, which can lead to avoidance of places or people that remind them of their trauma.
PTSD symptoms can be debilitating and can often cause as much harm in an individual’s life as the original trauma. In summary, the effects of PTSD can continue throughout one’s life and damage one’s relationships, family, career, and social life if left untreated.
Trauma can be healed
Injuries and traumatic events can rob us of many things, including our happiness and wellbeing. Sometimes we find it difficult to deal with these things by ourselves and need help.
The good news is that there are very effective treatments for PTSD that alleviate symptoms and enable a sufferer to process the trauma and learn skills and tools to become stronger, healthier, and happier. Treatment can empower an individual with PTSD to move past their trauma and reclaim their lives, their families, and their futures.
The are numerous effective approaches to treat and resolve the debilitating effects of trauma. At Sydney Hills Counselling we take a trauma-informed approach to treatment, meaning that we aim to establish a sense of safety, empowerment, and healing in each session. We operate with the understanding that trauma is never the survivor’s fault, and that most clients have experienced some form of trauma throughout their lifetime.
In addition to a trauma-informed approach, Sydney Hills Counselling offer trauma-specific interventions including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Schema Therapy for childhood trauma, and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy. If you have questions about which type of treatment may be most effective in addressing the impact of your trauma, contact us to learn more at [email protected] or by calling us on (02) 9159-6277