Therapy for Trauma

Trauma occurs when extraordinarily stressful events threaten a person’s sense of wellbeing and mental wholeness. Many people experience traumatic events in their lifetime. Such events can include, but are not limited to: 

  • Physical violence, including childhood abuse and physical punishment that felt frightening, disproportionate or uncalled for, and/or administered in anger.

  • Emotional abuse (for example: being demeaned, mocked, dismissed, having boundaries dismissed, having your experience invalidated, being excessively blamed, being controlled.)

  • Sexual abuse

  • Childhood neglect (for example: being left without supervision as a child, not being taken to medical doctors, not receiving age-appropriate assistance on tasks, being left in unsafe situations, not receiving adequate food or nutrition.)

  • Chaotic childhood environments

  • Sexual assault

  • Car accidents

  • Domestic violence

  • Death of a loved one

  • Robbery and/or break-in

  • Natural disasters

  • Military combat

  • Secondary trauma (learning about the trauma of someone else in vivid detail)

Trauma overwhelms the nervous system and can lead to long-lasting emotional distress. Long-term symptoms of traumatic stress can manifest in myriad ways. While some people may meet criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), trauma can also manifest as mood disorders like depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorders, eating disorders, and relationship problems. One hallmark of trauma-related symptoms is avoidance. People who have survived trauma often push away painful memories and emotions.  Avoidance helps people survive difficult times, protecting us from what was so threatening, and can even seem like “moving on”. However, what’s avoided is never truly processed, and can later emerge unexpectedly. Signs that your avoidance is no longer working for you might include relying on alcohol or drugs to feel ‘level’, superficial relationships, panic attacks, anger outbursts, chronic unexplained pain, or difficulty being alone or idle. 

Other symptoms of trauma might include:

  • Chronic feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness

  • Repeated unwelcome memories of the traumatic event

  • Strong physical sensations when thinking of the event

  • Self-blame

  • Feeling distant from others

  • Cutting off relationships

  • Abusing drugs or alcohol to manage emotions

  • Difficulty concentrating

  • Feeling jumpy or on high alert

  • Trouble falling or staying asleep

  • Feeling like you’re floating above or leaving your body

  • Intense feelings of shame, horror, anger, fear, shame, disgust

  • Explosive angry outbursts

  • Giving in to others’ wishes in order to avoid conflict

The therapists at Therapists of New York are trained to treat all types of trauma and its various presentations. Because there are so many ways that trauma can be experienced and can manifest itself, trauma treatment looks different for each individual. Some may benefit from retelling and processing the traumatic event itself, while others may benefit more from learning how to manage symptoms and understanding how the trauma lives on in the present. What’s most important is that the client feels in control, since powerlessness is part of all traumatic experiences. See below for some tools and insights you could learn in therapy:

  • Your therapist will help you understand how trauma shapes the brain, and what this means for your daily life.

  • Your therapist will help you understand how avoidance manifests for you and how it protected you.

  • Your therapist will help you identify your trauma triggers and your trauma responses.

  • Your therapist will teach you techniques to soothe your nervous system and grounding techniques to use when you feel overwhelmed and activated.

  • Your therapist will help you identify the relationship patterns you find yourself stuck in.

  • Your therapist will teach you tools to be more self-compassionate, to counteract your inner critic.

  • Your therapist will help you create a narrative of the traumatic experience, and help you integrate it with your larger life story. 

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Want to learn more about therapy for PTSD? See our blog post here.