Therapy for Trauma
Most people will experience trauma in their lifetime whether it’s a car accident, abuse or neglect, the sudden death of a loved one, a violent criminal act, exposure to the violence of war, or a natural disaster.
While many people can recover from trauma over time with the love and support of family and friends and bounce back with resiliency, others may discover the effects of lasting trauma, which can cause a person to live with deep emotional pain, fear, confusion, or posttraumatic stress far after the event has passed.
In these circumstances, the support, guidance, and assistance of a therapist are fundamental to healing from trauma. At The Collective Therapy Center, we
provide Trauma-informed care for children, adolescents, adults, and their families. For many people who have experienced trauma and are living with trauma symptoms, it is common to feel very alone and isolated. At The Collective Therapy Center, we partner with clients, their families, and support systems to help process the trauma and move beyond it.
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Trauma Symptoms
Trauma can manifest itself in many ways. The DSM-5-TR outlines the four types of symptoms as avoidance, re-experiencing, hyper-arousal, and negative mood & cognitive symptoms.
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Avoidance Symptoms include:
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Avoiding specific locations, sights, situations, and sounds that serve as reminders of the event
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Anxiety, depression, numbness, or guilt
Re-experiencing Symptoms include:
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Intrusive thoughts, nightmares, or flashbacks
Hyperarousal Symptoms include:
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Anger, irritability, and hypervigilance
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Aggressive, reckless behavior, including self-harm
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Sleep disturbances
Negative Mood and Cognition Symptoms include:
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Loss of interest in activities that were once considered enjoyable
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Difficulty remembering details of the distressing event
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Change in habits or behavior since the trauma
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Research has proven psychotherapy to be the most effective form of treatment for trauma. Most commonly, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) are used in treating trauma. When treating children with trauma, we employ a variety of techniques that include but are not limited to EMDR, play, art, CBT, TraumaPlay Model, sand tray therapy, and other expressive forms of therapy.
At The Collective Therapy Center, we use the Trauma Play Model. This model was created by Paris Goodyear-Brown as a flexibly sequential play therapy model for treating children who have experienced extreme stress related to chronic maltreatment, discrete traumatic incidents, interpersonal trauma, or attachment disturbances due to caregiver disruptions.
If you believe that your child or teen could benefit from counseling, we highly encourage you to reach out today!
