California Trauma Therapy
Trauma can be very loosely defined as anything so upsetting to the victim that it has a long-term, severely negative impact on his or her life and makes it difficult or impossible to perform everyday functions. Several types of trauma exist, including those who are mentally or emotionally damage from sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and family tragedy, the horrors of war, or witnessing a violent act, even if they aren’t the persons involved.
Trauma Therapy is focused on relieving the symptoms of a trauma. These symptoms may include:
- Anxiety and related body effects such as heavy breathing, sweating, shaking, etc.
- Fear
- Feeling emotionally numb
- Avoiding things related to the trauma
- Flashbacks or nightmares–“Reliving” the traumatic experience
- Intense, surprising, or angry reactions to ordinary situations
For some people, trauma-related fear and distress can be so severe that it interferes with social functioning, intimate relationships, and/or holding a job. A person suffering from trauma often describes going back and forth between feeling really overwhelming emotions and feeling complete numbness.
The symptoms may start occurring within a month of the trauma. For others, some of the symptoms may not occur for six months or more after the trauma. Some symptoms emerge years later when the person has a new trauma or experiences. Some trauma symptoms are severe. Others are mild but still interfere with happiness, productivity and comfortable relationships.
Our therapist at Monarch Shores can help alleviate the symptoms of trauma by providing individual therapy sessions intended to help you cope with the first shock and pain of an event or experience, and to lay groundwork for later healing. Methods can include behavioral modification aimed at teaching the body to let go of panic responses or talk therapy to help you consciously work through unconscious reactions. Among the first concerns will be to establish a secure, sensible environment for future work, and to build a relationship of trust between you and the therapist.