Trauma

For some people, trauma is a specific event, such as an accident, a physical or sexual assault, a natural disaster, or a war. For others, adversity and trauma have been present and central throughout the course of their lives.

As a result of trauma you might:

  • Feel distressed or unsafe around certain people, places, or situations because they trigger you to remember your trauma

  • Avoid anything and anyone that reminds you of your trauma

  • Experience feelings of shame, self-blame, low self-worth

  • Have difficulty regulating your emotions and/or mood

  • Believe you must stay busy to avoid unwanted and intrusive memories

  • Feel constantly anxious, tense, or on edge

  • Struggle to trust others or tolerate emotional or sexual intimacy

  • Find it difficult to concentrate on tasks, or to follow shows or conversations

Why treatment is important

Without treatment, individuals with PTSD and those with significant but not fully diagnosable symptoms experience considerable distress and difficulties in their social and work lives, leading to a lower quality of life. Additionally, these individuals are more likely to develop other mental health issues, such as depression or anxiety. They also face greater challenges with substance use, suicidal thoughts, anger, and aggression, and have an increased risk of physical health problems, including metabolic diseases, heart issues, gastrointestinal problems, and chronic pain (1)

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.”
— Maya Angelou

Our approach

We know that it takes a lot of courage to seek treatment for trauma, and that it may only be after you have tried a number of other strategies. We believe that for treatment to be effective it must occur within a safe and supportive therapeutic relationship, where we aim to understand what happened to you in the context of your whole identity (e.g., your culture, age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, migration status, disability, and socioeconomic status), and to assist you with learning the skills to reclaim your life. We have extensive experience and training in several of the best researched therapies for treating trauma, and tailor our approach to ensure that your individual values, needs, and goals are honored throughout your healing journey.

Treatments available:

  1. Prolonged Exposure (PE) Through exposure-based interventions you learn to gradually approach the memories, feelings, and situations that you have been avoiding since your trauma.

  2. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) Treatment focuses on how to modify the trauma-related beliefs (cognitions) and feelings that have been preventing you from healing from your trauma.

  3. Trauma Focused Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: Therapy helps to reduce the impact of trauma by increasing your understanding of how the dynamics and emotional meaning of your current symptoms are connected to your earlier experiences and relationships.

  4. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Nightmares (CBT-N): Treatment for nightmares requires you to rewrite and reimagine your nightmares in a less distressing way. It also emphasizes relaxation techniques, cognitive restructuring, and mindfulness to reduce the frequency and intensity of nightmares.

French, L. M., Brickell, T. A., Lippa, S. M., Rogers, A. A., Cristaudo, K. E., Walker, T. T., Higgins, M., Bailie, J. M., Kennedy, J., Hungerford, L., & Lange, R. T. (2024). Clinical relevance of subthreshold PTSD versus full criteria PTSD following traumatic brain injury in U.S. service members and veterans. Journal of affective disorders, 358, 408–415. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.05.015