Trauma Counseling - SpringSource Center

Trauma Counseling – SpringSource Center

Trauma is a deep psychological wound that profoundly impacts a person’s emotional well-being and everyday functioning. Unfortunately, many of us will experience some traumatic event throughout our lifetime. These events are often emotionally overwhelming. Springsource Psychological Center is here to help you process and manage your trauma. Our trauma treatment is designed to help you cope with the emotions surrounding your traumatic event and restore balance in your life.

Types of Trauma We Treat

We treat patients who have experienced traumatic events, such as:

• Violent physical or sexual attacks
• Childhood physical, sexual, or emotional abuse
• Military combat and injuries
• Car accidents
• The loss of a loved one
• Gun violence
• Rape or sexual assault
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• PTSD symptoms vary according to the age of the traumatized individual and whether there was any consistency in treatment or support from others after the trauma occurred. PTSD symptoms include intrusive thoughts/memories that cause one to mentally escape from one’s current life or from activities that provide pleasure.
• Acute Stress Disorder

After a traumatic event, an individual might experience symptoms within a month. ASD symptoms include nightmares and flashbacks.

When one experiences a trigger, the body continues to experience the trauma days, weeks, months, and even years after the traumatic event. As a result, a person may suffer personality changes, mental health disorders, and other symptoms.

Symptoms of Trauma

Trauma can cause debilitating symptoms that are short- or long-term. Trauma affects the brain and areas that once worked. Often, the amygdala becomes over-activated after a traumatic event. One remembers the trauma, and the person may become hypervigilant. Their amygdala becomes overly sensitive. Not being able to think clearly, a person may experience symptoms of…

Short-term effects following trauma may include:

• Difficulty concentrating
• Preoccupation with thoughts about the trauma
• Difficulty sleeping
• Shock
• Confusion
• Numbness
• Difficulty making decisions

Long-term effects may include the onset of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health problems. These effects can impact every facet of a person’s life.

Problems Trauma Can Cause

Untreated trauma can negatively affect an individual’s life, including:

• Romantic relationships
• Relationships with parents, children, or family members
• Social relationships
• Ability to keep and maintain a job
• Earning ability
• Physical and mental health

It can be difficult to connect with others after experiencing trauma. One may feel alone and isolated, embarrassed about what happened, and may as if no one will understand. A person may feel ashamed, fearful, angry, or depressed. It can be challenging to make sense of the traumatic event. Untreated trauma may also lead to addiction, suicidal ideation, and unsafe decision-making.

Benefits of Trauma Counseling

Because trauma affects the brain, it is possible to treat it by rewiring the brain. Trauma counseling helps people work through traumatic events and start to heal over time.

Trauma counseling focuses on making peace with the trauma that a person has experienced. One can talk about the pain and begin to process what has happened. It empowers one to take charge of their own life and not let a traumatic event or series of traumatic events derail one’s life. This type of therapy can help overcome the distress, pain, and dysfunction that trauma often causes. With the help of a qualified trauma therapist, an individual can take steps to heal. These steps usually include:

• Understanding trauma and its impact
• Eliminating or reducing the symptoms of trauma
• Changing perspective and focus
• Improving day-to-day functioning
• Regaining personal power
• Preventing deterioration

Evidence-based trauma treatment is available at SpringSource Center. We use traditional (CBT) and third-wave (DBT, ACT) cognitive therapies to assist in your recovery. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD helps individuals learn to challenge and modify negative perceptions and beliefs related to the trauma. The goal is to reduce trauma symptoms and the negative impact of trauma while building a more meaningful, valued life.