Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Have you experienced a traumatic event? Are you suffering from lingering fear and anxiety? Do you feel like you no longer have any control over how you think, feel, and behave? 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - also known as PTSD - is a mental health challenge that may occur in individuals who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a terrorist act, an act of war, a serious accident, rape, or any other traumatic event that reaches beyond our ability to cope.

While PTSD is usually linked with veterans who’ve experienced combat, PTSD occurs in all people regardless of age, race, nationality, or culture. In fact, women are twice as likely to experience PTSD than men.

What are the Symptoms of PTSD?

People with PTSD often experience intense thoughts and feelings related to their traumatic experiences. These can last for a long time after the initial event. Many people with PTSD also relive the event through flashbacks and nightmares.

People with PTSD often feel intense emotions such as fear, anger, sadness, and detachment from friends, family, and community members. They often avoid people and situations that remind them of the traumatic event. Ordinary sounds or incidents such as a door banging or accidental touch in a crowd may cause a strong and uncontrollable reaction.

If you or a loved one suffer from PTSD and would like to explore treatment options, please reach out to me. I have personally seen amazing transformation through therapy and want to offer the help you need to enjoy life again.

Complex PTSD

Many traumatic events are of time-limited duration. However, in some cases people experience chronic trauma that continues or repeats for months or years at a time. Some have suggested that the current PTSD diagnosis does not fully capture the severe psychological harm that occurs with prolonged, repeated trauma. Treatment considerations for those with such complex trauma histories are reviewed.

• Behavioral difficulties (e.g. impulsivity, aggressiveness, sexual acting out, alcohol/drug misuse and self-destructive behavior)
• Emotional difficulties (e.g. affect lability, rage, depression and panic)
• Cognitive difficulties (e.g. dissociation and pathological changes in personal identity)
• Interpersonal difficulties (e.g. chaotic personal relationships)
• Somatization (resulting in many visits to medical practitioners)

Therapy is a way to work through your symptoms and when they come up. You also review severity, frequency, duration and more to help determine the accurate diagnosis for you.