Trauma Therapy and PTSD Treatment
What is trauma and how is it treated?
Trauma occurs when we endure an overwhelming experience with unbearable loneliness. We are thus unable to integrate this experience into the narrative of our lives. Some of the hallmark symptoms of trauma are numbness, recurring thoughts, images, sensations of the traumatic event, substance use, a sense of dread and distress, gastrointestinal issues, autoimmune disorders, fatigue, and irritability. Treating your trauma can bring relief to all these symptoms.
The simple (though not easy) path of healing is to face these memories and the strong feelings that go with them with a loving and skilled guide. This helps to undo the unbearable loneliness and works with you to process the memories in manageable amounts so that you are not retraumatized.
Below are some frequently asked questions about types of trauma and the treatments available.
Is my trauma big enough?
We all may be familiar with PTSD as it relates to combat experiences, accidents, and assaults. Oftentimes we measure our experiences against these and wonder if they can be considered traumatic. At Full Life, our understanding of trauma is that it is subjective and that the conditions experienced matter a lot.
Any situation where we are shamed or humiliated can be traumatic. Painful experiences that occur over a long period can wear us down and become a place of trauma. Difficult things that we face alone, especially ones that cut us off from connection and love, can be traumatic. Grief can also be traumatic when a sudden death happens or if it’s in a violent way. Whether your experience fits what you would call trauma, we will approach these emotions with safety. This is also at your pace so that these experiences can be integrated and resolved without causing you further harm.
What does PTSD treatment in Charlottesville, VA look like?
A central difficulty in traumatic experiences is loss of control and lack of safety. Whenever we work with people on traumatic material we ensure that this is done in a safe environment in a way that you can control. We come to the situation as expert guides and honor your expertise of yourself. This includes your experience so that we can do this difficult work together in an empowering rather than retraumatizing way.
PTSD Treatment allows you to integrate the traumatic experience and the ongoing intrusive images, thoughts, feelings, and sensations into the larger context of your life. Part of this process is to help make new meaning from this. Trauma is often the shit that composts into fertile soil and gives life to new growth. We use a variety of methods like EMDR, AEDP and Fierce Love, memory reconsolidation, renegotiation vs. reenactment, body-centered approaches, Internal Family Systems, mindfulness, and self-compassion to support people in this process.
What is complex PTSD? Is it treated differently?
Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) is a formal diagnosis in other places, it is not in the main diagnostic manual used in the United States, the DSM-5. Many practitioners who work with trauma believe it is a needed category and is hopeful for its addition in future manuals. Complex PTSD refers to trauma that occurs over an extended period of time. It is particularly complicated when this occurs during a person’s developmental years from primary caregivers.
In addition to the symptoms associated with PTSD, C-PTSD often includes difficulties in relationships. This is due to attachment disruption and difficulties having a strong sense of self. AEDP is suited to resolving issues of C-PTSD as it is focused on attachment. Attachment disruption is healed through the focus on the counseling relationship where new, positive relational experiences are processed. They are also anchored and past experiences with attachment figures are renegotiated in a healthier way. This newfound healthy attachment provides a secure base for the reorganization of the self.
Understanding Trauma
Recently, there has been a greater understanding of how much we are able to change and grow through the lifespan which is a welcome change from some of the pessimism that was dominating the field. We now know that the brain is amazing and plastic throughout the lifespan which means that with new powerful experiences our perception of ourselves and the world around us can change. We facilitate these powerful positive moments with people and deepen healing by processing and anchoring the new healthier views. Often people who have come to heal after traumatic experiences do feel a greater sense of meaning and purpose in their lives and go on to use this new awareness to strengthen their communities.
Trauma treatment is a significant aspect of our work and our thinking about this is most shaped by the following sources: Trauma and Recovery by Judith Herman, Rethinking Trauma Treatment by Courtney Armstrong, The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, Treating Complex Traumatic Stress Disorders by Ford and Cortois, and the various writing and teaching on trauma from Diana Fosha and the AEDP institute faculty. We share our influences on trauma treatment because we know this is a tender place and we work to empower our patients from the very beginning. We also want to make sure this is a safe, though, at times uncomfortable, experience for people, and having an awareness of our theoretical orientation allows for more safety.
Begin Trauma Therapy and Complex PTSD Treatment in Charlottesville, VA
We love our work as therapists for those with Trauma and PTSD and find deep enjoyment in doing this work well. We each have established a style that aligns with who we are as therapists so that our healing work comes from a place of authenticity. Because of our commitment to best practices for training and growth in our own work, we come to our work fresh, skillful, and effective. Get started with counseling at our practice located in Charlottesville, VA by completing these three easy steps:
Contact us to get started
Start meeting with a skilled trauma therapist
Work through what’s been holding you back and find freedom from the past
Other Services at Full Life Counseling
Trauma therapy & PTSD treatment is not the only service we offer at our Charlottesville, VA-based therapy practice. If you need help in an area that is not listed, please give us a call or check out our blog. Chances are that one of our skilled therapists at Full Life has experience working with patients for whatever concern arises. We have experience in counseling for college students, anxiety treatment, depression, eating disorder treatment, and stress. We also offer marriage counseling, affirming therapy, and ecotherapy. If not, we are well-rooted in the local therapy community and will help you find the right fit. Contact us today to get started.
“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.”
— Ernest Hemmingway