Understanding the Importance and Benefits
Trauma can have a significant impact on an individual's mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Trauma can result from a variety of experiences, including violence, abuse, natural disasters, accidents, and more. Trauma can lead to symptoms such as anxiety, depression, flashbacks, and more. For those who have experienced trauma, seeking counseling services can be a crucial step towards healing and recovery.
What Is Trauma?
Trauma is defined as a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that can be experienced at any age of an individual's lifespan. SAMHSA's Three E's Defining Trauma Individual Trauma results from the experience of an event, series of events, or circumstances that are physically and/or emotionally harmful or threatening, that have lasting adverse effects on a person's functioning, as well as their mental, physical, social, emotional, and/or spiritual well-being.
We treat individuals facing traumatic stress, complex trauma, retraumatization and vicarious traumatization. Often times, trauma survivors' experiences are shrouded in secrecy, fear, shame, guilt, humiliation and self-blame. This is one of the main reasons why trauma survivors often fail to report their experiences (even when asked). If not treated the pervasive, deleterious, and long-term effects of interpersonal trauma can result in post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to substance use disorders, from somatic complaints to general psychological distress.
We believe that people who have experienced trauma are resilient and are not condemned to a life of hopelessness and helplessness.
Resilience plays a large factor in how a person copes with their traumas or tragedies. Even those who suffered the most dire life situations can have it within them to move beyond. We recognize that trauma often destroys or at least throws into question, perceptions of the self and sometimes the person's feelings of spirituality too. We focus on each individuals resilience to help them bounce back or rise above the difficulties that come from adverse experiences such as trauma. Resilience can be learned and is the focus of our trauma treatments and one of the most evidence-based practices (Federal, Charney, & Collins, 2011).
We also recognize that treatment is not always the goal; the goal may be healing, as everyone heals in different contexts and in different ways.
Types of Trauma
- Sexual Abuse and or Assault
- Physical Abuse and or Assault
- Emotional Abuse and or Psychological Maltreatment
- Narcissist Abuse
- Neglect
- Serious Accident, Illness, and/or Medical Procedure
- Victim / Witness to Domestic Violence / Assault
- Victim / Witness to Community Violence
- Victim / Witness to Minority / Hate Crimes
- Victim / Witness to Natural Disasters
- Miscarriage / Abortion
- Witness to Death
- COVID-19 Pandemic
- School Violence / Bullying
- Natural / Manmade Disasters
- Forced Displacement
- War / Terrorism / Political Violence
- Military Trauma including impact of deployment - related stressors
- Victim / Witness to Extreme Personal / Interpersonal Violence
- Traumatic Grief / Separation
- System-Induced Trauma (e.g., Traumatic Foster Placement)
- Physician Trauma Including Death of Patient
- Seperation of Family (e.g. Divorce, Abandonment, Separation, Death)
Traumatic experiences are long-lasting. They can affect future coping skills and defense mechanisms. They can affect other adverse, but less traumatic experiences later in life.
Abuse In Children
- United States has the worse record of abuse and neglect.
- In 2015, CPS reported 683,000 victims of child abuse and neglect reported to child protective services.
- A non-CPS study estimated that 1 in 4 children experience some form of child abuse or neglect in their lifetimes.
- About 1,670 children died from abuse or neglect in 2015
- The total lifetime cost of child abuse and neglect is estimated at $124 billion each year.
- Increased likelihood of developing range of mental disorders such as suicide attempts, drug use, STI's, and risky sexual behavior
- 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children
Abuse In Adults
- For adults, most prevalent forms of trauma were physical or sexual assault (52%)
- Accident or fire (50%)
- Death of a close family member or friend due to violence (49%)
- Natural Disaster (48%)
- Threat or injury to a close family member or friend (32%)
- Witnessing physical or sexual assault (33%)
- In 2017, a study by rand.org showed that 53% of military members deployed suffer from PTSD
Benefits of Counseling after Trauma
Abuse and neglect counseling services are specialized forms of therapy designed to help individuals who have experienced abuse or neglect. These services are provided by our licensed, experienced and trained counselors. Abuse and neglect counseling services are designed to provide a safe and supportive environment where individuals can explore and work through the trauma of their experiences.
Abuse and neglect counseling services offer several benefits for individuals who have experienced abuse or neglect. Some of the key benefits include:
- Promoting Healing: Abuse and neglect counseling services can help individuals work through their trauma and promote healing. Counseling services can help individuals develop coping mechanisms, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and improve their overall quality of life.
- Providing Support: Abuse and neglect counseling services provide a safe and supportive environment where individuals can feel heard and understood. This type of support can be crucial for individuals who may feel isolated or alone in their experiences.
- Improving Relationships: Abuse and neglect can impact relationships with family members, friends, and others. Counseling services can help individuals develop healthy relationships and improve communication skills.
- Increasing Self-Awareness: Abuse and neglect can impact an individual's self-esteem and self-worth. Counseling services can help individuals develop a better understanding of themselves and their experiences, which can lead to improved self-awareness and self-esteem.
- Developing Coping Mechanisms: Counseling services can help individuals develop healthy coping mechanisms that can be used to manage stress and anxiety in their daily lives.
Trauma Interventions
There are several types of trauma counseling services that we provide, depending on the individual's specific needs and circumstances. The services that we provide include, but not limited to:
- Individual Counseling: Individual counseling is a one-on-one therapy session between a counselor and a client. This type of counseling allows for a personalized approach to therapy and provides a safe space for individuals to explore their experiences and feelings.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT is a type of therapy that focuses on changing negative patterns of thinking and behavior. CBT can be effective in treating symptoms of trauma such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR is a psychotherapy technique that was first introduced in the late 1980s. It has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Psychiatric Association (APA), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) as an effective treatment for PTSD and other trauma-related disorders.
- Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) is a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) that is commonly used to treat individuals who have experienced traumatic events, such as military combat, sexual assault, or natural disasters. PE aims to reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can include intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, avoidance behaviors, and hyperarousal.
- Informed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for trauma is a specific type of therapy that helps individuals who have experienced trauma to cope with their emotions and reactions. It is based on the principles of CBT, which focuses on changing negative thought patterns and behaviors to improve mental health.
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): DBT is a type of therapy that combines traditional CBT techniques with mindfulness and acceptance-based approaches. It is often used to treat individuals with trauma-related conditions who struggle with emotion regulation and interpersonal relationships.
- Psychodynamic therapy: Psychodynamic therapy focuses on the unconscious and past experiences, and how they shape present behaviors and relationships. It is often used to explore unresolved issues related to trauma.
- Narrative therapy: Narrative therapy is a type of therapy that involves exploring the meaning of traumatic events in an individual's life and helping them develop a new narrative or understanding of the event. It can be used to promote healing and a sense of empowerment.
It's important to note that different types of therapy may be more effective for different individuals and trauma-related conditions. A qualified mental health professional can help determine the most appropriate type of therapy for an individual's unique needs.