TRAUMA PSYCHOTHERAPY IN NYC
Heal the wounds
holding you back.
Feeling like the past is still present?
Trauma Therapy 101
Does it feel like you can’t escape the past? Do you have intrusive thoughts or memories popping up, even when you try to push them away? Do you find yourself on edge, hypervigilant, or irritable without knowing why?
Trauma symptoms can be debilitating and make day-to day life hard. The good news is that recovery from and growth after trauma is absolutely possible and therapy can help you along this journey. Throughout my time working with clients who have experienced a variety of different types of trauma, I’ve found the healing process to be at times painful, but also always immensely rewarding. There can be freedom from trauma so that you don’t need to continue to carry the burden of what may have happened with you forever. While we can’t change the past, we work together to help you feel like the past isn’t with you presently. You don’t have to work through the wounds that trauma may have left behind alone.
What is Trauma?
While there are many definitions of trauma, the most common theme across different definitions is that trauma is any event which overwhelms a person’s ability to cope with it. Trauma can affect all areas of your life including your mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health. It can make it difficult to live your life as you did before the trauma happened. Trauma can change the ways that we view ourselves, other people, and the world as a whole.
Trauma can come as either a one-time event or as a prolonged series of events (called complex trauma).
Trauma therapy can help you cope with:
Anxiety, fear, & panic attacks
Depression & feelings of hopelessness
Confusion, difficulty concentrating
Mood swings, anger, & irritability
Shame, guilt, & self-blame
Hyper-vigilance, or a feeling of always being on edge
Feelings of numbness or dissociation
Social isolation and relational issues
Shock, denial, or disbelief
Difficulty sleeping or nightmares
Excessive fatigue
Being jumpy or getting startled easily
Difficulty concentrating on normal tasks
Unexplained muscle tension
Racing heartbeat
Aches and pains
Frequently asked questions about trauma therapy
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Trauma can comes as a result of any event that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope with it. Some common examples include:
Sexual Assault & Abuse
Intimate Partner Violence/Domestic Violence
Childhood Abuse and/or Neglect
Natural Disasters
Community Violence
Medical Trauma
Traumatic Grief
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“Big T” trauma is a reaction to a deeply distressing or life-threatening event or situation. These are the extreme events we often think of when we think of trauma—for example, war, natural disasters, violent crimes, sexual assault, or a serious car accident.
“Little t” trauma is defined as any event or ongoing situation that causes distress, fear, and a sense of helplessness. Examples include loss of a job, financial insecurity, harassment, and loss of a significant relationship.
Both of these types of trauma can lead to trauma symptoms and sometimes need treatment in order to heal. Regardless of what the trauma was, seeking professional help may be able to help provide some relief.
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One of the most important tenets of trauma therapy is that the client sets the pace. If you’re ready to jump in to past memories and reprocess them, we can do that. If you need more time - or unsure if you ever want to go back to the memories - that’s fine too. There’s lot of work to be done and relief that can be found even without mentally going back to what’s happened. In trauma therapy, you’re in the driver’s seat and we focus on where you are and what you need right now.