PTSD & Trauma Treatment in Austin
PTSD & Trauma Therapy
trauma Therapy helps you manage the impact
Do You Feel Constantly Reminded Of Past Trauma?
Is there a painful experience in your past that still feels too present in your life? Do you feel flooded with overwhelming emotions every time you think about it? Maybe you find yourself constantly re-living the experience in flashbacks and intrusive memories. Or perhaps stressful situations remind you of it, causing you to withdraw from certain relationships and pass up opportunities for growth.
If the above description holds true for you, you may be dealing with trauma. In addition to flashbacks and PTSD symptoms, trauma can lead to unhealthy changes in mood and behavior. Perhaps you’ve become more anxious and irritable, and you cry more easily. Your whole world may seem thrown off balance—your sleep patterns, your eating habits, and even your work and relationships. It’s like the past is hanging over your head and affecting everything you do.
At the moment, you may feel like it’s impossible to find relief and move on in life. Thankfully, with our relaxed, compassionate approach to therapy, you can learn to regulate your stress levels, process your trauma, and experience healing in both your mind and body. Your pain doesn’t have to hold you back in life.
Trauma Is A Natural Stress Response To Painful Experiences
When you’ve experienced a traumatic event, your brain activates a stress response whenever a similar event takes place. If you grew up with verbally abusive parents, for instance, someone yelling at you can make you re-experience the same feelings and sensations you had when your parents yelled at you. Or if you served in the military, loud noises, such as fireworks, may make you feel like you’re back in a combat zone.
Not all trauma results in these PTSD symptoms, however. Some forms of trauma arise from child neglect, grief and loss, or major life transitions, and aren’t always recognized as traumatic. These experiences may not cause panic attacks or make you fear for your life, but they can cause depression, anxiety, and relationship troubles. Oftentimes, these forms of trauma develop slowly over long periods of time, so they aren’t as noticeable as typical single-instance trauma (e.g., sexual abuse or being witness to a violent event).
One of the hardest parts of living with trauma is how it often leads to unhealthy avoidance patterns. Because trauma holds you in a state of fear, you may find yourself continually avoiding things that could stress you out—including seeking help. Perhaps you fear that talking about your traumatic experience with someone else will summon old feelings of panic and dread.
Here at Enteave Counseling, we practice trauma and PTSD therapy in a way that is safe, comfortable, and deeply enriching. We know how easy it is to feel re-traumatized. That’s why our practice is trained and equipped to help you resolve your pain in a way that doesn’t require you to relive the past.
Therapy Can Help You Process, Resolve, And Heal From Trauma
When you’re dealing with trauma or PTSD, merely coping and finding relief is probably your biggest wish. And while we want to teach you how to cope with and manage your symptoms, we also want to help you heal in the long-term. As painful and overwhelming as trauma can be, it doesn’t have to affect you forever. The strategies and skills you learn here can help you remove the negative emotions associated with your trauma and move forward with peace and assurance.
In the beginning, you and your therapist will discuss your needs, identify your goals and create a treatment plan together. From there, we will help you explore new ways to regulate your emotions and remain calm when you’re stressed. Additionally, you will learn to recognize what happens to your brain and body when you’re triggered by traumatic memories. For instance, maybe your heart races, your palms get sweaty, or you start to dissociate. By identifying your stress responses, you can learn to stop harmful feelings and sensations before they overwhelm you.
The approach we use in trauma counseling ultimately depends on what you feel is best for you. That said, some of our therapists draw heavily from an approach called Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). As its name implies, CPT seeks to help you process your trauma and make sense of the thoughts and emotions that stem from it. CPT will teach you to draw connections between your traumatic experience and the way you think today, allowing you to understand yourself on a deeper level.
Additionally, our practice often utilizes Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. While it may sound rather technical, EMDR is actually a very organic approach to the healing process. This method uses a series of gentle stimulation techniques—such as picture stills or auditory cues—to remove the emotional impact of harmful memories. Whereas many other approaches seek to help you find relief, EMDR aims to help you fully heal, desensitizing the pain that has resulted from your trauma.
Trauma is debilitating to live with, and in the moment, it often feels permanent. The good news is it’s not. The brain has a profound ability to heal on its own terms, and the approaches we work with have been proven to effectively combat PTSD symptoms. Between your commitment and our support, we are confident that you can process, resolve, and heal from your trauma.
You may have some questions and concerns about trauma therapy…
I can’t handle talking about my trauma.
Here in trauma therapy, we aim to go at your own pace. We know how hard it is to talk about trauma, so we will never ask you to share anything you’re not comfortable sharing. Our team of therapists is well-trained in helping clients work through trauma and PTSD without making them feel triggered or re-traumatized. Moreover, counseling with us is not limited to merely talking—we want to give you skills you can use to regulate your emotions and find relief in day-to-day life.
I don’t want to be judged for my experience.
Our office is a judgment-free zone, and our foremost goal is to ensure you feel accepted and validated. Besides, your trauma is not your fault—the stress responses your brain has developed are a natural reaction to what happened to you. In order to keep you safe, your body sends alarm signals to your brain whenever you are reminded of your traumatic experience. Rather than judge you for your responses, our practice seeks to help you understand why these reactions to stress have developed and whether or not they help you.
I should be able to handle my trauma alone.
It isn’t always possible to overcome trauma and PTSD alone. This is true no matter how self-aware or intelligent you are. But by having someone to provide new insights and bounce new ideas off of, you can come to a deeper understanding of your trauma and, more importantly, yourself.
Experience Healing In Both Your Mind And Body
Whether you experienced neglect, sexual abuse, military combat, the loss of a loved one, or any other life-changing event, trauma therapy can help you experience healing in every aspect of your life. To begin your journey with us, you can call 512-350-6236, email us, or schedule an appointment on our website.
Right now, because of COVID-19, all our trauma treatment sessions are online.
