Do You Need Trauma Counselling? Signs, Benefits, and Recovery Steps
Trauma leaves a lasting impact on a person's mental health and is characterised by an emotional scar, the extent of which is frequently dictated by how overwhelming the experience was. Injury, environmental disaster, life-threatening events, or emotional abuse can traumatise in ways that may not be evident in the immediate. However, on a more internal level, this could be pronounced in how an individual sees himself, others, and the world.
What is the Purpose of Trauma Counselling?
Trauma counselling exists primarily to enable individuals to process and surpass the emotional, mental, and physical effects of trauma. People receive a secure supportive environment through counselling to face their pain and uncover its origins, enabling them to start healing.
At the Canadian Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Inc., our skilled psychologists offer trauma counselling. Our professional therapists implement established healing techniques that enable their clients to begin healing and progression.
How Do People Overcome Trauma?
The process of overcoming trauma takes multiple stages, which cannot be completed rapidly. Trauma counselling makes use of standard healing techniques that vary between individuals.
Acknowledging the Trauma: Recognising the impact of trauma on your life stands as the initial requirement for healing it. The process of recovery requires acknowledging traumatic experiences because avoiding this step results in a delay in healing.
Processing Emotions: Many trauma victims must navigate intense emotions consisting of both fear and anger, together with sadness and shame. Regulating trauma-related emotions proves difficult because they lead to overwhelming feelings unless handled correctly.
Cognitive Restructuring: After trauma occurs, people typically develop altered perspectives about themselves along with how they view the world. Internal negative statements, together with misinterpretations, keep creating emotional stagnation and self-doubt, which results in inner despair.
Developing Coping Skills: The purpose of trauma counselling includes teaching people effective approaches to handle their distressing triggers and painful emotions.
How Will Trauma Therapy Help Me?
The life of a traumatised person can drastically change through trauma therapy. Below are some probable ways in which trauma therapy will help one:
Safe Environment to Heal: Trauma therapy allows for the expression of anguish, fear, and vulnerability within an environment that does not judge. The building of emotional safety approaches healing.
Reducing Symptoms of PTSD: Many persons who get traumatised develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) characterised by flashbacks, nightmares, and a heightened state of awareness.
Reconnecting with Your Life: Trauma tends to make one feel detached from herself and others. Trauma therapy allows you to reconnect with your life by rediscovering your passions, interests, and goals.
Changes to Improve Relationships: Trauma often compromises relationships since you may have difficulty trusting others or opening up emotionally. Trauma therapy strives to mend relationships.
Empowering You to Take Charge of Things: You will be aided in understanding how the trauma affected you and generating important changes in your life.
What Are the Benefits of Overcoming Trauma?
Overcoming trauma does not mean that the event will be forgotten; it means that the trauma no longer governs your life. Below are the advantages of overcoming trauma:
Elevated Mental Health: Trauma resolution leads to substantial improvements in mental health, thereby alleviating symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
Enhanced Self-Confidence: Being free from the clutches of trauma helps one rediscover self-worth and confidence, which enhances other areas of life.
Restoration of Relationships: Once you're healed from trauma, your interactions with other people improve. The process of healing from trauma creates harmonious interactions with friends, family members, and partners.
Emotional Equilibrium: Healing from trauma renders emotions balanced and under control. Feelings of hopelessness, guilt, or shame never overpower you again.
What is the Most Effective Trauma Therapy?
There are a multitude of trauma therapies and success greatly depends on the person and the type of trauma involved. The most famous of these are:
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT): CBT is perhaps the most known therapy for trauma. Its goal is to change negative thought patterns that have developed from traumatic events into healthier and more realistic thoughts. Primarily effective for clients suffering from PTSD.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR): This unique kind of therapy uses bilateral stimulation while a traumatic memory is being processed, such as side-to-side eye movements or tapping. Many trauma symptoms respond very well to this therapy.
Somatic Experience: Trauma-related tension and stress may still be retained in the body, and somatic therapy therefore aids in releasing them.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT): TF-CBT is an adaptation of CBT designed for children and adolescents exposed to trauma. It includes input from parents and seeks to address trauma-related thoughts.
How Do You Know If You Have Trauma?
Trauma might be difficult to recognise, especially since its effects can manifest through various symptoms. Some signs common in trauma include:
- The incident may cause nightmares, intrusive memories, or flashbacks.
- Feelings of numbness, rage, or emotional blunting
- Hypervigilance or extreme anxiety
- Struggles with trusting others
- Difficulty concentrating; problematic sleeping; anxious feelings
If you experience any of these symptoms, there could be a chance you are experiencing trauma.
Is Trauma Therapy Different than Regular Therapy?
In trauma therapy, trauma with its psychological and emotional effects will be the focus of treatment, unlike regular therapy, whereby more general kinds of issues will constitute the focus, such as relationship difficulties, stress, or general mental health. Hence, trauma therapy is about helping the traumatised person to come to terms with and heal emotionally from the trauma.
How Can I Tell If I Need Counselling for Trauma?
Trauma may require counselling if you are having emotional symptoms like anxiety, a depressed mood, or ongoing sadness for, let's say, quite sometime after that. Finding it more difficult to manage personal relationships, hold down a job, and control emotions associated with your past experiences could all be indicators that yet another intervention is warranted.
What Are the 3 Stages of Trauma Recovery?
Trauma recovery typically occurs in three stages:
Safety and Stabilisation: This involves the establishment of safety, trust, and emotional stability. Coping abilities are taught, and symptoms are managed accordingly.
Processing the Trauma: In this phase, memories, feelings, and beliefs associated with the traumatic event are all worked through.
Reintegration and Growth: The final phase involves rebuilding your life, discovering meaning, and becoming stronger. Resilience and personal empowerment are developed.
What is the Best Way to Deal with Trauma?
The most effective way for something to be handled is trauma counselling. It would be best if someone were to approach a therapist who specialises in the treatment of trauma so that you receive the right treatment for your needs. Besides that, trauma recovery can be facilitated by building a support network, practicing self-care, and building healthy coping strategies.
Conclusion
Trauma counselling is a resourceful technique to provide the individual with guidance in dealing with psychological and emotional issues after experiencing trauma. This professional, specialised support is vital in enabling the person to commence healing and take control of their lives as little by little they start to rebuild themselves emotionally.
If you are experiencing trauma or know someone who has, reach out to The Canadian Center for Counselling and Psychotherapy, Inc. To start your healing process, get in touch with us right now.