Help for people who have experienced trauma or abuse

 

Sometimes people experience something so terrible, that it continues to haunt them months, years, and decades afterwards. It may be a single event, or there may be more than you can keep track.

• Are you bothered by repeated, intrusive thoughts or images of the event(s)? This may occur during the day or at night in the form of dreams and nightmares.
• Do you try to avoid people, places or activities that may remind you of the event(s)
• Do you feel uninterested in things you used to enjoy, disconnected from others, or emotionally numb?
• Do you find yourself irritable, constantly on guard, or easily startled?

If any of this sounds familiar, you may be suffering from posttraumatic stress symptoms. You may have heard about our soldiers returning from service with posttraumatic stress disorder or PTSD. During the World Wars, it was called “shell shock.” We find descriptions of it as far back as the writings of the ancient Greeks.

Today we have a better understanding of how it happens. And we have effective treatments. It doesn’t mean that you’re weak, or need to “get over it.” Sometimes things happen in our lives that overwhelm our abilities to cope. It may be accompanied by intense feelings of guilt, shame, or anger.

I specialize in treating trauma and PTSD. I draw from two main treatments. For those interested in and appropriate for an intense trauma-focused treatment, I offer prolonged exposure (PE) therapy, considered the gold standard in trauma treatment. PE involves repeatedly facing those memories in a safe and contained environment until they no longer bother you. If you don’t feel ready for PE—and many people don’t—I use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help people begin reengage their lives and more effectively deal with their distress. I am committed to offering treatment supported by science. At the beginning of treatment and periodically throughout, I will give clients a short self-report measure to assess change in their symptoms. We can track improvement over time and make adjustments if we don’t see any progress.

I have included additional links that you might find helpful on this website. Please contact me if you’re interested in treatment. Together, we can assess within the first session what may be the most appropriate course of therapy and discuss your options.