Therapy for Trauma

If you’re feeling on edge or struggling with memories of a distressing event, it might be time to seek help. We offer therapy for those dealing with trauma, helping you process your experiences and move forward.

Maybe You’ve Wondered If Your Experience “Counts” As Traumatic

It’s not uncommon to feel on edge, avoid places you know are safe, or struggle with unwanted memories. These feelings can be signs of trauma, but with the right support and therapy, you can process your experiences and find a path to healing.

Increased Anxiety and Irritability

You might find yourself easily startled and excessively anxious, even in situations where you know there is no real danger. This heightened state of alertness can lead to frequent mood swings and irritability, making it challenging to feel at ease.

Emotional Numbness and Detachment

On the other hand, you might experience a sense of emotional numbness, where things that once brought you joy no longer seem meaningful. This detachment can make it difficult to engage with your surroundings or connect with others, leaving you feeling isolated and disconnected.

Therapy can help

Regardless of your struggles, you may be considering that it’s time to talk to a therapist.

Trauma Can Feel Deeply Isolating, But It’s Incredibly Common

It’s normal to feel alone in your trauma, as if you’re the only one dealing with it. But in reality, trauma occurs quite frequently. Some statistics report that up to 70% of people have experienced a traumatic event (1) and it’s estimated that around 6% of individuals will struggle with PTSD at some point in their lifetime (2).

Sadly, many people don’t realize just how universal trauma really is. They may not even recognize it in their own lives. They think that trauma is exclusive to combat veterans and people who’ve suffered from tremendous violence. They don’t realize that many of their own experiences—being in toxic relationships, growing up with controlling parents, or enduring a chronic illness—can be traumatizing. A mental health professional can help you understand how some of your own life experiences may have caused hidden emotional scars.

Many People Feel Too Ashamed Of Their Trauma To Talk About It

Experiencing a traumatic event often prompts feelings of sadness, fear, shame, and anger. Those feelings can be difficult to talk about. As a result, it’s all too easy to hide your emotional injuries and keep your experiences a secret. However, it is important to note that PTSD and other trauma related disorders are treatable and that learning to talk about your experience can be a critical part of overcoming it.

In counseling, you have the chance to share your story with someone who is comforting, compassionate, and deeply informed about trauma and PTSD. Our therapists can provide you with the knowledge to better understand your experience and the tools to cope with it more effectively.

Working together, you and your therapist will come up with a goal-oriented plan based on your past experiences, current symptoms, and future goals. The qualified providers at MindWell NYC are dedicated to your healing. We understand how brave it is to seek therapy for PTSD and other trauma-related disorders and will assist you in reaching your goals using the latest and most researched treatment interventions available.

Navigating the complex emotions following a traumatic experience can be overwhelming.

With so many approaches to dealing with trauma, it’s challenging to determine what might work best for you. Trauma-focused therapy is invaluable in these situations. It helps you explore and understand your unique experiences, offers fresh perspectives, and develops personalized strategies to aid in your recovery.

You May Have Some Questions About Trauma Therapy…

What To Expect In Trauma Treatment Sessions

During sessions, we will collaboratively help you recognize ways in which your traumatic experiences have impacted your thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. Next, we’ll identify what has gotten in the way of moving forward and start to work towards removing those roadblocks.

Given that trauma symptoms are often maintained by avoiding any thoughts, places, or people that prompt those symptoms, we will help you build your readiness to safely confront the sources of your fears. To do so, we’ll equip you with effective coping skills for managing your distress and relaxing your body.

What these skills look like depends on what works best for you. For example, maybe you know that exercise, meditation, or making art helps you feel less tense. By using those tools, combined with the new skills you learn in therapy, we can help you move toward a future that includes less worry and more freedom.

Approaches We Use To Treat Trauma And PTSD

Our practice draws from a wide range of evidence-based treatment methods. To help you learn to tolerate and reduce your distress, we often utilize Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE). And to help you reframe your perspective and overcome negative beliefs related to trauma (such as “My experience was my fault”), we may use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT).

As we work together, we will incorporate whatever approaches and modalities are best suited for your situation. Along the way, we will help you celebrate your successes by highlighting the progress that you have made and celebrating the skills you are starting to incorporate into your daily routine.

We understand the challenges that trauma can bring as well as how brave it is to come to therapy. We are here to help you connect with an evidence-based therapy plan that works for you and that can break you out of the exhausting cycle of memories, feelings, and behaviors you have been experiencing.

With the right help and support, you can learn more adaptive ways of being, have positive new experiences, and relate to yourself with more kindness and compassion.

Will you make me do something I don’t want to do?

It is important to know that everything we do in treatment is a collaboration between you and your therapist and we want you to feel safe at all times. That’s why we focus on gradually building up tolerance for difficult situations over time.

We’ll start by teaching you to navigate challenges that are the least anxiety-provoking. Then we’ll give you new skills and techniques, including breathing and relaxation methods, to help you cope with more difficult challenges when they arise.

Can I take my medication while I am in therapy?

This is another commonly asked question for individuals who are considering participating in therapy for trauma-related disorders. We will work with you and your prescriber to determine the plan that we believe will help you be most successful in managing your symptoms. Whether or not you stay on medication is entirely your choice.

How long will it take me to feel better?

It makes sense that you are trying to get a sense of timing and how long it will take you to feel better. People tend to feel better after several weeks of therapy, although treatment itself can take several months. As your therapists, we will help you take small steps to decrease your trauma reactions over time. Regardless of how long therapy takes, we encourage you to be kind to yourself and move at a pace that’s right for you.