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My go-to approach for helping people in PTSD/trauma therapy is to ensure client safety, make sure that I foster a relationship built on trust, provide education for my clients on what they can expect, and make sure that I'm constantly assessing for safety and that we are progressing at a pace that is safely within their boundaries. I find the best benefit in this approach because it significantly decreases any chance of re-traumatization of the client and also helps restore trust and autonomy to the client; things that are often lost in trauma survivors. I find that clients are more successful in treatment when they are with a provider that they can trust and who they know will not “surprise” them.
I teach the following tools in PTSD/trauma therapy:
I know a client is making meaningful progress in PTSD/trauma therapy when they are demonstrating more willingness to face their stressors/triggers and are utilizing coping and distress tolerance skills with more regularity and with less clinician prompting. I also know when clients are making progress when they are reporting a significant decrease in the frequency and intensity of symptoms that are causing daily distress and disruption to their schedules and routines. Clients are continuing to make progress when they are visibly more comfortable identifying and healthily processing experienced emotions and have regularly incorporated healthy coping and emotion regulation skills into their daily routines and engage in them with minimal clinician prompting. I also look for increases in self-esteem and self-confidence as well as self-efficacy.
Clients can supplement their time in PTSD/trauma therapy by making sure that they are engaging in activities that are nourishing and are not isolating themselves. PTSD/trauma support groups are a great supplement to PTSD/trauma counseling as well as regularly engaging within your social support system. Making sure you're regularly engaging in your hobbies and other value-congruent behaviors can also significantly contribute to progress made in therapy.
To prepare for their first PTSD/trauma therapy session, someone can make sure that they are sleeping and eating well and also have time before and after sessions to decompress, as processing PTSD/trauma can be emotionally intense. Also, take time to identify and explore your personal boundaries, areas of your trauma, and any symptoms that you might not feel ready or able to discuss yet. This will help you identify treatment goals as well as any boundaries you might have for therapy.
Trauma therapy is a therapeutic approach that focuses on treating the psychological impact of traumatic events on individuals. Trauma therapy helps people process and heal from their trauma by guiding them through their trauma in a compassionate and supportive way, allowing clients to feel the full scope of what happened to them and eventually move on from the event(s). This process helps people who have experienced trauma find ways to feel safe in their lives.
Trauma therapy will often require individuals to walk through their experiences in a controlled and compassionate setting (unless the client has a dissociative disorder) so that they can fully process the event, an activity that will allow them to move on from what happened and feel safe again. Thriveworks Richmond therapists will also help clients learn healthy coping mechanisms to deal with their symptoms outside of therapy.
Thriveworks trauma counseling in Richmond, VA is conducted both in person and online through online therapy. We encourage you to choose the option that works best for you.
If an individual is working through a single event that occurred during adulthood, they may only need a few months of treatment. However, in instances of childhood trauma or repeated traumatic events, therapy may continue over the course of years. Trauma therapy usually ends when the client believes they have met their therapeutic goals, however long that takes to occur. Thriveworks therapists in Richmond, VA will continue to provide care for as long as necessary to help clients meet their therapeutic needs.
Are you a victim of physical or mental abuse? Have you survived a natural disaster like a hurricane or a fire? Did you get bullied as a child or teen? These experiences are all considered traumatic, and they can have long-term or lasting effects on your life. Trauma is debilitating and is accompanied by harmful symptoms that make day to day activities challenging.
If you answered yes to any of the above questions or have experienced another form of trauma, it is important that you get the help and support that you need. Consider working with a trauma therapist or PTSD therapist at Thriveworks Richmond, VA (Shockoe Bottom). These professionals specialize in helping victims of trauma, as they come equipped with knowledge, skills, and experience in working with people who have experienced trauma. Give us a call today at (804) 980-7242 to schedule a trauma therapy appointment.
Trauma is a distressing event or experience, such as physical assault, mental abuse, a natural disaster, bullying, and the loss of a loved one. Victims of trauma struggle to function normally on a day to day basis—for example, they cannot focus at work or feel paranoid about their relationships—and suffer with other harmful symptoms. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is diagnosed when an individual presents a given set up symptoms for a month or longer after their trauma. The primary PTSD symptoms include:
In addition, victims of trauma might feel detached from life, exhibit a reduced interest in the things and people they love, engage in reckless behavior, and experience feelings of guilt, fear, or anger. These symptoms can vary between individuals.
Trauma and PTSD therapy are designed to help victims of trauma process their experience and work through the psychological harm it has caused them. Their ultimate mission is to help their clients move forward with their life and function normally again.
As with the symptoms of trauma, treatment for trauma can vary too. This mostly depends on the specific individual’s needs. That being said, there are several common approaches to trauma and PTSD therapy, including:
If you’ve experienced trauma, remember: It is vital that you process the event and all of the emotions that accompany it. You don’t have to do this alone. A trauma therapist at Thriveworks Richmond, VA (Shockoe Bottom) can help.
The trauma and PTSD therapists and psychologists at Thriveworks Richmond, VA (Shockoe Bottom) want to help victims of trauma to process the event, feel their emotions, and heal. If you have experienced a traumatic event, consider working with one of our trauma therapists and give us a call today at (804) 980-7242 to schedule an appointment. We offer evening and weekend sessions, and we accept most major insurances.
Includes individual, couples, child/ teen, & family therapy
Includes reducing symptoms with medication & management
Friday | 8:00am - 9:00pm | |
Saturday | 8:00am - 9:00pm | |
Sunday | 8:00am - 9:00pm | |
Monday | 8:00am - 9:00pm | |
Tuesday | 8:00am - 9:00pm | |
Wednesday | 8:00am - 9:00pm | |
Thursday | 8:00am - 9:00pm |
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Friday | 8:00am - 9:30pm | |
Saturday | 8:00am - 6:00pm | |
Sunday | 8:00am - 6:00pm | |
Monday | 8:00am - 9:30pm | |
Tuesday | 8:00am - 9:30pm | |
Wednesday | 8:00am - 9:30pm | |
Thursday | 8:00am - 9:30pm |
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