What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. Trauma can include things like accidents, abuse, violence, natural disasters, or the sudden loss of someone important.

People with PTSD may experience symptoms such as:

• Flashbacks or intrusive memories of the trauma

• Nightmares or trouble sleeping

• Intense emotional reactions or irritability

• Avoiding reminders of the trauma

• Feeling numb, disconnected, or on edge

PTSD can affect your thoughts, emotions, relationships, and physical health, and it often continues long after the traumatic event. The good news is that PTSD is treatable. With the right support and trauma-focused therapy, it’s possible to process the trauma, reduce symptoms, and regain a sense of safety, control, and well-being.

​

What is Trauma?

Individual trauma results from an event, series of events or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life-threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual's functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual wellbeing. 

​

Examples of trauma include, but are not limited to: experiencing or observing physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, childhood neglect, having a family member with mental illness or a substance use disorder, experiencing or witnessing violence in the community or while serving in the military, and poverty and systemic discrimination.

​

Healing from trauma takes time, support, and often specialized therapy to help you process the experience and gradually rebuild a sense of safety, stability, and control in your life.

​

What is Relational Trauma?

Relational trauma happens when we experience hurt or harm in important relationships, such as with family members, close friends, or romantic partners. This can include emotional abuse, neglect, betrayal, or abandonment. When relational trauma occurs in childhood, it can affect our ability to form healthy, secure relationships as adults. It may leave us feeling unsafe, unloved, or unworthy, and influence how we see ourselves and others.

​

Relational trauma can make it challenging to trust others or build strong connections. Through therapy, it’s possible to rebuild trust, develop healthier ways of relating to others, and feel more secure in your relationships. This work begins with finding a therapist who is a good fit and creating a safe, supportive therapeutic relationship.

What is Complex Trauma?

Complex trauma refers to experiencing multiple or repeated traumatic events, often over an extended period of time. It usually occurs in situations where a person feels trapped or unable to escape, such as ongoing abuse, neglect, or living in a violent environment.

​

Unlike a single traumatic event, complex trauma creates a pattern of harm that can deeply impact your sense of self, your relationships, and your emotional well-being. Common effects include difficulty trusting others, feelings of worthlessness, emotional numbness, or challenges managing emotions.

​

Childhood trauma can be especially harmful because it occurs while the brain is still developing and often comes from caregivers or trusted adults. Early trauma can affect the way you think, feel, and respond to the world, leading to symptoms like anxiety, sadness, fear, trouble focusing, emotional overwhelm, or shutting down. Trauma can also affect physical health, contributing to issues such as headaches, back or stomach pain, sleep disturbances, eating disorders, or conditions like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

​

Another common effect of complex trauma is dissociation, where parts of yourself feel disconnected. Dissociation can make therapy feel difficult or slow progress, which is why working with a therapist trained in trauma-informed approaches is important.

​

Healing from complex trauma is vital not only for emotional well-being but also for physical health. With the right support, it’s possible to work through trauma and regain a sense of safety, control, and resilience. Healing doesn’t erase the experiences you’ve had, but it can help you live a life where the trauma no longer has control over your thoughts, feelings, or relationships.

​

Therapy for PTSD and Trauma

Trauma therapy is not defined by one specific intervention. Instead, it involves carefully tailoring therapeutic approaches based on each individual’s trauma history, triggers, strengths, and unique needs. Trauma-informed treatment is best understood as a lens through which the therapist understands and supports the client.

Through this lens, the therapist considers how trauma affects emotional regulation, nervous system responses, beliefs about self and others, and behavioral patterns. Treatment focuses not only on symptom relief, but also on building safety, resilience, and self-understanding.

​

This approach also recognizes the potential impact of intergenerational trauma, acknowledging how experiences passed down through families and communities can shape present-day challenges. By honoring the full context of a person’s experiences, trauma therapy creates space for meaningful and lasting healing.