Trauma Counselling

Trauma counselling is a specific form of counselling which helps individuals who have experienced traumatic events, overcome the immobilising experiences of fear, panic and ”re-living” of the traumatic events.  Events that threaten a person’s basic safety in the world are deemed traumatic and usually involve the person in a situation where they were powerless to resist attack or where they felt at the mercy of another person’s abuse of power.

Traumatic responses can develop into a cycle called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder where the person ‘re-lives’ the psychological experiences and memory of the trauma.  It is important to receive trauma counselling in order to avoid this syndrome worsening and to loosen the grip of intolerably painful memories that keep you caught in the past.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the term originally given to sufferers of the Vietnam War.  Their symptoms of depression, panic attacks, fear, flashbacks, traumatic stress, and nightmares were so great that it was as if they were still physically present in their trauma.  Since then, psychologists have come to appreciate the legacy left by traumatic events and the specific treatment that must be given to assist the sufferers to function more effectively.

The definition of a traumatic event is largely specific to the individual sufferer but exists where the person’s real or perceived safety is challenged or violated.  Extreme bullying, observing a road traffic accident or a work situation that implicates you wrongly in a serious misdemeanour, can result in traumatic stress which may escalate to a so called stress disorder.  The sufferer re-lives the experience and finds everyday life challenging since their trust is lost and they no longer have a safe internal base from which to work.

PTSD counselling can be enormously valuable and helps clients re-create a different internal picture of a safe world in which they feel empowered to act to look after themselves more effectively and navigate life’s challenges.