Trauma Therapy

Trauma is a complex topic. Trauma itself is not a mental health condition, but experiencing trauma can lead to associated disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues. It can also provoke concerns like substance abuse or poorer physical health later in life. 

Trauma is about our responses to an event, a series of events or set of experiences that shake and shape our world. It’s not really about the event itself, but more about how the experience impacts our nervous systems. 

Trauma therapy can help you cope with trauma, whether it’s caused by a one-time event, or an ongoing or long-lasting situation.

• Common forms of trauma that therapy can address:
• Abuse
• Abandonment
• Accidents
• Bullying
• Crime 
• Death of a loved one
• Divorce
• Domestic abuse or violence
• Homelessness 
• Illness 
• Imprisonment
• Injury 
• Job loss
• Life-threatening circumstances
• Natural disasters
• Near death experience
• Neglect
• Racism
• Sexual assault
• Terrorism
• Violence
• Witnessing an accident, death, or traumatic situation

Trauma therapy can help you address the traumatic event and process your feelings and emotions. 2  It can give you the opportunity to face your fears in a safe space and learn coping skills that can help you function on a day-to-day basis.

Common therapeutic approaches used when working with trauma include:

• Trauma-informed expressive arts therapy
• Psychotherapy
• Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT)
• Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
• Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
• Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT)