Trauma

To be alive is sometimes to feel pain. Although we can process many painful experiences and grow beyond them, sometimes an experience is so traumatic that it becomes frozen in our brain. PTSD occurs when we re-experience a memory as if the event were happening right now. Such vivid memories can result from early childhood experiences, abuse, violent events, and other painful and unexpected occurrences that leave a deep impact on us.  

Alongside talk therapy and other trauma treatment approaches, I have training in EMDR (eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing). By reprocessing traumatic memories in a supportive counselling setting, clients can reduce the intensity of the distressing memory experience. They can move on with their lives, feeling greater joy and fulfillment and less stress, anxiety and depression.  EMDR is safe and supported by extensive clinical research.

Some traumatic experiences are episodic; that is, they occurred on one specific occasion, such as witnessing a violent accident or event. Others are chronic; they have occurred repeatedly over time in a person’s life. In either case, the impact can be long term and substantial. Counselling can be helpful in giving clients the tools they need to work through different types of traumatic experiences and memories.