Trauma

Trauma is a shock to the whole system - and can have physical, emotional and psychological consequences.   Major threats to your life or the lives of others, or witnessing disturbing events are obvious traumatic events.  However, whether something is traumatic to an individual person is a result of how they experience the situation.    Some of the major traumas I have worked with include sexual and physical assault, road traffic accidents, other life-threatening accidents, operations and other medical interventions, problematic births, wartime experiences and torture.  

Some people who experience these have gone on to develop symptoms of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).  These symptoms can include flashbacks, nightmares, being hyper-alert, avoiding reminders of the trauma, and feeling generally unsafe in the world.  EMDR is a very efficient and focused therapy which helps to treat the symptoms of PTSD, and usually has good results in terms of helping with the distressing symptoms.

Sometimes traumatic experiences have gone on over a long period of time and are not necessarily 'major' traumas but a long series of 'mini' traumas.  For example, a child who has had a neglectful or emotionally difficult parent, may have had a long history of difficult experiences which have been traumatic.  This developmental trauma could result in a variety of effects in adult life, including depression and anxiety problems.  It can also lead to experiences of dissociation, including depersonalisation and derealisation.   These dissociative experiences can be very unpleasant, frightening and disorientating.   I am interested in helping people to understand their dissociation, learn to manage it, and to treat the underlying traumatic experiences which have led to it.