Trauma Therapy

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders defines trauma as direct or indirect exposure to real or potential scenarios like surviving a natural disaster, losing a loved one, experiencing physical or sexual abuse, or sustaining a substantial injury. Trauma can take root in numerous ways, whether after a one-time incident or after repeated exposures to the inciting event, and is associated with all types of harm — physical, emotional, and life-threatening.

Seeking trauma therapy is an important step in healing and building a more stable, fulfilling life.

What Is Trauma Therapy?

Trauma-focused therapy is treatment designed to address your specific trauma and help you begin processing and healing from its effects on your well-being. It's different from trauma-informed care, which is a more generalized term that applies to any provider or program that takes proactive steps to be a safe space for individuals with trauma.

While many symptoms of trauma can dissipate over time, it can have a lasting and debilitating impact on some. Everyone experiences trauma in their own way. It depends on your unique makeup of prior mental health, family history, upbringing, and lived experience.

Unresolved trauma can disrupt your daily life, making it challenging or impossible to maintain healthy relationships or handle the responsibilities of a job or family. It can also be intertwined with coexisting conditions like substance use disorder, depression, or anxiety.

Trauma therapy is conducted by clinicians and practitioners with specialized experience in modalities that have proven beneficial for people with conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

How Does Trauma Therapy Work?

All forms of trauma therapy have the same goal — to help you feel safer in your own body and life, empower you with tools or processes to cope with triggers and manage your response, and reach a place where your trauma does not dictate how you live your life.

Your therapist will work alongside you to determine the best possible treatment plan, which may incorporate one or more of these common modalities:

EMDR

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) uses bilateral stimulation to reprocess memories associated with your trauma. This typically takes the form of side-to-side eye movements. In an EMDR-driven session, your therapist will use auditory or visual equipment as they guide you through various images or physical experiences relating to the traumatic incident. As EMDR generally involves an eight-stage approach, you'll likely need multiple sessions to begin seeing the effects.

Only engage in EMDR therapy with a trained provider to minimize the chance of worsening your symptoms. They have the tools and experience to facilitate safe, controlled sessions that never push you further than you're ready to go.

CBT and TF-CBT

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a form of talk-based psychotherapy where your therapist helps you notice, identify, and address your thought patterns to change how you interpret and respond to various stressors, triggers, and situations. It may be especially helpful if your traumatic experience has led to feelings of self-blame or an inability to trust yourself or others.

TF-CBT, or trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, is a subtype of CBT that incorporates two phases — stabilization and processing, followed by skill integration and closure — to address trauma.

CBT or TF-CBT may be used on its own or in combination with other forms of treatment, depending on your symptoms, the severity of your trauma, and how each therapy session unfolds.

Exposure Therapy

Multiple types of exposure therapy exist, but they all operate on the concept that repeatedly facing an event can encourage the brain to interpret and respond to it differently. Exposure therapy may involve direct exposure to specific triggers or exposure through listening, reading, or imagining. A licensed therapist with experience in exposure therapy can help you determine the best course of action for your unique symptoms and experience.

It's important to note that a good therapist will never force exposure on you — they will gently guide you through each step, only after explaining what to expect, and only after you express your willingness to continue.

When to Seek Trauma Therapy

Having bad dreams, difficulty focusing, or other distressing symptoms are normal after going through something difficult. But if those symptoms do not improve over time or they begin to interfere with your life, it's time to seek help from a compassionate, licensed therapist.

Possible symptoms include:

• Feeling frequent worry, anxiety, sadness, or fear.
• Crying often or for no obvious reason.
• Difficulty thinking or focusing.
• Feeling intense anger or irritation.
• Experiencing flashbacks or nightmares.
• Being unable to sleep or not feeling rested upon waking.
• Feeling helpless or deeply afraid.
• Having headaches or digestive issues.
• Self-isolating or avoiding places, people, or possible triggers.
• Feeling jumpy or getting startled easily.
• Feeling flushed, sweaty, or like your heart is racing.

Certain people may be more prone to developing trauma-related disorders than others, such as those without a strong social support system or with a preexisting mental health condition. Even if you don't feel like you meet the criteria for PTSD, trauma therapy can provide a safe place to explore your feelings and learn how to manage disruptive symptoms.

How to Choose a Trauma Therapist

Certain treatment approaches can be dangerous if not guided by an experienced practitioner. It's essential to choose someone who is licensed in your state and offers evidence-based treatment. Also, make sure the therapist is someone you feel comfortable with. While it may take a few sessions before you feel ready to open up fully, be aware of a few red flags that may indicate a bad therapist.

It helps to search through a platform that offers video introductions and the ability to filter by credential or specialty. While you might feel drawn to a certain modality, you may find that a different option or combination of strategies works best once you begin sessions. Choosing a therapist with experience in more than one area may be helpful.

If a therapist offers a free consultation, this can be a great time to get a feel for their communication style and personality before scheduling your first session with them.

Start Your Healing Journey Today

You deserve to live a life that isn't controlled by trauma — let Zencare help by connecting you with a verified, licensed therapist through our easy-to-use directory. Our intuitive filters and video introductions help you understand each therapist's approach and style before booking a session. You can also narrow your options to the most relevant and qualified for your unique case by using our matching quiz.

Start your search today to get started.