Have you experienced a traumatic event? Are you suffering from lingering fear and anxiety? Do you feel like you no longer have any control over how you think, feel, and behave?
Posttraumatic stress disorder—also known as PTSD—is a mental health challenge that may occur in individuals who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a terrorist act, an act of war, a serious accident, rape, or any other violent personal assault. PTSD therapy at Schilling Counseling provides a supportive and structured space for individuals who have experienced these distressing or overwhelming events to begin the healing process. Therapy is tailored to meet you where you are, helping you move forward at a pace that feels manageable and respectful of your story.
The Value of Trauma Counseling
It is believed that PTSD affects nearly four percent of the U.S. adult population. While it is usually linked with veterans who’ve experienced combat, PTSD occurs in all people regardless of age, race, nationality, or culture. In fact, women are twice as likely to experience PTSD as men. With this condition so widespread, it’s easy to see how important it is that resources be available. Through compassionate counseling, individuals can safely explore their experiences, better understand their emotional responses, and begin to rebuild a sense of stability and control.
What Are the Symptoms of PTSD?
PTSD can present in a variety of ways, and symptoms often extend beyond what many people expect. People with PTSD often experience:
- Intense thoughts and feelings related to their traumatic experiences, which can last for a long time after the initial event.
- Reliving the event through flashbacks and nightmares.
- Heightened anxiety, irritability, or a constant sense of being on edge.
- Avoidance, where certain people, places, conversations, or situations are intentionally avoided because they trigger distress.
- Sleep disturbances, emotional numbness, and difficulty concentrating.
Ordinary sounds or incidents, such as a door banging or accidental touch in a crowd, may cause a strong, uncontrollable reaction. Because these symptoms can vary in intensity and form, working with a counselor can help bring clarity to what you’re experiencing while providing tools to navigate those challenges more effectively.
How Can PTSD Treatment Help?
There are a variety of treatments that can be used to treat PTSD. However, there are three specific techniques that are consistently gaining research-based evidence of their effectiveness in successfully treating PTSD:
Cognitive Processing Therapy
This modality focuses on how a person perceives a traumatic event and processes it. A therapist can help their client work through stuck points, which are certain thoughts related to the trauma that prevents the person from recovering.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR stands uses bilateral sensory input such as side-to-side eye movements to stimulate the brain to process difficult thoughts, memories, and emotions.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is a form of talk therapy that focuses on how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are related to one another. It’s a large area of mental health treatment, with a range of behavioral therapies falling underneath this umbrella. The goal of a CBT therapist is to help a client with PTSD return to a place of hope with a greater sense of being in control of their thoughts and behaviors. Exposure therapy is one type of CBT that may be applied to PTSD.
There Are Options for You
If you or a loved one suffer from PTSD and would like to explore treatment options, please reach out to the team at Schilling Counseling. We have personally seen amazing transformations through PTSD therapy and want to offer the help you need to enjoy life again. Request a consultation today to learn more about our telehealth services in Washington and California!