Posttraumatic Stress (PTSD) and Trauma

When someone has PTSD they re-experience an extremely traumatic event again and again by having flashbacks, recurrent dreams or nightmares, and other sensations and emotions that are triggered and related to the trauma. Many experiences can lead to PTSD, such as a close encounter with death or being seriously injured (i.e., sexual assault, robbery, car accident, being taken hostage, serving in war), witnessing a death, injury or threat to another person, learning suddenly that a loved one had an unexpected or violent death or was seriously harmed, and more. Traumatic events are accompanied by intense fear, helplessness, or horror as well as heightened and prolonged stress. These factors make it more difficult to cope with the trauma and the experience almost seems trapped in the person’s mind and memory.

Take courage, healing is possible. And we can help.

In counseling we will help you process the traumatic experience in a safe way, teaching you how to cope and journeying with toward healing, so that your life will no longer be controlled by the flashbacks, dreams, memories, or triggers. Counseling may include talking through the experience, journaling about it or using other creative medium to express your experience, learning how to remain grounded during flashbacks, envisioning a new ending to the traumatic event, creating a balanced life that aids in managing stress and anxiety, understanding your triggers and discovering how to overcome them, prayer, and inviting the love of God into the pain you continue to experience.