Trauma
The term trauma is used quite a lot in everyday conversation. There are a lot of misconceptions about trauma, so it is worth taking some time to clarify the difference between trauma, PTSD, and C-PTSD.
Trauma
Trauma is an umbrella term that can capture a wide range of experiences.
In general, trauma refers to deeply distressing or disturbing experiences that overwhelms a person’s ability to cope. Trauma is often associated with feelings of helplessness, vulnerability, fear, anger, and shame. Trauma can cause physical symptoms (e.g., muscle tension, headaches, digestive issues, changes in sleep and eating habits), cognitive symptoms (e.g., difficulty concentrating or making decisions), and interpersonal symptoms (e.g., intimacy and trust issues in relationships).
It is important to note that not everyone who experiences trauma will develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or Complex-PTSD (C-PTSD).
PTSD
PTSD is a specific mental health condition that can develop as a result of experiencing trauma. Traumatic events involve exposure to – or fear of – death or injury, including physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, neglect, accidents, natural disasters, war, or the sudden loss of a loved one.
PTSD symptoms last longer than a month and cause a significant impact on the person’s feelings of distress or ability to carry out activities of day to day living.
The key features of PTSD include:
- Intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, or nightmares related to the trauma
- Avoidance of reminders related to the trauma
- Negative changes in thoughts and mood
- Increased arousal, hyper-vigilance, and reactivity
C-PTSD
C-PTSD is a term that is used to describe reoccurring, chronic trauma such as prolonged child abuse, domestic violence, or ongoing human rights violations.
C-PTSD often involves some of the following features:
- Repeated and ongoing,
- Difficult or impossible to escape from,
- Occurs within a personal relationship,
- May begin in childhood so that it affects the child’s development,
- Is covered up, kept secret, or denied.
C-PTSD can have wide-reaching effects. This is not simply due to the repeated episodes of trauma, but also because these events often occur in secrecy and can cause feelings of shame and inability to ask for help.
Trauma, PTSD, and C-PTSD are all different, and all are deserving of support.
It is important to find a therapist who is well versed in the nuances of trauma and can make appropriate treatment recommendations. Psychologists are trained in both clinical assessment and treatment and could help you better understand how trauma has impacted you and your life.
Trust and safety are paramount in the treatment of trauma. The most important predictor for treatment success is a strong therapeutic alliance – meaning that you like your therapist and feel comfortable talking to them. Trauma therapy should take a gradual and slow pace.
At our clinic, we focus on fostering safety in your body first by using somatic therapy techniques to help regulate your nervous system and shift your body out “fight/flight/freeze” mode. Once you can access feelings of connections and safety in your physical body, we focus on understanding the impact of trauma on your beliefs about yourself, others, and the world at large. From here, we continue to work collaboratively with you to put together a treatment plan that feels good to you. For those who are drawn to creative pursuits, using creative modalities such as creative fiction, poetry, painting, and dramatic arts can be helpful adjuncts to trauma healing.
Approaches
Here is a quick look at some of the top approaches we use for addressing trauma:
Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy is a body-based therapeutic approach that aims to foster a deeper awareness of how our bodies store and express emotions, memories, and trauma. It emphasizes the importance of the mind-body connection and being able to notice how negative experiences and emotions may manifest in the body. In connecting with our body and our physical experiences, we better learn how to regulate our emotions, release tension, and calm an overstimulated nervous system. Somatic therapy integrates elements of breathwork, body scans, movement, grounding techniques, and mindfulness.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on helping people understand how their thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and body are connected. In CBT, individuals learn new skills that help them to reframe negative thought patterns, make changes in their automatic behaviour responses, and learn effective strategies to calm their body. CBT focuses on developing a trusting and collaborative relationship between client and therapist. It is generally considered to be a short-term and goal-oriented therapy.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a form of psychotherapy that helps people accept their thoughts and feelings, while also engaging in committed, value-driven action. ACT recognizes that many people engage in emotional avoidance and as such, treatment is focused on helping individuals acknowledge and accept difficult thoughts, feelings, and experiences rather than trying to control or avoid them. ACT is based on the principle that trying to control or eliminate unwanted thoughts and feelings can often lead to more suffering. ACT emphasizes the importance of exploring and understanding our own personal values and engaging in meaningful, values-based activities even in the presence of difficult thoughts and feelings.
Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT)
Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT) is a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes the importance of emotions in the human experience. It aims to help people better understand and regulate their emotions. The goal of EFIT is to increase our emotional awareness by being able to clearly identify our emotions, develop skills to transform our emotions, and ascertain meaning from them to help guide our thoughts and actions in helpful and effective ways. EFIT also focuses on strengthening our sense of self and relationships with others. EFIT acknowledges the influence of our past, especially as it relates to the development of our attachment styles, communication patterns, vulnerabilities and sensitivities, and the ways in which we protect and defend ourselves in our relationships. It is considered an experiential therapy, where these emotions are accessed and processed in the present moment.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is an evidence-based psychotherapy approach designed to help people heal from traumatic or distressing experiences by reprocessing memories that have not been properly stored by the brain. Guided by a trained therapist, clients briefly focus on troubling memories while engaging in bilateral stimulation (most commonly side-to-side eye movements, tapping, or sounds). This can help reduce the emotional intensity of those memories and allows them to be integrated more adaptively. Based on the Adaptive Information Processing (AIP) model, EMDR recognizes that traumatic memories are stored differently than other memories, often remaining “stuck” and easily triggered by sights, sounds, or sensations that make the past feel like the present. EMDR helps repair this disruption so memories can be recalled without overwhelming distress, while also supporting a shift toward more positive beliefs about oneself (e.g., “I am safe now” or “I am worthy”). Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR does not require extensive discussion of the traumatic event, making it less overwhelming for some individuals. It is most commonly used to treat PTSD and has also been shown to be effective for complex trauma, anxiety, depression, phobias, grief, chronic pain, and other distressing life experiences.
Waitlist Updates
We are currently accepting new clients for our Social Work team only.
Our Psychology team is not accepting new referrals at this time.
