Dealing With Trauma

Trauma is a severe issue in the world of mental health, and rightfully so. Co-occurrence of trauma and other mental health problems, like substance abuse, is highly prevalent, and every individual will likely encounter some form of traumatic occasion at some point. Regarding mental health, trauma is a pandemic issue–we cannot evade the effects on ourselves, our neighborhoods, and our families.

Fortunately, healing from these incidents is a prospect, and although you may not always require help from a psychotherapist, it can be beneficial.

Because traumatic experiences are present in our neighborhoods and daily lives, the issue warrants profound dialogue. Clients and professionals are continually referring to this notion and to triggers, signs, and various ideas on how to rebound from traumatic experiences. Yet, often, mental health professionals swear by specific rigid arrangements for approaching trauma during the therapeutic process. For this cause, it is critical to creating a straightforward and more adaptable way to broach this topic and understand the facts about trauma-informed counseling in Richmond, VA, and the applicability of its service.

Thus, any single approach may not apply to each individual and traumatic incident. As with any psychotherapy, counselors must tailor the intervention toward the unique person and their specific needs. While maintaining some insight into the origins and facts associated with the psychology of traumatic incidents, this individualized approach will prove most valuable to trauma survivors.

Trauma is generally accepted as a profoundly uncomfortable or disturbing emotional experience. Hence, when we consider traumatic events, we often imagine horrific abuse, tragic deaths, or excessive violence. Of course, these events are incredibly traumatic, but trauma doesn't always demand the shock facet commonly associated with this concept. Instead, as clarified, trauma is merely any event experienced as being extraordinarily distressing or emotionally problematic.

This might incorporate various conditions of tragedy, abuse, or even painful relational backgrounds that can vary from abandonment and dependency to the inability to meet one's physical or emotional demands. For instance, parental divorce, financial hardship, car accidents, sickness, or even the death of an acquaintance can all be highly distressing.

Any of these circumstances have great potential to induce profound distress, which in turn allows for past traumatic experiences to have enduring emotional and behavioral consequences. Moreover, these past events can genuinely influence our self-perceptions, backgrounds in relationships, and general perception of our world. In this sense, working with trauma is a psychodynamic strategy; we aren't always completely aware of specific traumatic incidents and may instead suffer from the frequently unconscious residual consequences. You can do the psychodynamic work of healing trauma by being conscious of the experience's influence and by working through the incident by being present with any associated ideas or emotions.

In working through trauma, the goal is to relieve these adverse effects by cautiously exploring the experience and the associated perceptions. As with any therapeutic technique, patience and relentless efforts to prevent re-traumatization for the survivor are vital. With time, we can remember to cope with any persistent feelings of rage, shame, guilt, or anxiety, while also remembering to question any negative self-perceptions that the traumatic incident may have triggered.

We hope this information helps you better understand how to cope with trauma. Contact us today if you need counseling in Richmond, VA. We want to help you live your best life.