Counselling for Trauma

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Trauma Counselling Twickenham

Psychological trauma occurs as the result of a traumatic event. Traumatic experiences make us question our beliefs about safety and destroy our assumptions of trust. A traumatic event involves an experience or enduring event(s) that completely overwhelm our ability to cope or understand the ideas and emotions involved with that experience. These experiences are so far outside of what we expect that the events provoke reactions that feel strange to us – these reactions may be unusual and disturbing but they are ‘normal’ and expected responses to abnormal events.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder – PTSD is used to describe lingering psychological symptoms after a traumatic event. If symptoms persist for weeks, this is when you need to seek counselling. When fear is triggered by reminders of trauma, avoidance behaviours are used as a coping mechanism, but postponing counselling could make the situation worse. When terrible things happen like accidents and natural disasters, the psychological and physiological responses can change how you react. After a traumatic event, you may feel trapped in a cycle; re-experiencing it over and over – as if the brain has been taken over with no room for normal functioning. You may feel as if you’re on a heighten state of alert; experiencing overwhelming fear, intrusive images, thoughts and memories connected with the event. Avoiding reminders may seem to inhabit your every waking thought. This may lead to ruptured relationships, isolation and prolonged shock; as you become irritable and angry. An inability to sleep may affect your concentration and memory. This is the body’s automatic response to protecting itself from danger and its instinct to survive.

Symptoms of Trauma

• upsetting memories such as images, thoughts or flashbacks
• nightmares
• insomnia
• emotional detachment
• alcohol and/or drugs
• stress/anxiety
• panic attacks
• anger
• despair
• loss of self-esteem

Causes of Trauma

• abuse
• violence
• overwhelming threat to a person’s integrity
• witness to abuse or violence
• catastrophic events (war, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes etc)
• catastrophic accidents

Counselling In Hounslow For Trauma - counselling may involve a number of approaches which aim at reworking the trauma and its impact; desensitising you to the symptoms, dissociation and assisting clients to safely revisit the traumatic event with a new perspective. Interventions for trauma lead to a ‘reprocessing’ of the event, to reduce its impact: it may still have a place in memory however, the effects will not continue to cause distress. Unwanted thinking patterns, emotional triggers and behavioural responses can be changed over time and replaced with alternative coping strategies, or dealing with the underlying issues. Updated research now means that trauma specialists have effective therapy that can be delivered and tailored to your recovery and also help loved ones cope.

Counselling In Hounslow For Abuse

Abusive relationships are characterised by control and it becomes entrenched. This can be done by force or emotional manipulation. There may be an abusive pattern for one or both partners from childhood and abusers are sometimes victims themselves. Abusive relationships are progressive: the needs of one partner escalate and those of the other disappear along with self-esteem. Abusers are usually needy and often act out deep-seated feelings of shame and inadequacy. They often see themselves as the powerless victims of others and find it difficult to take responsibility for their actions. It can be a familiar pattern that both partners hook into. Cycles of abuse are based on an intense need for love and a terror of being abandoned. Uncontrollable anger, jealousy, the need for power and intruding on other people’s boundaries are traits of abuse.

Types of Abuse

• Verbal abuse
• Constant degrading and insults
• Continuously finding faults in a partner
• Threats
• Bullying
• Sexual abuse
• Physical abuse
• Punching, kicking
• Suffocating
• Homicide
• Neglect/abandonment of Children
• Child abuse

Counselling For Abuse – individual or couples counselling may help assess whether a relationship is abusive or just unbalanced - with one partner or both. Individual counselling may benefit the abused person, to help them detach themselves from a partner’s behaviour. It may restore self-esteem & re-examine healthy ways of relating. There are problems with taking responsibility for abusive behaviour; often the victim assuming blame and the abuser adopting a “poor me” stance. But help is available.