Trauma Therapy
Has A Traumatic Event Reshaped The Way You See The World?
Have you experienced something so painful that you find yourself constantly checking your surroundings, looking over your shoulder for danger? Is your life being controlled by:
A persistent sense of anxiety, fear, horror, shame, guilt, or sadness?
Flashbacks, nightmares, or intrusive thoughts and memories of the event?
Mood swings, anger issues, or negative thoughts/beliefs about yourself?
Perhaps you’re looking into trauma therapy because you’re tired of feeling on edge all the time, as if something bad is always about to happen.
Or maybe you’re a survivor of war, domestic violence, or sexual assault, and it’s left you feeling like people and the world in general are no longer safe.
Avoidance Is A Big Part Of How Trauma/PTSD Manifests
If you’re coping with trauma or PTSD, it can feel like your thoughts, memories, and emotions are out of control. You’re always waiting for the other shoe to drop, so you spend a lot of time avoiding people, places, and situations that feel even the slightest bit threatening. That, in turn, disrupts relationships and compromises goals and aspirations, driving you further into isolation.
You might use work, exercise, or even substance use as an escape only to have the negative self-talk and catastrophic thinking kick in once you’re alone with your thoughts. You may even believe that what happened was somehow your fault—but rest assured, you didn’t ask for this, and you deserve support.
Whatever you’re going through, our trauma therapists at Live Well Practice want to help free you from the ghosts of the past. Working together, you can learn to neutralize negative thinking, enhance your psychological flexibility, and break the cycle of avoidance, allowing you to function better and live the life you were meant to.
Trauma Is An Inescapable Part Of Being Human
Regardless of age, race, gender, or sexual orientation—trauma does not discriminate, and its impact is undeniable. Whether you’ve survived an act of violence, endured abuse, or witnessed something horrible happen to another person, that experience can dramatically reshape the way you view yourself, the world, and life itself.
In lieu of treatment, those who struggle with trauma/PTSD will often spend a lot of time trying to process their pain on their own. When they’re not successful, people often blame themselves, further distorting their worldview and how they see themselves.
Others misinterpret faulty coping strategies, like avoidance and distractions, as long-term solutions, which inevitably disrupts relationships, hobbies, career goals, and so much more. Because fear and avoidance are such huge parts of how trauma manifests, many people simply don’t even consider treatment.
However, at Live Well Practice, we strive to provide a safe, supportive environment where the past cannot hurt you anymore. Whether you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or wounded on a level you just can’t heal from on your own, trauma counseling can help you find your way back to yourself.
Trauma Therapy Allows You To Create Real, Lasting Change
Because trauma affects people on both a physiological and neurological level, healing requires a targeted approach to therapy that goes beyond merely talking about the past.
That’s why we’ll tailor counseling sessions to your unique situation, using trauma-specific interventions like Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.
We also provide various PTSD screening tools, including PHQ9 and PCL5 (self-report) assessments, to measure weekly success and guide treatment sessions. Whether you’re struggling with the impact of childhood trauma, complex PTSD, or painful emotional wounds from the past, therapy truly can help you heal and create lasting change in your life.
Curious About What Happens In Trauma Therapy?
When you first meet with your trauma/PTSD counselor, we’ll open up the floor to you, giving you space to share what brought you into therapy and how you’ve been coping day-to-day. We’ll discuss your personal history, current struggles, and the psychology of trauma/PTSD to help you better understand your symptoms.
We can talk about how you perceive yourself and what you would like your life to look like in six months. Then, we can start exploring our trauma-informed interventions as well as what you are looking for in a therapist, including their qualifications.
At the same time, we can go over various logistical details, such as confidentiality, cancellation fees, and setting up appointments through our scheduling assistant.
Some Of The Tools We Utilize In Trauma Treatment
Our approach to counseling draws from three targeted trauma interventions:
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)—the trauma-informed version of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)—is designed to help clients reframe negative self-concepts and worldviews into healthier, more balanced perspectives.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy involves using bilateral stimulation to reduce the emotional charge of unprocessed memories associated with a traumatic event.
Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy helps clients overcome patterns of avoidance and embrace the idea that certain people, places, and things are actually safe.
Each trauma intervention is unique in its own sense, but they all include a lot of mindfulness, deep breathing, and other grounding techniques. Skills often focus on restructuring thoughts around trauma, identifying/resolving memories sustaining PTSD, and learning how to minimize avoidance behaviors. Regardless of their differences, these tried-and-true trauma interventions share the same goal: to eliminate trauma/PTSD symptoms and empower clients to go on living their best lives.
You Don’t Have To Continue Being Controlled By Trauma
Starting trauma-focused therapy is understandably hard. While the prospect of thinking and reflecting on the past in order to heal may be frightening, by the end of treatment, you will likely see a significant reduction in trauma/PTSD symptoms.
Avoiding people and situations, being controlled by painful beliefs and memories, missing out on life because you never feel safe—it doesn’t have to continue. You can exorcise those old ghosts from your past. You can feel safe again. You can take control and start truly living.
Still Have Questions Or Concerns About Trauma Therapy?
I worry about how much trauma counseling is going to cost.
We offer a variety of ways to help with the cost of therapy. We have trauma/PTSD therapists who offer reduced fees, some who accept in-network coverage, and others who provide out-of-network care.
Trauma interventions can also be completed in a short period, typically 12 to 16 weeks, depending on the intervention used and nature of the trauma. In any case, we’re certain we can find someone who can work around your financial concerns.
I feel ashamed for seeing a trauma therapist because my experience wasn’t that bad.
Whether you’re considering counseling to help you navigate grief and loss, unresolved childhood neglect, or a vicarious experience that has you stuck in the past, trauma/PTSD is a complex issue that affects everyone differently. There is no shame in caring for yourself. No matter how insignificant your experience seems, therapy is a powerful way to make sure the past doesn’t end up compromising relationships, work, or any other part of your life.
Will I need medication in order to get better?
That's a great question and always worth exploring. In more severe cases, medication can be beneficial for getting clients to a place where they feel grounded and stable enough to facilitate the work of therapy.
Ultimately, however, the choice to integrate medication into trauma treatment is yours and yours alone. That said, our practice works with a few providers who can collaborate with your counselor if you desire to supplement your trauma recovery with medication management in addition to therapy.
Let Us Help You Leave The Past Where It Belongs
If you’re tired of living in the past, looking over your shoulder, and waiting for the worst to happen, working with a trauma counselor can restore your sense of peace, safety, and trust in the world. To get started, please contact our virtual assistant at (201) 855-9402 for your free, 15-minute consultation.
Live Well Practice offers virtual trauma treatment for adults of all ages in NYC and throughout the state of New York.
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