Trauma Therapy

Why Trauma-Focused Therapy?

One therapy does not fit all. While some problems can be treated by a number of different models, in the case of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), research shows that supportive counselling and therapy that does not focus on the trauma should not be used.

What can I expect from trauma-focused therapy?

You can expect to be working with an experienced and warm professional, with whom you feel safe enough to share in the experience of thinking about the traumatic event(s). You can expect to go at your own pace, and not to be pressured to think about things if you don’t feel ready.

Successful treatment of PTSD involves thinking about what happened in order to make sense of it, overcome troublesome emotions associated with the event, and to give the event a place in the past, rather than re-experiencing it in the present.

Sessions are well planned. You will be aware of when sessions move from the rapport building / planning stages to the sessions in which you will be talking more about the memory. The decision to move towards thinking about the memory is a collaborative one, and you remain in control throughout.

What trauma – focused therapies are available?

There are three main trauma-focused therapies recommended in European and US guidelines:

• Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT).
• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).
• Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET).

How do I know which trauma – focused approach is right for me?

Your psychologist will take a thorough history and in so doing, will be assessing which approach is likely to suit you best. She will discuss with you the treatment options and explain in detail what each one entails, so you and your psychologist can decide together which approach to use.