Anyone who has ever suffered a traumatic event, such as abuse, car crash, violence, loss of a loved one, knows the suffering that occurs in the immediate aftermath of trauma. Unwanted distressing memories typically replay over and over in our minds. We may feel jumpy and on edge, tearful and frightened. We may try hard to avoid thinking about what happened, avoid places and people who remind us of the event and withdraw from friends. Usually these symptoms calm down over a period of time but for a number of people they continue, if not become more frequent.

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe stress reaction that occurs. The memory of the traumatic event is usually unbearable and leads to a number of symptoms as people try to push the memory out of their mind and avoid reminders that trigger its recall. Symptoms of PTSD  fall into three categories: re-experiencing, avoidance and arousal.

What can we do to help?

Our recommendation for PTSD would be a CBT and/or EMDR approach  to support you to reduce your symptoms to a manageable level according to your individual therapy goals.

We could offer support to you and your family for a better understanding of complex trauma.

This is in accordance to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. NICE reviews all the available evidence about treatments for physical and mental health conditions, and produces guidance about which treatments should be offered.

This is available at www.nice.org.uk/CG31