“I no longer feel shame or fear, and my relationships have improved tremendously after therapy with Dr. Hacker” (former client, age 26)What is ptsd?
What is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD? PTSD can result from distressing events in life or prolonged experiences and patterns that have created pain and discomfort in our inner and outer experiences to more acute and severe experiences that were either life threatening or witnessing something life threatening. PTSD symptoms can range from be mild to severe, and most people have experienced some trauma, for example, the pandemic of 2020. Have you had an experience where another person has devalued you or put you down over and over again? That can be referred to as trauma. Have you suffered from sexual assault, physical abuse, been a witness to war or near death experiences? These are all trauma. Suffering from intrusive thoughts and images and difficulties in having close relationships are all symptoms of the experience of trauma and could mean you have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
ptsd recovery
There is good news for you if you suffer from trauma or anxiety. Resolving the way your brain and body respond to traumatic memories and anxiety can be greatly shortened with certain techniques.
Therapy can help you heal from PTSD through building a trusting therapeutic relationship, a trained therapist, and willingness on the part of the client to work with your nervous system and brain to help rewire linkages that are causing you emotional pain and old patterns that may be giving you trouble in your relationships.
My practice offers EMDR, (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), an integrative psychotherapy approach especially designed for resolution of trauma and negative beliefs and memories held in the brain and body (EMDRIA.org). I also utilize other tools such as meditation (which helps calm the parasympathetic nervous system), somatic experiencing (which helps free the trauma and emotions from the body), and Internal Family Systems (working with the experiences inside you that are in the driver’s seat), guided imagery, and others. Working together, we can address symptoms in your mind, body, and spirit that can free you from the long term unwanted effects of trauma.
Treatment Options for PTSD:
Ketamine Assisted Therapy
EMDR - eye movements that stimulate the brain to heal painful emotions and memories by moving them or reprocessing them so that they no longer intrude in your everyday life.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) - working with different “parts” of yourself to gain more confidence in your relationship with yourself and others.
Meditation
Somatic Experiencing - helps release the stuck emotions and patterns from the body
Emotional Freedom Technique or tapping therapy - easily learned skill that utilizes pressure points. It can be used anytime anywhere to reduce anxiety, negative feelings, thoughts, and beliefs.
Energy work such as Reiki, which is found to calm the nervous system and balance emotions.
PTSD THERAPIST
It is very important you find the right therapist for you, and that you find one who actually does have the training and experience to help you heal. There are many people who call themselves trauma therapists. Look into the training and experience of anyone you choose to help you. Contact me for a free consultation
