Fabrizio Dellabernarda Psychotherapy

Traumatic events are events that we witnessed or that happened to us that overwhelmed our Central Nervous System. Those are situations in which the person felt helpless and there was no room for fight or flight. Examples of traumatic events include being in a war zone, being raped, or being in a car accident. In other instances the person was exposed to multiple invasive events for a prolonged period of time as in the case of domestic violence or child abuse. This is identified as complex trauma. A number of people that experienced traumatic events suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD symptoms may differ considerably for different people and they may appear soon after the traumatic event or months later. Symptoms for PTSD are divided in four main categories:

• Re-experiencing symptoms. Those include intrusive memories of the traumatic events, nightmares, and flashbacks (where the person dissociates while reliving the traumatic event)

• Avoidance symptoms. Some people avoid situations or people that are perceived dangerous since they might be triggering memories of the traumatic event

• Negative mood and beliefs. Some people's view of themselves and the world changes after the trauma. They might feel shame, guilt, or anger and perceive the world as a dangerous place where people cannot be trusted

• Feeling keyed up. Some people become hypervigilant, they startle easily, and have trouble concentrating and sleeping.

If you have a combination of these symptoms that are interfering with your life for a prolonged period of time you might want to seek professional help. Therapy can be quite effective for decreasing PTSD symptoms. We would work together using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a technique that has proven quite effective in removing the blocks that the trauma created in your system (both in certain parts of your body and brain). This will allow your healing process to start and be maintained over time.