Specialization: Trauma

'Trauma' is an event, either experienced or witnessed, that represents a threat to one’s life or well being. People can and do overcome the overwhelming impact of trauma.

People can and do overcome the overwhelming impact of trauma. Trauma is defined as an event that is either experienced or witnessed that represents a threat to one’s life or well being. Responses to trauma include intense fear and helplessness. The focus of trauma treatment is on one’s own experience and the meaning one attaches to the event.

Loss is a key component of the trauma experience. One may experience a loss of boundaries, trust, feelings of safety, attachment, protection and privacy.

Examples of trauma include sexual, physical, verbal, and emotional abuse, grief and loss, sudden illness and physical injuries, victims of crime and witnesses of crime, victims of natural disasters, terrorism, neglect, instant changes in financial means, substance abuse and life with a substance abuser.

Some signs of trauma include inability to trust, lack of or limited concentration, feeling uneasy in social situations, risk taking, substance abuse, recurring thoughts of the event or “reliving” the event, anger, and feeling of agitation.