Trauma Therapy

What is trauma?

Trauma is the result of an event that is so painful that the person prefers to shrink away from the memory of the event, denies awareness of it, and represses it. It might seem easier not to think about the incident because we don’t want to face those unpleasant emotions again, but by repressing the trauma, the past event continues to haunt us daily.

I compare repressed trauma with a splinter that has been allowed to embed deep into the skin, becoming infected and extremely painful at the merest touch. Yes, pulling out a splinter is painful, but not as painful as living with the infection for months or even years. A lot of mental and emotional energy is spent every day trying to avoid touching the splinter lest it hurt us again. With trauma therapy, we remove the splinter once and for all, allowing you to heal.    

Traumatic experiences often involve a threat to life or safety, but any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed and isolated can result in trauma. Examples of traumatic events include hi-jacking, accidents, a violent attack, the loss of a loved-one, divorce, surgery, bullying, the loss of a job, a humiliating experience, to mention but a few.

Symptoms of reppressed trauma include depression, anxiety, flashbacks, sleep problems, aggressive behaviour, memory loss, headaches or migraines, fatigue, feelings of hopelessness, trouble concentrating, irritability, and other unwanted feelings & emotions.

How trauma therapy can help

Trauma therapy can help to minimize and remove the impact of trauma, rebuild your life with a sense of joy and meaning, reframe the bad experience with a more positive outlook, and achieve a sense of wholeness and acceptance.

I use the Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR) method to help an individual release the emotional charge from the traumatic incident in a safe and caring environment. It is a relatively quick, but highly skilled, technique which has proven to be effective in addressing and resolving most of the symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other unwanted after-effects of trauma. My aim is to resolve the trauma within one session.

Once we have looked at the past incident from all angles it loses its ability to hurt us. In the process, we release our resistance, as well as the painful emotion and negative thought patterns contained in that past trauma. As a result, the traumatic event loses its power over us and we become whole again.