Treating Trauma / PTSD

What happens when you are traumatized:

When an individual experiences a traumatic and distressing event (for example, a car accident) or is exposed to repeated distressing circumstances (childhood abuse or witnessing/experiencing domestic violence), the traumatic memory and feelings are stored in the limbic system of the brain which is associated with emotions and physical sensations in an isolated memory network disconnected from the cortex, a part of the brain where language is used to store memories. When an individual experiences a trauma reminder, the brain's limbic system can be triggered, and painful feelings (such as anger, fear, panic, sadness) and body sensations can occur even though the memory of the specific trauma may have been forgotten.*

Evidence Based Practices:

Post-traumatic stress disorder can be treated through use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) which involves bilateral stimulation of the left and right sides of the brain to reprocess the traumatic memory and incorporate the trauma memory into the rest of the brain such that trauma memories and trauma reminders do not have such an intense impact on one's emotions and physical reactions. TF-CBT is another helpful evidence-based method for treating PTSD in children ages 3 to 18.

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*adapted from getselfhelp.co.uk