Therapy & Counselling for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Imagine the below scenarios:
“I was crossing the road on the highway when a heavy truck hit a passing car and smashed it killing everyone on the car. There was blood all over and dead bodies in front of my eyes. I froze witnessing the horrific scene before me”
“I was driving home when a group of four men stopped my car and forced me to exit. Two men held me very tight while the other two robbed my belongings in the car. They hit my head on to the bonnet and left me alone.”
“My mother was the whole world to me. I saw her suffer from the final stages of cancer, struggling each day and left me all of a sudden. My world came crashing down and I hated cancer for taking her away from me.”
“There was constant disturbance and violence at home. The conflict between parents and physical abuse has left a deep scar in my mind.”
The above scenarios are examples of traumatic events that occur in our lives. We may not anticipate them but they do happen without any warning. Any traumatic event causes stress in us for a few days after the event. It may gradually fade away with time. However, in some cases, the symptoms that begin after a traumatic incidence continue to haunt even after months or years. Also, in other cases, the impact can start showing up much later after the incidence. The entire distress phenomenon is termed as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSTD).
How to identify PTSD?
The typical symptoms of PTSD can be as below:
• Haunting memories of the trauma
• Nightmares of the incident
• Fear in remembering the details of the incident
• Trying to suppress the memory to avoid disturbing thoughts of loss and pain
• Flashbacks, experiencing the same kind of trauma
• Avoiding places where the trauma took place
• Anger while thinking of trauma
• Anxiety and depression
• Irritability
• Emotional withdrawal from closed ones
• Isolation
• Giving in to alcohol and drugs
• Sleep Troubles
• Negative thoughts and hopelessness
• Detesting life
• Self-harm to avoid recurring thoughts of the incident
• In worst cases, suicidal thoughts
The symptoms cause a lot of distress in individuals. If the symptoms last for more than a month and seen affecting day-to-day activities, therapy and counselling with a professional should not be delayed.
What is the procedure for treating PTSD with Therapy & Counselling?
PTSD sufferers have a lot of stress and anxiety going through them. Worry about getting into the terrific moments run in the background affecting their concentration and focusing abilities. A safe and warm place which is non-judgmental and confidential like Aware puts them in their comfort zones.
The therapist with her empathetic listening ears talks to the individual going through PTSD. The first session with the individual involves understanding the current situation of the individual. Initial sessions can be accompanied by someone close like a parent, sibling or a friend who could explain the traumatic incidence if the individual is not comfortable talking about it.
After initial interaction, the therapist shares what her assessment and analysis with the individual. Based on that, the therapist gives a detailed evaluation of the individual which becomes the foundation for the further course of treatment with therapy and counselling. A plan will be charted out with the individual according to the goals expressed by him/her.
How does a typical therapy or a counselling session look like for PTSD?
Based on the evaluation, the therapist decides whether the individual needs medication to help him/her with trouble. If required, the individual will be referred to a psychiatrist who prescribes medicines.
Mostly in PTSD, an individual suffers from recurring thoughts about the traumatic episode. It can be in the form of memories, disturbing images, anticipatory thoughts causing anxiety and stress reaction in the body. The therapist helps in identifying the patterns of occurrences and figures out the reaction of the body while the thoughts emerge.
The therapist then introduces tools to handle the difficult thoughts and feelings associated with the traumatic memory.
If the reaction of the body has a lot of emotions and feelings, the therapist focusses on helping the individual to make room for difficult emotions instead of trying to suppress them or push them out of the body. This gives a lot of relief and an individual gets better to handle emotions with support and practice with the therapist
The Therapist at Aware is an expert on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) which is the third wave psychological approach from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) comprising of useful techniques which are experiential and simple to remember. With these tools available with individuals, they gradually learn to manage themselves better when old traumatic memories visit them.
What results can be seen after PTSD therapy and counselling?
The individual slowly comes in terms with the traumatic incidence
• Healthy coping strategies in hand
• Taking actions towards what matters the most
• Letting the thoughts and feelings come and handling them effectively
• Regaining normalcy
Will the Therapy and Counselling sessions will be limited to Talking?
Talking and interacting with the individual will be clubbed with learning a lot of experiential tools and exercises in all the sessions. The psychotherapy methodology goes beyond just talking and advising on the individual’s problems.
What if PTSD Therapy Sessions are not affordable?
At Aware, the belief is firm in making counselling/therapy affordable to everyone to improve the mental health of individuals in our country.
The tools and techniques given to you at the sessions help you manage your PTSD to a great and make you less worried about dealing with it. Every bit of the session will be structured in a way to suit your individual issues and offer lifelong benefits of taking counselling/therapy.
What if I cannot attend sessions when I am away?
We live a life of busy bees. In this era, work and family call for a lot of travelling. Your therapist/counsellor will be available to take distance sessions in your preferred medium like an online session or a telephonic session.
This way your therapy sessions are always consistent and do not give you a break in between. Maintaining good consistency plays a very important role in providing fruitful results to your existing problems.
Have more questions running in your mind?
Your therapist will be available for a chat with you on whatsapp, call or email. You can briefly talk about the issues bothering you the most. Also, you can shoot any questions to clarify your doubts to take up counselling/therapy.
I was hooked there. I found no light and direction. It pulled me back, I could not proceed further. I got stuck when I wanted to run away. Now, I know I can make my path. I know I can light up my direction. I take steps to move further and I believe I can get on with life.
Take the next step
Call at +91 86603 88394 and we can set up a consultation.
If you would like to schedule an appointment instead, please click here:
Take the next step
Call at +91 86603 88394 and we can set up a consultation.
If you would like to schedule an appointment instead, please click here: