PTSD is treatable!
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder more commonly known as PTSD is a term that gets tossed around quite a bit. What’s lesser known is how to treat PTSD, or if PTSD is even treatable. The good news is that PTSD is treatable! Trauma therapists typically treat PTSD in 3 phases. I share a little bit about those phases in this post so that you know what to expect when you come in for PTSD treatment with a PTSD therapist in Houston, TX.
3 Phases of PSTD Treatment
Safety and Stabilization:
In therapy, the first goal is to get to a place where you as the client are feeling safe and that you have tools to help yourself feel more stable in life. If you don’t feel safe, it will be hard to work on anything else in therapy. For some, this is difficult work as many who have experienced trauma have never felt safe before. With the right therapist, you should be allowed to take your time in feeling safe with your therapist and with yourself. Feeling safe will also allow your brain to focus less on staying safe and more on healing. Your brain can’t do both of these things at the same time.
Remembering and Grieving:
This goal is where the deep work begins. Therapists use many different techniques to help you remember the traumatic or difficult parts of your past, grieve that and get to a place where the traumatic memories become bearable. You can get to a place where you still remember traumatic events but they no longer control you and your body. The memories no longer have such a strong emotional charge. Thinking about past events can feel more like remembering a scene from a movie than it does feeling like you are reliving the trauma. There is so much freedom in this! Some techniques we use in PTSD treament in Houston, TX are trauma-focused-cognitive behavioral therapy, narrative therapy, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing.
Reconnection and Integration:
Once you’ve processed your trauma and understand it better, you can begin the work of integrating what you’ve experienced into your life. Many survivors have re-claimed what they’ve lost in meaningful ways such as the abuse survivor who finds strength and empowerment in kickboxing. Our PTSD therapists can help you find activities unique to your experience that empower you and help you feel alive again.
You can start to feel some relief in just a few sessions!
Healing from trauma is a very individual process; it is not possible to give a time frame of exactly how long it will take you, but know this; it is very much possible with trust and a healthy dose of courage. You will likely start to feel some relief in just a few sessions. Wilson Counseling has trained Houston trauma therapists who are ready and willing to walk that journey toward healing alongside you.
If you are struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder or other kinds of stress and would like to talk to a PTSD therapist, contact our Houston counseling clinic online to schedule an appointment or call 713-565-0922 to ask questions about how we can help. PTSD treatment in Texas can help you if you are feeling stuck in past trauma, are suffering from anxiety or panic, and want to start feeling better right away. You don’t have to go through this alone!