People experience trauma in many ways. They may have been directly impacted by it, witnessed it happen to someone else or heard about the experiences of a loved one. If this has had a profound impact on your physical and mental health, consider trauma therapy. It can help you learn how to process those negative thoughts and feelings, gain a new perspective on your experience, and manage your symptoms.

Guidelight Health provides personalized trauma therapy programs for adults and adolescents. In this article, we’ll discuss what trauma therapy is and what to expect from your provider.

What is trauma therapy?

Trauma therapy is a trauma-focused psychotherapy that helps people process and integrate traumatic experiences rather than just cope. Specifically addressing its effects on your well-being can help you progress on your recovery journey. People seek trauma-focused therapy for themselves and their loved ones for a variety of reasons, including:

• Natural disaster
• Physical abuse
• Domestic violence
• Sexual assault
• Car accident
• Death of a loved one
• Childhood abuse or neglect
• Bullying
• Racial violence

It’s also designed to help people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other conditions linked to the event, like depression and anxiety. Some of the symptoms that trauma therapy can address include:

• Flashbacks — Intrusive memories of what happened can make it feel like you’re reliving the event over and over.
• Sleep disturbances — You may find it hard to sleep or feel unsafe due to nightmares or night terrors.
• Emotional dysregulation — Grief, guilt, shame, irritability, aggression and other feelings can rise to the surface.
• Avoidance — You might actively try not to think or talk about your experiences to avoid painful feelings.
• Hypervigilance — You might feel like you’re constantly alert or on edge.
• Dissociation — This is a detachment from your body or reality that occurs when something reminds your nervous system of the trauma.
• Physical responses — Headaches, digestive issues, racing heart rate and other physical symptoms can manifest after a distressing experience.

Call or text 988, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, for immediate support in a mental health crisis.

What happens in trauma-focused treatment?

Your first visit typically includes a psychiatric evaluation and clinical assessment. This is where your practitioner learns about your experience and how it’s affecting you. From there, they’ll develop a personalized treatment plan. Several evidence-based clinical programs are used to help people process their trauma. Your mental health provider will create a treatment plan based on your needs that incorporates one or more types of therapy, such as:

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

In CBT, you can learn how to recognize and change negative thought patterns and behaviors. This goal-oriented method can help with many mental health conditions, including those linked to traumatic experiences. It focuses on what’s happening in your life now, after addressing the past trauma, so that you can develop the coping skills you need.

Trauma group therapy

Led by a licensed professional, group therapy brings people who’ve experienced similar traumas together in a supportive setting. During these sessions, trauma survivors share their stories and gain valuable insights from other people’s experiences. Some of the benefits of this approach include:

• Peer support, feedback and accountability
• Reduced stigma around your symptoms
• Emotional expression and processing
• Collective skill building and problem-solving

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR is a guided therapy method that helps you process your memories of the traumatic event. During these sessions, you’re instructed to focus on a targeted memory while simultaneously moving your eyes in specific ways. It’s designed to change the way your brain stores these thoughts, helping to reduce their impact on your mental health. Reprocessing these images can reduce the intensity of the memories so they feel less vivid and more manageable.

Somatic therapy

Centered on the mind-body connection, this therapy can help you release the physical tension and energy trapped inside your body after a traumatic experience. During somatic therapy, you’ll learn how to become more attuned to the ways your body stores stress and trauma and perform specific exercises and guided movements to help release them. Some of the techniques used include:

• Resourcing — Relying on inner sources of comfort to create a sense of safety
• Titration — Slowly bringing small doses of discomfort to the surface to build up your tolerance
• Pendulation — Shifting between discomfort and regulation to get used to this feeling

While Guidelight does not currently offer EMDR or somatic therapy, we believe it’s important to be aware of all evidence-based options so you can make informed decisions about your care.

Your therapist might also discuss the possibility of taking medication as part of your treatment. Some antidepressants and sleep aid medications may help you manage your symptoms, so you can focus on participating in your therapy program and processing your experience.

Find trauma therapy near you at Guidelight

At Guidelight, we believe the right support and care can help trauma survivors move forward. We provide treatment across the country — and we’re always expanding. See if we offer care in your state, either online or at one of our local clinics.

Everyone has a seat at Guidelight. Contact our team today for more information about trauma therapy or to schedule an initial evaluation.