Trauma Therapy

Healing from Difficult Experiences

Trauma therapy is not a single approach but a collection of evidence-based methods designed to help people process and recover from overwhelming experiences. Our Clinical Psychologists are trained to work sensitively with trauma using multiple modalities.

What Is Trauma?

Trauma results from experiences that overwhelm your capacity to cope - events where you felt intense fear, helplessness, or horror. This might include:

• Accidents and near-death experiences
• Physical or sexual assault
• Witnessing violence or death
• Medical emergencies or serious illness
• Natural disasters
• Childhood abuse or neglect
• Domestic violence
• Combat or war experiences
• Birth trauma
• Sudden, unexpected loss

Complex trauma refers to prolonged or repeated traumatic experiences, particularly when they occur in childhood or within relationships that should have been safe.

How Trauma Affects You

After trauma, the brain and body can remain stuck in survival mode. Common experiences include:

Intrusions: Unwanted memories, flashbacks, or nightmares that make it feel like the trauma is happening again.

Hyperarousal: Feeling constantly on edge, difficulty sleeping, being easily startled, irritability.

Avoidance: Steering clear of reminders, numbing emotions, or detaching from memories.

Negative changes: Altered beliefs about yourself, others, or the world. Persistent shame, guilt, or fear. Feeling permanently changed.

Our Approach to Trauma

Trauma therapy requires skill, sensitivity, and flexibility. We draw on approaches including:

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing): Uses bilateral stimulation to help the brain process traumatic memories, reducing their emotional intensity.

Trauma-Focused CBT: Addresses the thoughts, avoidance, and behaviours that maintain trauma symptoms. Includes gradual exposure to trauma memories and reminders.

Compassion-Focused Therapy: Particularly valuable when trauma has led to shame, self-blame, or a harsh inner critic.

Schema Therapy: Addresses the deeper patterns that develop from prolonged or childhood trauma.

Stabilisation techniques: Grounding, containment, and self-regulation skills that create a foundation of safety.

The right approach depends on your particular experience, the nature of the trauma, and what feels manageable for you.

Safety Comes First

Trauma therapy doesn’t mean diving straight into painful memories. We begin by establishing safety and stability - ensuring you have resources to manage distress before processing traumatic material.

For some people, particularly those with complex trauma, significant time may be spent on stabilisation. For others, processing can begin sooner. We follow your pace, ensuring you remain in control throughout.

What Processing Involves

When you’re ready, trauma processing might include:

• Talking through traumatic memories in a contained, supported way
• EMDR processing using bilateral stimulation
• Working with the meaning you’ve made of what happened
• Challenging trauma-related beliefs that aren’t accurate
• Gradually reducing avoidance of reminders
• Processing grief, anger, or other emotions connected to the trauma

The goal is for traumatic memories to become part of your past rather than dominating your present - still there, but no longer overwhelming.

Recovery Is Possible

Trauma can make you feel broken beyond repair. But the brain has remarkable capacity to heal. With appropriate support, many people find that trauma symptoms decrease significantly, and they’re able to reclaim their lives.

Contact us to discuss trauma therapy.