All About PTSD and How to Overcome it with Psychological Therapy & Counselling

What is PTSD?

PTSD (Post traumatic stress disorder) is an anxiety problem that can be caused by very stressful, frightening or distressing events.

The type of events that can cause PTSD include:

• Road Traffic Accidents.
• Sexual Assaults.
• Being Robbed or Mugged.
• Violence Against Yourself.
• Witnessing Death (violent death).
• Military Combat Experiences – used to be called “shell-shock”.
• Experiencing Natural Disasters – Earthquakes, Major Floods etc.

PTSD can develop immediately following a disturbing event, or it can occur weeks, months or even years later.

It is estimated to affect about 1 in every 3 people who have a traumatic experience, but it’s not clear exactly why some people develop the condition and others don’t, although this may be due to how “resilient” a person is to negative events in general.

However, not everybody who experiences trauma develops negative symptoms and surprisingly, research indicates that many people exposed to traumatic situations get positive benefits from their experience!

Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

The symptoms of PTSD can include:

• Intrusive thoughts or memories: Repeated, involuntary and distressing memories of the traumatic event, flashbacks, or nightmares.
• Avoidance: Avoiding activities, people, or places that remind you of the traumatic event.
• Negative changes in mood and thinking: Feeling numb, hopeless, guilty, or worried. Loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed, difficulty remembering the traumatic event, feeling like you can’t trust anyone, and distorted beliefs about yourself, others or the world.
• Hypervigilance and exaggerated startle response: Being easily startled or frightened, feeling on edge or irritable, and having trouble sleeping.
• Re-experiencing: Recurrent thoughts or dreams, or flashbacks that can feel like the event is happening again.

PTSD can have a significant impact on your daily life, work, and relationships.

Effective treatments for PTSD include psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of both.

Therapy & Counselling for PTSD

We offer a number of different types of therapy and counselling for PTSD and anxiety-related problems.

Choosing the most suitable therapy depends on a number of different considerations including factors such as:

• How long you have had the problem.
• Your personal preferences.
• How your problem is affecting you today.

You can read more about the different types of therapy for PTSD on the following links:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for PTSD
• Counselling for Trauma Problems
• Pluralistic Therapy for PTSD

Although all therapies use slightly different approaches, the one thing they all have in common is the relationship that is formed between the client and therapist.

Research suggests that this therapy relationship may be the most important factor in achieving a good therapy outcome.

Behaviour Change Framework – BCF

All of our PTSD counselling sessions and programmes are enhanced by applying the Behaviour Change Framework (BCF).

This scientifically proven protocol clearly defines the incremental stages of behaviour change that you need to go through in order to achieve long lasting and sustainable change.

Drawn from the Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change (TTM), the framework provides a roadmap that not only gauges the current stage of progression through the change process, but also indicates if more change is required before entering the next phase of therapy or coaching.

In this way, we are able to ensure that you get the best possible level of support in overcoming your problems as well as ensuring that we don’t terminate the change process prematurely.

You can read more about the Science of Change here.

Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.

If you’d like to find out more about overcoming PTSD or recovering from any of your mental health problems then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.

During this consultation we will discuss your particular issues and the different types of mental health counselling we offer without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.

The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.