What Is Trauma Counseling? Understanding the Benefits for Long-Term Healing
This article originally appeared on healthupp.com
Counseling is a specific type of treatment for clients that seek psychological support in dealing with traumas. Trauma can be physical such as in cases of accidents, natural catastrophes, violent incidents, or emotional in the form of abuse. It has lasting effects on the psychological well-being of victims.
Trauma Counseling to help with trauma involves assisting people to understand their suffering and get their lives back on track. This therapy provides a place where people can freely talk about their feelings, panic, despair or fear—allowing them to embark on the process of true and long-lasting healing.
Understanding Trauma Counseling: What It Involves
Counseling for trauma utilizes methods that seek to assist traumatized persons in overcoming some of the mental impacts of trauma. Psychotherapists in this field are able to engage clients in a professional way through compassionate listening and help clients go through feelings such as fear, anxiety, anger and sadness, among others. Common approaches in trauma therapy are trauma focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), and mindfulness practices. These approaches help clients to manage their trauma more effectively; in a structured and sensitive manner; resulting in diminished distress.
The Long-Term Benefits of Trauma Counseling
Counseling helps a person who was traumatized by past events create a new and better life. The procedure is intended to have an impact on symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, and being overly vigilant, while at the same time helping the client to feel safe, empowered, and self-compassionate. There are long-term positive subjective changes; the clients develop higher self-esteem, have better social interaction, and regain a sense of mastery in their lives. Overall, trauma counseling is effective in facilitating post-trauma healing and emotional adjustment—by providing clients with ways of normalizing their experiences and managing the effects of the trauma.
Building a Support System Through Trauma Counseling
Trauma counseling can be very helpful if you are looking to establish a sound support system in order to help you overcome your trauma. Almost every person who has gone through some trauma finds solace in being associated with other people who can relate. Yes, most survivors find solace in the company of other people that understand their ordeal or are in a similar situation.
As such, if needed, a trauma counselor may refer the client to a support group or assist the client in locating support. This sense of community is quite an important aspect that helps decrease the shame and isolation that trauma brings. Indeed, even in this modern day and age, in many societies, there is still an attitude of trauma being one’s own fault.
Why Seek Trauma Counseling?
Trauma counseling is one of the most liberating decisions that an individual can take towards regaining his/her normal life. Many people who go for trauma-focused therapy tend to discover that they are able to face their past traumas and pains. This not only promotes self-acceptance but also promotes reconstructing a life beyond the trauma—a move towards a more meaningful life.