Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has a variety of causes. It is a mental health condition that results from witnessing or experiencing a frightening life event. For years down the road, patients with PTSD relive the event – whether via strong memories, flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, or the inability to remove the event from their thoughts. It can often be crippling if not treated, hampering a person’s ability to sleep, enjoy relationships, trust others, or lead a productive life.

At Tree of Life Psychotherapy and Counseling, we have worked with many patients with PTSD over the years to help them cope with these strong feelings. We recognize that your feelings are real, and it can be essential to work with a medical professional to learn how to cope with them.

We do have some therapies that are proven to help with PTSD:

• Mindfulness and Meditation can often be used as a first line to soothe nervous systems;
• Methods from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) may be utilized to provide essential coping skills;
• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) allows us to support clients in desensitizing to and reprocessing traumatic events;
• NARM (Neuro Affective Relational Model). This is a cutting edge form of psychotherapy that combines several modalities to treat complex PTSD and developmental, relational or attachment trauma.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) to reach a trained counselor. Use that same number and press 1 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line.