CHILDREN, TRAUMA AND/OR POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
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Traumas can come in many forms; from a big T trauma to a little t trauma. What defines something as trauma is when our mind is unable to process the experience, and we are reacting disproportionately in the present, due to the past trauma. When there has been a trauma, our trust in the world is shattered, and danger can feel like its right around the corner. I work with children who have experienced significant traumas, and help them and their parents to work through the trauma to take their life back again.
Through using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Evolving Structural-Strategic Family Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing we can build skills to manage the fight or flight reactions from trauma, help shore up children's supports with their parents through helping parents develop skills to be able to care for their child who has experienced trauma, and then work through the trauma so that it no longer overshadows most aspects of a child's life. The child or person with trauma will never "forget" the experience, but we can process it, understand it, accept it, and move forward without the trauma hanging over one's head. Parents are especially important in the processing of trauma for children because parents are the child's safe place, where they can turn for comfort, and research has found that a health attachment relationship can buffer against trauma and actually prevent a trauma from developing into PTSD. Together, I work with children and families, using evidenced based, effective approaches to help everyone recover from the trauma. I teach these techniques to parents to reinforce at home, and eventually put me out of a job, helping to create lasting change. |
Symptoms 1. Having experienced a life-threatening or traumatizing event 2. Recurrent thoughts about trauma 3. Nightmares related to the trauma 4. Flashbacks 5. Being triggered by reminders of the trauma 6. Being triggered by anything associated with the trauma 7. Avoiding thoughts, feelings, places, related to the trauma 8. Not remembering part of or all of the trauma 9. Feeling numb and/or having diminished interest in life 10. Trouble sleeping 11. Difficulty with concentration 12. Getting started easily 13. Hypervigilance (anxiously aware of your surroundings) 14. Irritability or outbursts of anger 15. Children may act out the trauma in their play |
To make an appointment for an assessment and/or discuss recommendations for treatment, call (415) 686-9544 or email [email protected] I have offices in San Francisco and Corte Madera and provide phone and/or web sessions for clients who can not come to the office.