Moving From Trauma to Healing
SUPPORT TOWARD HEALING FROM TRAUMA STARTS HERE
Psychological trauma is the result of one or more events that cause an overwhelming amount of stress, which exceeds an individual’s ability to cope with or integrate the emotions involved. It impacts their mental health and, in the long-term, can lead to more serious issues. At Integrative Psychiatry in Austin, we’re here to provide the professional support you need to heal from trauma. Contact our office to schedule a consultation or book a virtual visit.
What Is Trauma Informed Care?
Mental health has been based on the assumption that something is wrong with an individual and that modern psychopharmacology is targeted at finding a problem in a person’s brain and neurotransmitters. However, that is not all true. Difficult circumstances in life can affect our mental health. Traumas throughout our life add up. One of the conditions that is not recognized in our current mental health system is complex PTSD. This is trauma that happens over a long period and can affect the personality formation of a person. Trauma informed care pays extra emphasis in screening for traumas in a person and then providing support with therapies that are particularly geared towards healing trauma.
How is it different from conventional psychological care? Who is traumatized?
Instead of asking what is wrong with a person, a trauma-informed perspective seeks to answer the question of what has happened to this person? Trauma informed care believes that more often than not, traumatic experiences are present in most people.
How can trauma hide in plain view?
One of the dilemmas of trauma is that the victim does not acknowledge it. To carry on in life, the victim makes such excuses as “other people have it worse”, “it could be worse”, or “if I had been stronger”. It requires a good assessment to find the hidden traumas in a person’s life and to discover its effects.
Various conditions are manifestations of trauma:
- Depression
- Psychosis
- Eating disorders
- Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Excessive guilt
- Uncontrollable anger
- Suicidalality
- Feelings of loneliness
Why is it important to uncover trauma and what does this process involve?
If this trauma is not discovered, treatment remains suboptimal. Trauma informed care does not require symptom treatment. Instead it requires healing. Treatment of trauma requires growth of a person. This growth is the treatment that helps a person become resilient. This growth is often psycho-spiritual in nature.
Trauma informed care involves:
- A comprehensive assessment
- Establishment of safety
- Preventing re-traumatization
- Uncovering and emphasizing the ability to choose
- Establishing trust
- Collaboration in decision making
Can you give a real world example of what trauma can look like?
Substance use disorder is often considered to have multiple etiologies including genetic, social, and psychological. In trauma informed care, a person who is using substances is seen as trying to cope with the painful aspects of trauma. It is viewed as a survival mechanism and a mechanism to deal with retraumatization.