Trauma Is More Than Just “Bad Memories”
GearingUP’s trauma-informed therapy understands how life altering trauma can be for any one of us. Our clinical team offers the top recommended, evidence-based Trauma Therapies that can help you regain control of your life.
Trauma affects 70% of adults at some point in their lives (NIMH), yet many suffer for years without ever seeking proper treatment.
At GearingUP Counseling Centers, we understand that contrary to popular belief – trauma isn’t just about the past. Trauma is a condition of right now. World experts in trauma such as Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk have written extensively about how traumatic experiences rewire our bodies and our brains. Without proper intervention and therapy, these changes can become permanent and stay with us for the rest of our lives. Some of the most common symptoms of trauma include:
However, there are many effective treatment options to help resolve your trauma. Your nervous system can heal, and you can learn how to live effectively through your trauma and come out stronger on the other side.
Trauma experts use many different ways to describe trauma and how it can impact our lives. Here are some of the most common forms of trauma that GearingUP treats:
Trauma is the lasting emotional impact that can result from experiencing an upsetting or distressing event or series of events such as violence, serious accidents, major illness, or other instances of actual or perceived risk of death or serious injury. Different people experience trauma differently based on the events, their own psychological resilience, and more. Trauma can deeply impact our ability to function “normally,” but a trauma informed therapist can help you address and work through trauma for a more fulfilling life.
PTSD is a more persistent and acute form of trauma often characterized by more severe symptoms and lasting for months or even years. Trauma can become PTSD for many reasons since each person reacts to trauma differently. Common PTSD symptoms include intrusive thoughts or memories, hypervigilance or an inability to relax, avoidance or rejection of previously routine behaviors, chronic negative thoughts or moods, and more.
Complex Trauma, also referred to as Complex PTSD (CPTSD), is one of the most severe forms of trauma. Complex Trauma arises when people experience prolonged or repeated traumas over a long period of time or even throughout their life from childhood through adulthood in some cases. Complex Trauma may have even more severe and pervasive symptoms than PTSD with additional challenges like chronic emotional dysregulation, distortd self-concept, and severe interpersonal challenges.
Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) is a less severe form of trauma than PTSD, and it often occurs immediately after an upsetting or traumatic event but resolves within a few weeks or a month. Trauma experts recommend working with a trauma informed clinician as quickly as possible after a traumatic event. It is possible for ASD to turn into PTSD or Complex Trauma without proper intervention and treatment immediately after trauma occurs.
Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) occurs most frequently in children, but it can persist into adolescence and even adulthood if it is unresolved in early life. RAD is a particular form of early childhood trauma that impacts a child’s difficulty or inability to form healthy attachments or relationships, often due to trauma from relationships such as neglect or abuse. Trauma therapists help children learn how to form healthy bonds and attachments using a variety of techniques.
Adjustment Disorders are typically characterized by emotional or behavioral responses to an identifiable stressor which in some cases can be a traumatic event. Often considered one of the least severe forms of trauma, Adjustment Disorders can nevertheless cause significant difficulty with typical functioning in social, work, or family events. While typically not as severe or long lasting as more impactful forms of trauma, Adjustment Disorders are still worth reaching out to a trauma informed therapist for treatment.
Trauma can be a very serious diagnosis, but GearingUP clinicians are trained and often certified in the best therapies for working through trauma based on the latest research, expert guidance, and the recommendations of top professional organizations like the American Psychological Association. Here’s some of GearingUP’s recommended therapies for creating lasting change:
Your first session will be scheduled with one of GearingUP’s senior clinicians to assess your treatment goals and make initial recommendations for your care.
Our clinical team often recommends initial diagnostics, assessments, and testing to more accurately understand your needs. Accurate diagnosis is critical for effective and efficient trauma therapy.
After your initial assessments have been completed, our clinical team will present you with a recommended treatment plan based on your needs, your goals, and their determination of the most effective therapies for your trauma treatment.
Our clinical team takes your care very seriously. In an effort to ensure quality care, we regularly complete ongoing assessments and testing to confirm that you are making verifiable clinical progress in your trauma therapy.
If you would like to change any part of your treatment, please do not hesitate to reach out to our administrative office or speak with your therapist. Perhaps you would prefer a different therapeutic approach, a change in therapists, or simply want to try something new. Switch things up at no extra cost.
While virtually any event could be experienced as a trauma, here is a sample of many of the more common types of trauma experiences by certain ages and types of people:
Adults can experience a wide range of traumatic events such as chronic or terminal illness, divorce or the end of serious relationships, serious injury or accident, and much more. In addition to those personal issues, adults also regularly face work-related traumas such as losing a job, bully bosses and coworkers, and chronic economic stress.
Teens may experience their own specific forms of trauma such as cyberbullying, relationship violence, or even various forms of abuse. College students and young adults may also struggle with their own traumas as well such as various forms of violence, betrayal in relationships, or different types of exploitation or abuse.
Children and pre-teens can be deeply impacted by different traumatic events such as the loss of a caretaker, neglect or abuse, and chronic illness or medical trauma. Pre-teens may also struggle with traumatic issues such as bullying, traumatic invalidation, and more.
First responders such as EMT’s, firefighters, and police often witness and interact with horrific scenes that may cause them to experience trauma either as a caregiver or “secondary trauma” or direct trauma in life-or-death situations. Veterans regularly experience trauma, PTSD, and Complex Trauma from their experiences in the military.