Trauma Therapy Near Me: How To Find The Best PTSD Therapist?
Trauma Therapy Near Me: How To Find The Best PTSD Therapist?
If you have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), you are probably thinking about searching for the ‘trauma therapy near me’ term on Google. Because dealing with any type of trauma is unpleasant and painful, it’s a good idea to look into therapists in your area to feel a bit more comfortable about seeking professional help.
If the process of searching for a good PTSD therapist is frustrating for you, luckily, just searching for those near will reduce the number of results and offer you a list of numbers and emails where you could schedule the appointment. Other factors you will need to keep in mind are the therapy costs, insurance, treatment orientation, and the way you feel about the therapist and the work they do.
PTSD Therapy
Post-traumatic stress disorder therapy will involve a range of treatments for PTSD that aim to relieve the symptoms and provide people with the tools that enhance the way they manage their symptoms. Along with the medications, your therapist may use different types of psychotherapy such as:
- Cognitive processing therapy,
- Eye movement desensitization,
- Reprocessing therapy (EMDR),
- Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT).
If you know or suspect you have PTSD, you should consider finding a mental health professional to decide which treatment type can be most effective for you. It’s important to keep in mind that if your first therapist doesn’t seem like the right fit, you can easily stop seeing them and find the one that will work better.
PTSD Symptoms
Typically, the PTSD symptoms will appear within one month of the traumatic event, yet sometimes the symptoms appear after several years. PTSD symptoms cause numerous problems in social or professional situations, especially in relationships and marriages. They can also affect how you deal with your regular daily tasks.
All PTSD symptoms are gathered into four categories:
- Intrusive memories,
- Avoidance,
- Negative changes in thinking and mood,
- Changes in physical and emotional reactions.
Intrusive Memories
Some of the most common symptoms of intrusive memories may include recurrent, unwanted distressing memories of the event that occurred. Often, it also includes reliving the event through flashbacks and having disturbing dreams about it.
Avoidance
The most common avoidance symptom is forcing yourself to not think or talk about the traumatic event. Another symptom that people with PTSD will share is avoiding places, people, or activities that will remind them of the event.
Negative Changes In Thinking And Mood
When it comes to symptoms of negative changes in thinking and mood, negative thoughts about yourself and everyone around are what typically occurs first. It’s followed by the feeling of hopelessness about the future and memory problems, mostly regarding the traumatic event.
People who are experiencing these symptoms might also have difficulty maintaining close relationships and even feel detached from their family and friends. Also, they might notice a lack of interest in activities they used to enjoy, which leads to struggling with experiencing positive emotions.
Symptoms of Changes In Physical And Emotional Reactions
These symptoms will be noticeable to people around the person with PTSD as well. For instance, they might become easily startled or frightened, or always be on guard for danger. They can also start experiencing self-destructive behavior, such as driving too fast or drinking too much.
Often, they will have trouble sleeping and concentrating. They might even have angry outbursts or show aggressive behavior which is not typical for them.
The Intensity of PTSD Symptoms
Over time, all above-mentioned PTSD symptoms can vary in intensity. In other words, more symptoms can appear when you’re stressed or when something is reminding you of the traumatic event you went through. For instance, the sound of car breaks might remind you of the car accident you had a year ago and trigger a few PTSD symptoms. Or you might hear the news about a sexual assault and become overwhelmed with memories of your own event.
There will be days where you won’t experience symptoms at all, and there will be days where you’ll feel hopeless. That’s why it’s vital to seek help from a mental health professional who can help you guide in this journey, while also providing you with the tools you need to manage better these symptoms each time they appear.
Examples of Traumatic Events
Unfortunately, exists a wide range of traumatic events that might lead to a post-traumatic stress disorder, however, the most common ones are:
- An accident
- Childhood physical abuse
- Combat exposure
- Physical assault
- Sexual violence
- Being threatened with a weapon
Besides the mentioned ones, other traumatic events such as natural disasters, fire, mugging, plane crash, kidnapping, torture, terrorist attack. Or any other life-threatening event can lead to PTSD. If you or your loved ones have experienced a traumatic event. It’s recommended to seek professional support immediately instead of waiting until the symptoms appear.
Regardless of whether the person will have to struggle with PTSD after such a traumatic event or not, talking to a therapist will be beneficial for their recovery. The sooner they seek help, the easier it will be to learn how to cope with the consequences of it.
In Conclusion
Post-traumatic stress disorder is something you should never ignore. It affects how you interact with your loved ones and other people in your life. How you perform at work or school, how you see your future, and how you feel about yourself. For someone who is experiencing PTSD symptoms, it will be quite challenging to manage them successfully on their own.
Dealing with post-trauma consequences can be overwhelming and lead to completely isolating yourself from the rest of the world. And it doesn’t have to be that way. With adequate treatment, you will gradually see how your social and professional lives are improving. Also how you feel more positive about everything around you. Most importantly, knowing that you can count on someone who can provide the right assistance in each situation provides the support someone who has been through a lot actually needs.
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