Sometimes people experience or witness something so terrible, that it continues to haunt them for months, years, or decades afterwards. It may be a single event, or there may be more than you can keep track.

• Are you bothered by repeated, intrusive thoughts or images? This may occur during the day or at night in the form of dreams and nightmares.
• Do avoid people, places or activities?
• Do you feel uninterested in things you used to enjoy, disconnected from others, or emotionally numb?
• Do you find yourself irritable, constantly on guard, or easily startled?

If any of this sounds familiar, you may be suffering from posttraumatic stress symptoms. You may have heard about soldiers returning from service with posttraumatic stress disorder or PTSD. During the World Wars, it was called “shell shock.” We find descriptions of it as far back as the writings of the ancient Greeks. It wasn’t until the second half of the 20^th century that professionals began to acknowledge that many of same problems seen in combat veterans were similar to those seen in women with histories of rape and sexual abuse.

Today we have a better understanding of how people react to traumatic events. And we have effective treatments. Struggling with a traumatic experience does not mean that you’re weak, or need to “get over it.” Sometimes things happen in our lives that overwhelm our abilities to cope. If you are struggling with trauma, there is help.

Brian Thompson, PhD:

I’m a licensed psychologist and specialize in treating trauma and PTSD.

My Approach:

I draw from two main therapies in treating trauma. For those interested in and appropriate for a focused trauma-focused treatment, I offer prolonged exposure (PE) therapy, which is considered the gold standard in trauma treatment. I also draw from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help people begin to reengage their lives and more effectively deal with their distress. At the beginning of treatment and periodically throughout, I give clients a short self-report measure to assess change in their symptoms. This way, we can track improvement over time and make adjustments if we don’t see any progress.

 

Contact Me

If you or a loved one is dealing with trauma or PTSD, I’m here to help. If you’d like a free phone consultation you can give me a call at:

503-281-4852 x2

You can also ask a question or set up an appointment by sending me a message through the secure and confidential contact form below: