How to Find Trauma Counseling

If you’ve recently experienced a traumatic event, you don’t have to suffer alone. Although it may be difficult to open up to others about your experience, doing so is a huge weight off your shoulders. Not to mention, seeking trauma counseling can be a great step in your healing and recovery process.

While talking with friends and family can help, working with a professional is essential to treat your trauma. Only they can provide evidence-based advice and information to help you work through your problems to become the best version of yourself.

What Is a Trauma?

This is somewhat of a hard question as trauma can be a very personal experience. What one person finds distressing can be completely different from what others think and feel. But in general, trauma is an emotional response to any sort of experience that is stressful or frightening.

It can be a single incident (acute trauma) or an ongoing event that happens more often (chronic trauma). It’s also possible to have a complex trauma, which is a distressing event(s) that happens during our upbringing.

Trauma can happen at any time in our lives – as a child, as a teen, or as an adult. That means you may now be feeling something about an event that happened a long time ago in the past.

How Does Trauma Feel?

Remember, people have different reactions to different events. Your reaction to your experience is perfectly normal, even if you feel like others are reacting differently. So while it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what trauma feels like, there are some things to keep an eye out for. This includes feelings of anger, grief, worry, irritability, confusion, shock, or shame. Or in some cases, you may feel completely numb, as if you are void of any emotions at all.

Trauma may also have some physical effects on the body. If you experience headaches, fatigue, dizziness, or pains, these can also be signs of trauma.

Because of these feelings, trauma can be a debilitating issue for many people. They may have trouble looking after themselves, maintaining relationships, remembering things, or enjoying hobbies. You may also feel constantly worried or stressed (although we have some tips on how to manage this in your daily life).

If you feel this way, it’s important to know how to find trauma counseling. This way, you can start your road to recovery and take back control of your life.

Types of Trauma Counseling

You’ll discover that there are many different forms of counseling available. Since each person’s trauma is unique, professionals can tackle these issues using a wide range of techniques. Here are a couple of major trauma therapy forms that can help:

Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)

This type of therapy can help the way you reprocess and recall the trauma. You’ll start by recalling the memory to your therapist, who will then use bilateral stimulation (lights, sounds, tapping) to help your brain reprocess the event.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

Counselors using this approach will work with you to identify the feelings and perceptions you have around the event. In addition to talking through the issues, they will teach you techniques to help you manage the stress associated with the feeling.

Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET)

This type of trauma counseling is focused on reclaiming back power from your traumatic event. As you retell your story (either in 1-on-1 or group sessions), you’ll be asked to identify your thoughts and emotions. Walking through the event can help you figure out how and why it is impacting your life.

Prolonged Exposure (PE)

Considered to be a type of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Prolonged Exposure is about confronting your fear or stress. By being exposed to the source of the trauma, you’ll learn that the memories and triggering cues are nothing to be afraid of.

How to Find Trauma Counseling 

If you’re reading this article, you’ve already taken the first step of your healing process. Now, it’s time to get professional help. Searching for “how to find trauma counseling near me” is a great way to get an idea of what type of professionals are in your area.

The first thing to look at when choosing a counselor is their credentials. It’s important that you work with a counselor or therapist who is licensed to practice in your state. There are many types of licenses, but the most common are LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor), LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), and LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist).

It’s also possible to see a medical psychologist. These professionals are trained to treat mental health conditions, including trauma and depression. These licensed psychologists will likely be a PhD or PsyD.

Then you can decide on what type of therapy you want. Based on the above forms of therapy, you may have an idea of what type you might find helpful. If not, don’t worry. Counselors can also work with you to decide what technique is best suited for your specific needs.

Some forms of therapy are only offered in person. However, you may find that some offer virtual sessions as well.

If you would like to see a psychiatrist and get medication as well, virtual sessions are often the easiest way to do it. You can also read reviews left by real clients to get a better idea of if they’re a good fit for your needs.

Trauma can be a very confusing and difficult emotion to live with. But working with a professional therapist or counselor is an important step toward a healthier and happier life. So don’t worry if you’re feeling lost or ashamed. There are lots of different counselors and forms of therapy that can help.