Traumatic Stress Studies Division

Evaluation and Treatment

Overview

Unfortunately, psychological trauma such as natural and other disasters or interpersonal violence are not rare events. Such experiences can produce numerous and sometimes quite different responses from one person to another.

Most people can benefit from an initial evaluation, which helps them to understand their stress reaction. They will also learn some relatively easy methods to decrease symptoms and hasten the return to a more normal life.

However, for some individuals, the reaction may be so severe that it causes problems with personal or work life and creates significant negative feelings. Although most people anticipate being able to recover from trauma in several weeks or months, some people experience no improvement over time, and may even feel worse. If you or others you know do not seem to be getting better following trauma exposure, you or they can probably benefit greatly from treatment.

For various reasons, people may not seek mental health treatment, even if it may seem like the obvious thing to do.

Common obstacles are:

• Fear of talking about the trauma and concern about the distress it may cause.
• Concern about experiencing uncontrollable anxiety attacks during therapy.
• Feelings of shame or embarrassment about things that have happened.
• Concern about being misunderstood or judged negatively.
• Fear of losing privacy or not being able to protect loved ones from the horrible truth.
• Inability to muster the energy that therapy requires.
• Belief that therapy doesn’t help and is a waste of time and money.

Therapy — particularly, through the use of proven, effective treatments — can help. The Traumatic Stress Division, we can customize a therapeutic approach just for you.