What’s trauma counseling and how does it work?

No matter how tough things may seem right now, we want you to know that you’re not alone. Trauma counseling is specifically designed to help you work through whatever it is you’re struggling with. Having someone to talk to can mean getting an outlet to share what you’re feeling and discuss how trauma may be affecting your emotions. Trauma counseling can help you ease your pain and discover coping strategies to help you heal.

Plan and expect the unplanned and unexpected

Talking about trauma can be empowering and vindicating. Trauma counseling as a concept itself is very intent-driven, structured around the purpose of helping you deal with an emotional response caused by a traumatic event you experienced and the impact it’s had on your life. More often than not, this means digging deep, facing issues from your past and the unexpected swell of emotions you will experience as a result.

The point is to get past your past

Counseling and therapy are often avoided because they can feel like an emotional interrogation. It can feel very uncomfortable to be reminded of things that happened in the past. But that’s why trauma-informed counseling exists. With someone you trust and connect to, letting your guard down and opening up can feel natural, reassuring, and comforting. Trauma-informed peer counseling isn’t about reaching a diagnosis and it’s also not intended to replace traditional therapy. It should feel more like an insightful chat – a collaborative exchange of techniques and coping strategies.

The point of trauma counseling is to help you work through your past and overcome the effect it may be having on your present. You should see your counselor as a partner that will gently guide you closer to peace and recovery, in a safe and trigger-free environment. People who are effective in helping those suffering from trauma are often those who have lived experience of trauma themselves. You can relate to each other and maybe they can even share some of their own stories. From day 1 of your journey, you should never feel alone.

Finding ways to cope with trauma

Trauma comes in various shapes and sizes, with a consistent and debilitating impact on our ability to function. It’s also unfortunately often a precursor to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for children and adults. Whether it’s childhood trauma counseling you need or trauma counseling for something that happened recently, you can reach out. Team up with someone you trust, understand your trauma, and find ways to cope with the effect it is having on your life.