Are you stressed by a demanding job, acute financial hardship, nagging physical ailment, an unsupportive, overbearing partner, your own perfectionistic tendencies, or just a sense of unrelenting, overwhelming responsibility? If so, you may suffer from stress disorder or traumatic stress, characterized by various symptoms of anxiety, dysthymia, and depression.
Or are you a past or present victim of sexual or physical abuse, or of an unexpected, tragic loss of a loved one? Or have you witnessed or experienced first-hand a life-threatening event, like a tragic accident or a criminal act of violence? If so, the often widespread and debilitating symptoms of anxiety and depression you’re experiencing may signal the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
For stress-induced anxiety and depression, I offer both counseling and stress management skills, while for those who suffer from trauma and PTSD, my counseling work as a therapist is oriented towards providing a safe, nurturing, non-judgmental environment conducive to my clients’ healing.
Over the course of my career as a therapist and psychologist, I have had the privilege of counseling and healing a wide range of traumatized individuals: Holocaust survivors and Second Generation; 911 victims and first-responders; victims of horrific natural disasters, like tsunamis and hurricanes; Vietnam and Iraq war veterans; and teachers, police officers, and corrections officers whose lives have been threatened by on-the-job criminal violence.
For the latter group, I work in conjunction with attorneys representing clients who have suffered severe on-the-job psychological trauma, providing assessment evaluations and treatment of PTSD.
Should you suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, your suffering extends well beyond the common symptoms of anxiety and depression. You might be plagued by flashbacks and nightmares of the traumatic event, a heightened physiological reactivity to any reminder of the traumatic event, a phobic avoidance of people, places, and activities that trigger recollections of the trauma, significant sleep disturbance, pronounced irritability and outbursts of anger, social withdrawal, and a host of other symptoms commonly associated with depression and anxiety.
But particularly heart-breaking is when, for those of you whose PTSD has resulted from an act of violence or abuse, you are left feeling a sense of shame and humiliation over being assaulted; a profound fear and distrust of others causing you to signi?cantly avoid social interaction; and an overall sense of hopelessness and despair, causing you to feel stuck, as it were, in the very feelings of helplessness and powerlessness that were engendered in you by the traumatizing event.
For those suffering from PTSD, in order to heal, you need to feel safe, understood, and respected, in an environment within which you can tell your traumatic story without fear of being judged or of overwhelming the listener with the profound pain of your ordeal.
As a therapist with specialized training in trauma, I recognize your dual need both to be educated on the intricate nature of trauma and PTSD, and to be provided the safe space in which you can work through your pain and reclaim your old un-traumatized self.
I have recently undergone intensive training in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a proven, effective tool in the treatment of a wide range of emotional dif?culties caused by disturbing life experiences, ranging from traumatic events such as combat stress, assaults, and natural disaster, to upsetting childhood events associated with various forms of abuse and neglect.
In administering EMDR and other-integrated treatment approaches, my aim is to provide for you the support, encouragement, and gentle guidance that will enable you to face and ultimately overcome your trauma and trauma-related symptoms.
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