I completed a two year Trauma Studies Certificate program at the Manhattan Institute for Psychoanalysis.  Through this training, I work with adult clients who have experienced a wide variety of traumatic events.  Examples of trauma might include childhood sexual abuse or other childhood abuse and/or neglect, surviving traumatic life experiences such as a car accident, the terrorists attacks on September 11, 2001 or Super Storm Sandy.

In addition to big trauma events, like war, a car accident or the September 11th terrorist attacks, people can experience relationship trauma which is unresolved and impacts on an adult’s current place in life. Relationship trauma can be smaller incidences of feeling that needs went unmet, such as a parent who worked late and missed childhood events or other emotional needs went unmet. Relationship trauma is often not intended by the parent or caregiver, but nonetheless causes a child to grow up with thoughts of “not good enough”, “I am unloveable” or other negative messages. We usually refer to this type of trauma as CPTSD.

Symptoms of trauma can include symptoms of depression, symptoms of anxiety, flashbacks, dissociation, avoiding people or places. Additionally, some people with traits of Borderline Personality Disorder, DID or other diagnosis might be a result of past traumas. Trauma events can have long standing impacts in our lives. Adult clients who suffered from abuse as a child might be experiencing difficulty with interpersonal relationships, difficulty maintaining these relationships, impulsive behaviors which might include engaging in risky sexualized behavior, alcohol use or abuse, drug use or abuse, or eating disorders to name a few.

Witnessing or surviving traumatic events can have lasting effects.  People with experiences as these might have difficulty sleeping, might experience nightmares, possible flashbacks of the event in question, might avoid certain people or places or might experience symptoms of depression or anxiety.  I can assist people with these experiences using a psychoanalytic perspective to assist such clients in the therapy process to decrease symptoms and improve functioning. 

Often times, due to professional responsibilities, we are often exposed to difficult or hear of traumatic events.  Such professions might include police, fireman, or other first responders.  this type of trauma is often referred to as Secondary trauma and can often be left untreated.  I have experience working with such professions in a confidential and discreet way.

Other types of trauma might be hard to pin point. Sometimes, having our needs not met as children, not neccessarily purposely, can also cause a trauma response in people. This is what we usually refer to as Complex PTSD or CPTSD. So for instance, a parent who works often and misses a child’s school event could cause the child to believe that they aren’t special or why couldn’t they be a priority to their parent and they might have a thought process or feelings of being “less then”.

I use various therapeutic approaches to aide my clients with trauma experiences. EMDR is an evidenced based model for the treatment of PTSD and CPTSD as well as other diagnosis.  Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing is used by helping clients process the emotional side of the clients’ traumatic events.  EMDR is a powerful, therapeutic approach and is helpful in treating PTSD, CPTSD, and other diagnosis including Borderline Personality Disorder.

Somatic Experiencing (SE) is also a therapeutic approach used for the treatment of trauma. We know that people can experience physical sensations and alignments as a result of trauma. SE is a body-oriented therapeutic approach that aids in treating trauma. I work SE into all of my sessions.