Trauma

Our understanding of trauma has changed dramatically in recent decades. Trauma isn’t limited to physical or sexual violence—it includes both single-incident events (like a car accident or sudden loss) and complex trauma (repeated or developmental experiences, often in childhood). Both can result in PTSD or complex PTSD (C‑PTSD), and what feels traumatic is deeply personal.

How Trauma Changes Us

Trauma isn’t just a memory; it's held in the body and nervous system. When threatening experiences aren’t fully processed, the nervous system stays keyed up, ready for danger—even when none exists.

Neuroscience shows that trauma affects brain structures—like the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex—which regulate fear, memory, and emotion. Under trauma stress, these systems can become dysregulated, intensifying fear responses and impairing memory integration.

A compelling theory, Dual Representation Theory, explains trauma memories as a split between:

• VAM (Verbally Accessible Memory): conscious, narrative memory,

• SAM (Situationally Accessible Memory): sensory-based, nonverbal memories that trigger flashbacks or emotional reactions.

Trauma Treatment Approaches

Evidence supports a range of trauma-informed therapeutic approaches, each helping the brain and body process traumatic memories in different ways:

• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
  Meta-analyses show EMDR is as effective as trauma-focused CBT for reducing PTSD symptoms, with strong immediate and long-term effects.

• Somatic Experiencing
  Focuses on bottom-up, body-aware processing of trauma. Early evidence shows promise in reducing PTSD symptoms, although higher-quality trials are still emerging.

• Other Somatic & Mindfulness-Based Techniques – including trauma-informed touch, grounding, pendulation, and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)—help regulate the nervous system and support emotional integration.

• Memory Reconsolidation & Exposure Therapies
  Strategies that involve carefully revisiting traumatic memories to update their emotional charge—such as exposure therapy and reconsolidation protocols like RTM—can be powerful when done safely and skillfully.

Counselling and Holistic Trauma Support

In counselling, we create a foundation of safety and trust—so when you're ready to approach these deep experiences, you can do so with calm, resilience, and compassionate support. Over time, this makes it possible to respond to reminders of trauma in new, integrated ways—without being overwhelmed.