EMDR Therapy is a structured, short-term therapy that focuses on the traumatic memory and helps reprocess the traumatic memory so that it is stored differently in the brain. This often leads to a reduction in the symptoms and challenges that the memory brings up.

To learn more about EMDR visit: emdria.org

Most women will experience some type of trauma in their lifetimes. Trauma is relative and may involve extraordinary events such as war or a violent criminal act. But trauma can also occur due to the death of a loved one, a car accident, abuse or neglect, or a natural disaster.

Traumatic events can lead to self-destructive behavior, depression, flashbacks, and even substance abuse. Know that it’s normal to feel anxious or emotionally charged after trauma. You can seek support from Dr. Branda to help you ease those feelings.

Many women can successfully recover from trauma with the love and support of friends and family. But some may experience long-lasting effects, which cause deep emotional pain, confusion, fear, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

If you’ve gone through a traumatic experience, you benefit from seeking psychotherapy to help you process it.

Symptoms of trauma include:

Avoidance

You may avoid specific locations, sights, and situations that remind you of a traumatic event. Anxiety, depression, guilt, and numbness may follow trauma.

Re-experiencing

You may have intrusive flashbacks, thoughts, or dreams that remind you of the traumatic event.

Hyperarousal

Women who’ve gone through trauma may show anger, irritability, and hypervigilance. You may exhibit reckless behavior that includes aggressiveness and self-harm. Sleep disturbances may also be part of your hyperarousal response.

Mood changes

The after-effects of trauma may show up as a loss of interest in activities that were once enjoyable. You may change your habits or behavior following the trauma.

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Psychotherapy is a proven form of treatment for trauma. Dr. Branda uses EMDR, CBT, and psychodynamic therapy to help you overcome the effects of trauma.

CBT helps you make sense of your trauma and revise the resulting distorted thoughts and accommodations you’ve made. Psychodynamic therapy emphasizes the unconscious mind, where many of your upsetting feelings, urges, and thoughts reside. EMDR helps rewire your brain and stores the trauma in a different healthy form in your brain.

To learn more about the effective trauma therapy offered by women’s mental health expert Dr. Branda at Summit Psychology, contact her through this website or call the office.