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Psychotraumatology is a branch of psychology that focuses on traumatic events in human life. Events that are highly stressful to the psyche may cause long-term consequences that make everyday functioning difficult or even impossible. Disorders resulting from trauma do not go away by themselves. Various forms of psychotraumatological therapy are a way to treat trauma.
Psychotraumatology – what is it?
Psychology analyzes various aspects of the human psyche, mechanisms of coping with various situations, as well as ways of reacting and finding oneself in various social situations. Individual areas of life require both individual analysis in the psychological context and paying attention to their interdependencies. One of the narrower fields of psychology is psychotraumatology, i.e. the psychology of trauma.
People exploring the issues of psychotraumatology gain information on the types of traumatic events, possible human reactions to such situations, as well as methods of treating disorders caused by trauma.
What is trauma? The concept of trauma is a general term for a psychological trauma caused by an event, whether one-time or repeated. Trauma is also commonly used to refer to such an event that is a source of very strong stress and leaves a lasting psychological trauma. Experiencing trauma and feeling its effects is an individual matter.
The same situation may be a source of severe trauma for one person, but may not cause permanent post-traumatic disorders in another.
A traumatic situation, i.e. a situation related to a threat to life as a result of an accident, does not have to be a source of long-term anxiety or severe anxiety symptoms. On the other hand, trauma may be associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). People who have experienced trauma often need specialist help. It can be given by a psychotherapist, especially if he or she has appropriate knowledge in the field of psychotraumatology.
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Psychotraumatology is used not only by psychotherapists, but also by psychologists, educators, people involved in social work or belonging to medical services.
Psychotraumatological consultation – for whom?
A psychotraumatologist is usually a person with appropriate psychological or medical education. On consultation with a psychotraumatologist People who have experienced highly stressful situations and observe disturbing symptoms in themselves should go. Traumatic events include participation in an accident, being a victim of a natural disaster, assault, rape, physical, psychological or sexual violence in childhood, but also later in life, or experiencing war. The death of a loved one, information about a serious illness or being a witness to a tragic event can also be traumatic.
Symptoms of people who have experienced trauma include:
- problems with sleeping;
- anxiety;
- ataki panic;
- problems with concentration;
- remembering a traumatic event;
- intrusive thoughts and behaviors;
- guilt, shame;
- eating disorders;
- depressive states;
- thoughts of suicide;
- difficulty maintaining relationships with other people;
- irritability;
- fits of anger or aggression;
- nightmares.
Talking to a psychotraumatologist will help identify the source of the symptoms, especially taking into account the fact that everyone experiences trauma in a different way and some symptoms may not be very specific. One meeting with a specialist may last 60–90 minutes and cost 150–200 PLN.
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Why can’t trauma be ignored?
The trauma and symptoms associated with the trauma will not go away on their own, and may even get worse. Particular risks are associated with neurosis, depression, self-harm and suicide attempts. Even if severe post-traumatic symptoms do not develop, the traumatized person’s quality of life drops significantly.
Untreated trauma-related disorders can also lead to psychosomatic diseases and mental disorders. The result of severe trauma-related stress is not only PTSD, but in some cases also dissociative disorders such as multiple personality disorder (dissociative identity disorder).
- Check: How does psychotherapy work and what is a psychotherapeutic contract?
Psychotraumatology – what methods does it use?
On the basis of a psychological consultation for a person suffering from trauma, it is possible to choose the appropriate type of therapy based on psychotraumatological knowledge. Much depends on the type of disorder. Some forms of post-traumatic stress disorder are treated as part of short-term psychotherapy:
- exposure therapy – it is based on confronting the patient with traumatic events from the past in order to gradually reduce negative reactions and symptoms;
- EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) – an approach in which we focus not only on talking about the trauma (verbal analysis is limited to some extent), but on stimulating the brain, usually through eye movement, sound impulses or tapping;
- cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
In the case of dissociative disorders, long-term treatment is necessary, based on the initial relief of symptoms, and then the gradual implementation of subsequent phases of treatment and working through the trauma. If necessary, the psychotraumatologist works with a psychiatrist, thanks to which the therapeutic treatment process is supported by pharmacotherapy.
How does psychotraumatology help?
A meeting with a specialist with a psychotraumatic background is an extremely important form of help for people who have experienced extremely negative experiences. He is able to recognize the nature of the patient’s symptoms and skillfully navigate the difficult topics related to the trauma. Talking about trauma issues is often extremely difficult. An experienced psychotraumatologist tries to find the source of problems, see their effects on mental and physical health, and make a diagnosis.
Psychotraumatology not only supports the treatment of people with trauma. Early intervention helps prevent the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Working with a psychotraumatologist is a chance to regain mental balance and eliminate bothersome symptoms – tension, fear, intrusive memories and reliving old experiences under the influence of external impulses (e.g. touch, sound, smell).