Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can affect how you experience yourself, other people, and the world around you after trauma. Even when the traumatic experience is over, you may feel as though your mind and body are still responding as if you are in danger. PTSD can affect your sense of safety, your relationships, work, daily responsibilities, and your ability to be fully present in everyday life. You may find it difficult to feel safe, trust others, regulate your emotions, or move forward from what happened.
PTSD is highly treatable. At Wise Mind Counseling, I provide trauma therapy in Green Bay, Door County, and tele-health throughout Wisconsin. Treatment is individualized based on your symptoms, needs, and goals. I use evidence-based approaches including Prolonged Exposure (PE) and DBT-PE to help you face what you have been avoiding, process traumatic experiences, and build a greater sense of freedom and control in your life.
Understanding PTSD
Many people who experience trauma do not go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). When PTSD develops, symptoms can affect different areas of your life and may continue for months or longer after the traumatic experience. PTSD symptoms generally fall into four main areas: re-experiencing the trauma, avoiding reminders of the trauma, changes in thinking and mood, and changes in arousal and reactivity.
Re-experiencing the trauma
- Unwanted, distressing memories of the trauma
- Nightmares related to the trauma
- Flashbacks or feeling as though the trauma is happening again
- Intense emotional or physical reactions to reminders of what happened
Avoiding reminders of the trauma
- Avoiding people, places, activities, or situations that remind you of the trauma
- Avoiding thoughts or feelings related to what happened
- Staying busy or distracted to avoid painful memories or emotions
Changes in thinking and mood
- Persistent negative thoughts or beliefs about yourself, others, or the world
- Feelings of guilt, shame, fear, anger, or hopelessness
- Feeling emotionally numb or disconnected from others
- Difficulty experiencing positive emotions
- Loss of interest in activities or relationships
Changes in arousal and reactivity
- Feeling tense, restless, or unable to relax
- Feeling constantly on guard or unsafe
- Being easily startled
- Irritability or angry outbursts
- Difficulty sleeping or concentrating
Evidence-Based Treatment for PTSD?
Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) is an evidence-based treatment for PTSD that helps you gradually approach memories, emotions, and situations you have been avoiding since the trauma. Through this process, you can learn to tolerate difficult emotions and reminders. You will have the opportunity to understand how the trauma has shaped your beliefs about yourself, other people, and the world, and to develop new learning that can help you respond differently in the present.
Treatment may help you:
- Understand how avoidance can keep PTSD symptoms going
- Gradually approach memories and situations you have been avoiding
- Process traumatic memories in a safe and supported environment
- Learn that you can tolerate difficult emotions without needing to avoid them
- Reduce fear and distress associated with trauma reminders
- Develop greater confidence in your ability to cope with trauma-related emotions
- Reconnect with activities, relationships, and experiences that matter to you
- Feel less controlled by the trauma and more engaged in your life
DBT-PE combines Prolonged Exposure Therapy with Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills. It was developed for people receiving DBT who also have PTSD and significant difficulties with emotion regulation or other behaviors that can interfere with trauma-focused treatment.
Common Questions About PTSD
Can PTSD symptoms appear years after a traumatic event: Yes, symptoms can appear months to years after the trauma. When symptoms begin six months or later after the traumatic event, it is considered a delayed onset. The symptoms are just as treatable with a delayed onset.
Do I have to talk about my trauma in PTSD thearpy: Yes. Prolonged Exposure (PE) and DBT-PE involve talking about and approaching traumatic memories as part of treatment. This helps you process what happened, challenge old trauma beliefs, and learn that you can face trauma-related memories and emotions.
Talking about your trauma can be difficult and scary. You can learn that remembering the trauma is safe and that you will be supported throughout the process. Over time, this can help reduce avoidance and allow you to feel less controlled by the trauma.
PTSD & Trauma Therapy in Green Bay
Green Bay Location:
321 Saint George Street
Green Bay, WI, 54302
Treatment is tailored to your symptoms and the beliefs specific to your trauma that keep PTSD going. The goal is to help you process what happened, develop new learning, become more comfortable with situations you have been avoiding, and spend less time controlled by traumatic reminders.