When you help someone to heal from trauma, they are not the only one who benefits. Healing is like throwing a pebble into a pond. It sends ripples out in all directions. Which is why, as the 2012 Trauma Therapy Series draws to a close, I can’t help but feel grateful… Over 7,938 practitioners, according […]
Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Female Rape Victims
PTSD can occur when someone experiences a single traumatic event. But what happens when a person is exposed to a traumatic environment over a long period of time? Healing from PTSD is challenging enough, but a person with a history of trauma who is re-traumatized is often likely to develop what’s called complex PTSD. Patricia […]
Women in Abusive Relationships: Their Telomeres Tell the Story
We know that trauma has a significant psychological impact, but it has long-term biological consequences as well. In the past we’ve talked about how trauma affects the body, such as increasing chances for irritable bowel syndrome. This is another case that exemplifies this effect, but this time, using telomeres. As we’ve mentioned before, telomeres are […]
The Polyvagal Theory in Action – How Heart Rate Figures into Trauma Treatments
How can the body and its natural processes be tools for treating trauma? The Polyvagal Theory helps us answer this question by explaining how people process their environment and how the body regulates itself in the face of stress and trauma. Watch the video below as Stephen Porges, PhD, creator of the Polyvagal Theory, shares […]
Trauma and Resilience: What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger?
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? Although most of us have probably heard this euphemism before, a recent study looked at traumatic life experiences to see how true this saying really was. Published in the Current Directions in Psychological Science, Mark D. Seery, PhD and his colleagues from the University of Buffalo, delved […]