Counselling for Trauma and PTSD: What to Expect

If you’re on the quest for effective counselling for trauma and PTSD, you’re probably pondering what to anticipate and whether it’s the right avenue for treatment. Counselling is a consideration that many individuals contemplate, mainly due to the well-established history of talking therapies like counselling. Employee assistance programmes offered by numerous organisations often include free counselling sessions to address mental health issues like trauma and PTSD. Private medical insurance providers like Aviva and Bupa also grant access to talking therapies, aiming to combat trauma and PTSD.

Drawing from my extensive experience, having worked with hundreds of clients seeking treatment for trauma and PTSD, I’ve noticed that traditional counselling approaches often have unintended adverse effects on individuals. The reason behind this is that therapies like counselling typically involve delving into specific traumas and revisiting them to gain new insights or understanding. Surprisingly, this process can sometimes re-traumatise individuals.

You might wonder, how does counselling trigger re-traumatisation? It all comes down to the intricate relationship between the mind and body. You see, they can’t differentiate between reality and imagination. Therefore, when an individual discusses a traumatic incident or a series of unresolved traumas during counselling, these memories can trigger the survival response, also known as the fight, flight, or freeze response.

Even if the traumatic incidents leading to PTSD occurred many years ago, revisiting them through memory can rekindle the same overwhelming emotions that initially caused the trauma. The mind perceives it as a real threat, perpetuating the cycle of suffering.

During my training in solution-focused psychotherapy and hypnotherapy, I made a pivotal discovery – the effectiveness of hypnotherapy in treating trauma and PTSD. Even before obtaining certification, I volunteered my services to numerous individuals who had undergone extensive counselling for trauma and PTSD. Surprisingly, many of them reported feeling stuck, and some even felt worse after counselling. This was primarily because they were asked to revisit and recount their traumatic experiences.

Hypnotherapy offered an alternative that diverged from this conventional path. I explained to clients that they didn’t need to recount the traumatic incidents in intricate detail. Instead, we gave those memories names, much like the titles of movies or books. Using a technique known as the rewind technique in hypnotherapy, clients could tap into their unconscious minds and safely process the traumatic events.

After a hypnotherapy session, I’d ask clients to rate the intensity of their memories on a scale from 0 (neutral) to 10 (extremely emotional). Astonishingly, in over 90% of cases, the memories were rated as 0 or 1. The traumatic incidents lost their grip, feeling like distant memories. Some clients even found it challenging to access the memories because they had been safely stored in their long-term memory.

For those who still experienced discomfort, I applied EFT tapping therapy to address any residual remnants of the memory. This allowed clients to leave the session feeling at peace.

My belief is that individuals seeking treatment for trauma and PTSD often opt for counselling because they are unaware of more potent alternatives. In my experience, hypnotherapy has consistently proven to be remarkably effective. Over the past 12 years, numerous clients who had spent years in counselling found profound relief through this transformative approach.

Counselling for trauma and PTSD tends to revolve around delving into the past, and exploring clients’ current thoughts and emotions regarding traumatic incidents. In contrast, hypnotherapy enables individuals to tap into their unconscious minds, process trauma, and gain new perspectives and insights. This fresh outlook empowers them to leave the past behind.

In addition to hypnotherapy, several cutting-edge treatments have demonstrated phenomenal results in trauma and PTSD healing, such as EFT tapping therapy, NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), the havening technique, and the MAP method.

Untreated trauma can cast a long shadow, compromising mental and physical health. The longer it festers, the more it shapes our lives, keeping us perpetually on edge. My mission is to provide the key to a brighter future, where you can embrace life with confidence, safety, and serenity.

Counselling, while a respected option, may inadvertently anchor you in the past. Effective and gentler modalities, like hypnotherapy, offer a swifter resolution for trauma and PTSD. If you’re seeking treatment for trauma and PTSD, and curious about how hypnotherapy can transform your journey, book your free initial consultation now. Your future awaits.

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Sara Maude

Sara Maude is an Edinburgh Hypnotherapist, Solution-Focused Psychotherapist, EFT Practitioner, Transformational Coach and International Wellbeing Trainer providing in-person and online sessions. Sara provides problem-free therapy which goes deep into the heart of the unconscious mind to create powerful lasting change.