Therapy for Trauma and PTSD in Fayetteville, NC and Online Throughout North Carolina

You have been through some really difficult times.

For a while, it seems like you were able to push away the painful memories and keep going on with your life. But now, it is catching up with you and affecting your ability to function. You can’t stop dwelling on the past and it is making you feel on edge. You keep replaying scenarios in your head and it is hard to concentrate on the here and now. You can’t sleep. You feel restless and worn out at the same time. You are thinking how things might be better if you had just done something different. You are feeling guilt and shame over events that aren’t your fault. Others tell you that you are no longer the same person. Your relationships are suffering. You may be lashing out at your loved ones. You feel alone and like no one can really understand you. So, you isolate yourself more and stop doing the things that you used to enjoy. You think, “I should be able to get over this,” but no matter what you do, it’s just not working.

You can move forward from a painful past and create a fulfilling life.

Therapy can help you to process and re-organize your memories, so that they no longer have such a negative impact on you and your life. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PET) are two very effective treatments for trauma symptoms or PTSD. In these therapies, you will talk and/or write about your trauma memories, express your feelings and thoughts about what you have been through, and gain new understanding and perspective on the past. The goal is to help you confront the past with less intensity of emotion and to reduce the “fight or flight” response in the body. You will also work on re-engaging with your life by gradually putting yourself in situations that you have been avoiding. This may also involve working on re-connecting with important persons in your life.

You can learn to work through your traumatic past without falling apart or relying on unhealthy means to stay afloat. You can develop a more whole and organized sense of self, with an ability to live fully in the present, and a renewed hope for the future.

Ellen Boohar, PhD provides therapy for Anxiety, Trauma/PTSD, Health-Related Stress, and Military/Veteran Stress to clients located in Fayetteville, NC and online throughout North Carolina.