Trauma and PTSD
I have a particular interest in working with people who have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or have experienced traumatic events which they are struggling to move on from. I have completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in Psychological Trauma and Personality Development at Oxford University. I continue to have specialised supervision from my Oxford tutor.
How it might feel
You might feel like part of you is still stuck in something that happened, even if it was years ago. Certain images, sounds or feelings can bring it all rushing back. You might avoid reminders, feel disconnected from others, or experience nightmares, flashbacks or intense physical reactions. Sometimes you feel numb, sometimes overwhelmed, and often like you’re constantly on edge.
You might think, “I should be over this by now,” or “It wasn’t that bad compared to other people,” but still find yourself struggling. Trauma can make you question your safety, your self-worth, and how you see the world. It can show up as anxiety, shame, irritability, low mood, or just a sense that something’s not right.
How we’ll work together
Therapy for trauma is always paced, collaborative and grounded in safety. We’ll begin by helping you feel more in control of your body and emotions, learning tools to manage overwhelm, build emotional regulation, and create safety in the present.
Once we’ve laid that foundation, we can begin to gently process the trauma — using trauma-focused CBT or elements of EMDR, depending on what suits you. This might involve making sense of the memory, shifting beliefs that formed during the trauma (e.g. “It was my fault,” “I’m not safe,” “I’m broken”), and integrating the experience in a way that allows you to move forward. You’ll never be asked to go into detail before you’re ready.
FAQs About Trauma & PTSD
When we go through something traumatic, it can have a real impact on how our brain processes information, especially when it comes to memory, emotion, and feeling safe.
One part of the brain that’s heavily involved is the amygdala. Its job is to protect us by scanning for danger. When it senses a threat, it sets off an internal alarm called the fight or flight response. This prepares your body to act by speeding up your breathing, making your heart race, and creating a sense of alertness or tension.
The challenge is that the amygdala doesn’t always tell the difference between something that’s happening now and something you’re just remembering or imagining. That means it can react to a traumatic memory in the same way it would to a current threat. This is why your body might go into high alert even when you’re physically safe.
Another important part of the brain is the hippocampus, which stores and organises our memories. It works like a filing system, helping us remember where and when something happened. But during trauma, the brain’s alarm system interferes with this process. The hippocampus can’t do its usual job properly, so memories may not get filed away in the right place. Instead of feeling like something in the past, they can feel fresh and present, as if they’re happening all over again.
One way to think about traumatic memories is like films playing in your mind. With everyday memories, we usually get to choose which film to watch and when. But after trauma, it can feel like there’s a rogue projectionist deciding for you, playing the traumatic film without your control. This can feel incredibly distressing and confusing. You might try to switch it off, but often that just doesn’t work.
Therapy can help you take back that control. We’ll work on helping your brain properly process and store the memory so that it feels more like something that happened, not something you're constantly reliving.