One of the powerful things taught to me by my first counselor that my ‘symptoms’ of PTSD were actually life adaptions that worked for me at the time of trauma. Of course, the issue was that they were maladaptive for living a more settled life. In the list of best practices, one of the concepts…
The morning of 9/11 I remember exactly where I was. I worked in a computer lab. With in minutes after the first plane hit their target, there were scenes of the disaster on every computer. All work ground to a halt. I looked at the carnage over and over from every conceivable angle. Pentagon, Philadelphia,…
Does not fit all. I studied PTSD for over 15 years now. I am noticing a growing trend towards one therapy should work for everyone. Hogwash. If I went to an eye doctor he would not give me the same prescription as the person before me. The one thing really awesome about my first counselor…
Too often another stumbling block to healing is the mind-set, “Fix me, please.” Too many clients walk into a counseling room expecting/pleading for the counselor to fix them. My counselor did not let me keep that delusion for very long. He informed me under no uncertain terms that I had a lot of work to…
Hectic week but I am forging forward with the lists of best practice principles on Blueknot…https://www.blueknot.org.au/Workers-Practitioners/For-Health-Professionals/Resources-for-Health-Professionals/Best-Practice-Guidelines One of the difficult things about counseling is sharing an ugly past. They point out that diminishing, discounting, and ignoring what happened are all part of the issues centered on sharing past events. Blueknot points out several parts of…
My counselor helped me to understand that PTSD was my survival tool for extreme situations. The issue that arose was using extreme measures for every day living. He pointed out that wearing full body armor in war times is reasonable. However, when the bombing stops carrying around all that armor wore me down and tired…
I was once asked by a counselor what aspects of my life were impacted by PTSD. Simple answer, “All of it.” There is not one part of my life left untouched by PTSD, or some people are calling multiple event trauma Complex PTSD. I struggled with understanding how deeply I am affected. I was raised…
I’ve mentioned before that before starting with a new counselor it is important to interview them just like any other person you would hire for a job. I decided not to go with one counselor after the second visit because it was so obvious by her actions that she knew very little about working with…
I entered counseling with the idea of getting marriage counseling. After years of raising kids I felt like there was this stranger in my house that I was married to. I was in for a real shock when after 2 months the counselor explained that my reactions to the homework assignments were not what he…
I’m in my third week of school and I feel like I am 2 weeks behind. I’m doing homework for school at home. I’m staying a little late each day just trying to tread water. I’m not gaining ground. So what do I need to do to reprioritize my choices so that I am at…
PTSD - Accepting, Coping, Thriving 