Trauma refers to single or multiple events or circumstances that are experienced as harmful or life-threatening that have a lasting impact on one’s mental, physical, emotional and social well-being. Research has shown that trauma is linked to a wide range of mental health issues. It has also been proven that trauma has an impact on developing brains in childhood which can affect the structure and function of adult brains. Hence when individuals experience situations of loss of power, choice, control and safety they may respond similarly as they had when experiencing their trauma, this response taken out of context may look extreme or abnormal.
Some types of trauma can include:
- Sexual Assault
- Domestic violence
- Bullying
- Homicide
- War
- Abuse
- Neglect
- Abandonment
- Family separation
- Inequality
- Marginalisation
- Racism
- Poverty
- Historical/Cultural trauma
- Childhood trauma which can be classified into 2 main groups:
- Type I Trauma: involves witnessing or experiencing a single traumatic event
- Type II Trauma: repeated exposure to extreme external events e.g. domestic violence
Treatment
Through therapy, there is a high potential for healing and mending relationships. Therapies that could help with trauma work include EMDR or Trauma-focused CBT. The clinicians at TOC (including Dr Cherie Chan, Dr Ronina Stevens and Dr Zoe Starnawski) aim to practice with a trauma-informed approach and will be able to help you through this journey of recovery.