Types of Trauma I Treat with EMDR Therapy

Early Childhood Trauma

Trauma in childhood can be due to any of the factors below:

• Physically or sexually abused as a child by caregivers, religious leaders, or others
• Emotionally neglected as a child – felt unloved, not cared for properly, rejected, or abandoned
• Witnessed physical or verbal violence/abuse in the home

Childhood trauma can be devastating. Its effects are usually carried into adulthood, negatively affecting your intimate relationships, feelings of self-worth, and mental health problems such as anxiety or depression.

Sexual Assault or Rape

If you were sexually assaulted, the trauma could be overwhelming. Symptoms of PTSD – intense fear, nightmares, flashbacks, and problems with intimacy and sleeping are common. You may experience shame and self-loathing.

If you knew the perpetrator, your distress could be more severe. Further, the fear of being blamed and your assailant not being charged if you report the assault can intensify your stress.

Traumatic Death or Relationship Loss

A death or a series of deaths, a betrayal, or a sudden ending to a relationship can cause traumatic grief.
Experiencing a loss can also bring up all the losses one has experienced in a lifetime, making symptoms worse.
If you don’t come to terms with your grief, you can develop “complicated grief,” where you feel trapped by your pain and are unable to heal.

Military or Combat Trauma

Military personnel frequently experience combat trauma as a result of the extreme danger and deadly encounters they face in the field of duty. Symptoms of severe PTSD in this population are almost universal and can last for years if professional counselling is not received.

In the past, the impact of combat trauma was either not acknowledged or minimized due to the emotional armour soldiers must put up to perform effectively in combat.

Fortunately, the effects of war trauma are now widely acknowledged, which makes it easier for you, if you’re a military professional, to be effectively treated for symptoms of PTSD.

First Responders

First responders include paramedics, firefighters, police & RCMP officers, nurses, doctors, and other emergency medical personnel.
If you’re one of these emergency workers, you can often end up with PTSD due to the frequent, horrific events you experience in your daily jobs.
If you hold one of these high-stress first response positions, you may notice that your symptoms have gotten worse over time due to repeated exposure to terrible events.

Trauma as an LGBT Person

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals often have experienced rejection from family or friends, bullying at school, and discrimination from society. Predatory sexual abuse from religious leaders may also have occurred.

If you are an LGBT person, you may experience low self-worth and even self-hatred due to the experiences you’ve had. You can also experience other stress responses, including depression, anxiety, and even PTSD.

Intimate Partner Abuse

If you’ve been the victim of domestic violence by a partner, you may have suffered from emotional, verbal, physical, or sexual abuse for an extended period.
The chronicity of the traumatic experience often leads to intense fears and PTSD. As a victim of partner violence, you may fear for your life if you leave, which serves to keep you trapped in the abusive relationship.

Medical Trauma

Many situations can result in medical trauma. The most common type of stress can be due to a serious medical diagnosis or procedure.
Trauma can also be experienced due to a stressful hospital stay.
Medical trauma is often overlooked, yet it can be as distressing as any other disturbing event, even more so if you have other unresolved traumas from your past.

Physical Assault or Robbery

Being the victim of a crime is traumatic – both psychologically and physically, especially if you’re assaulted. You may display many symptoms of trauma, including shock, anger, grief, feelings of being violated, etc.
As a victim of a crime, others may minimize your traumatic reactions, causing you more pain and stress.

Terrorist Incidents

Mass violence, such as shootings, bombings, and other types of violence committed against communities, affects many people at once.
The nature of the trauma symptoms can vary depending on the specifics of the situation, such as physical harm or the death of friends and family. Healing from a terrorist attack may take time in therapy.

Bullying (School, Workplace or Cyber Bullying)

There are many types of bullying:

• Physical violence (hitting, tripping, kicking, etc.)
• Verbal Abuse – name-calling, teasing, threats, embarrassing someone, etc.
• Cyberbullying – sending mean, hateful, or false content online via text, email, social media, etc.

Bullying can happen anywhere and can have a severe impact on a child’s or adult’s well-being. It can create depression, anxiety, intense fear, and impact self-worth, and even lead to suicide. If you’re experiencing problems due to bullying, my therapy can help.

Birth Trauma

Trauma at birth can be due to several factors, including a problematic birth, an unexpected cesarean section, stillbirth, or a baby born with difficulties or in life-threatening situations.
Birth trauma can also be due to hospital intervention methods or hospital staff who were insensitive to your needs and wishes as a birth parent. You or others might minimize birth trauma, but if you struggle with its effects, it is wise to seek therapy.

Generational Trauma

Once a family has experienced substantial or multiple traumas, the effects can be seen for several generations.
The transmission of trauma from one generation to the next can be due to any traumatic event or series of events that are not healed.
The cycle of stress, anxiety, depression, and fear can be challenging to break if treatment is not sought. If your symptoms seem severe after experiencing a traumatic event, it could be that your family has a history of trauma.

Accident Trauma (Workplace or Other)

In addition to experiencing a physical injury, emotional stress and PTSD can be the result of being involved in a workplace accident or other type of accident. The distressing effects can be intense and lasting.
The psychological impact of an accident can intensify physical pain and even interrupt physical healing.
The emotional wounds due to accidents are often overlooked or not taken seriously, even though you may experience ongoing stress, fear, and a sense of not having control. If you’re still distressed from an accident, you may want to see a therapist.

A Natural Disaster

Victims of natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, landslides, floods, and forest fires can have devastating symptoms of trauma, survivor’s guilt, and PTSD.
The emotional trauma of these events can devastate you as well as your entire family and community, exacerbating the effects of the distressing incident.

A Home or Building Fire

If your home has been in a fire, you’ll likely experience extreme distress, which can be worse if you were present when it happened.
However, the aftereffects can also be traumatizing. Relocating and rebuilding your life is distressing, and it may take months or years to settle into a home and new life again.

Refugee Trauma

Trauma for refugees is often caused by multiple stressful events that are due to political or religious oppression, war, migration, and resettlement.

If you’re a refugee, you may have experienced horrible situations such as starvation, violence, and torture, in addition to the trauma inherent in leaving your homeland and resettling elsewhere.

The effects of refugee trauma are severe and can be felt for generations if you do not receive therapy.