Overcoming Trauma with Counseling
Guest Post by Walter Benenati
Debilitating injuries aren’t just physically disabling, but often emotionally traumatizing too. Indeed, those who suffer traumatic and acute injuries as the result of an accident are often left with mobility limitations and mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, high levels of stress, and even post-traumatic stress disorder.
For all people who have experienced any sort of trauma in their lives, including those who have suffered debilitating injuries, counseling can be an effective tool for mitigating negative psychological effects and improving mental wellbeing.
How Can Counseling Help?
While there is no immediate solution to ameliorate the psychological effects of a personal injury, nor a single solution that is effective for everyone, counseling may play a large role in the healing process. Some of the goals of therapy following trauma and injury include reducing trauma symptoms, improving daily functioning, and reclaiming a sense of personal power and control over one’s life.
While counseling is aimed and helping the mind and reducing or eliminating psychological complications, it may have a positive effect on your physical healing after an injury, too. In fact, there are numerous studies that show how stress and other negative psychological states can impair healing. One such study focuses on the relationship between psychological state of mind and rates of healing (involving participants suffering from diabetes-related foot ulcers); results showed that the likelihood of healing in a specific amount of time was predicted by how individuals coped.
How Will a Counselor Treat Me?
There are many different styles of therapy and counseling; your counselor will assess your situation to determine which type of therapy is best for you. Some of the most common types of therapy include behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and even group therapy. However, regardless of the specific program or approach, counseling should incorporate:
- Empowerment – You are in charge of your healing;
- Validation – It is important that others understand what happened to you and the role your injuries have played in your life; and
- Connection – You are not alone – counseling can help you to reconnect with others in your life.
Your counselor will also likely suggest a number of other things that you can do to help you cope with the trauma and move forward in a positive way. These things might include keeping a journal, exercising, improving your diet, finding a creative outlet, learning something new, spending time with loved ones, and incorporating different relaxation techniques. Another technique may be working with an Orlando personal injury lawyer – filing a claim and seeking justice can provide a sense of closure.
Start the Process of Healing Now
Healing after suffering a traumatic injury is a very long, and sometimes very painful, process. Through counseling, you will learn how to confront the traumatic event rather than hide from it. While this may feel intimidating, counseling can be a positive and effective way of improving your psychological state and improving your physical healing.
If you want to learn more about counseling after an injury and overcoming trauma with counseling, or you are ready to make your first appointment, please contact us today and schedule your 15-minute complimentary phone conversation.
