Trauma Rehab Center

Trauma Therapy

There is a correlation between trauma and substance abuse. Trauma and symptoms of trauma are found to be one of the co-occurring disorders with the highest rates of prevalence for people with substance abuse. This means that people who experience trauma may be more likely to experience mental health and substance abuse disorder. Trauma therapy for addiction is the best way to support a person in rehab and recovery.

What is Trauma Therapy??

Dealing with past trauma is difficult and causes a lot of stress for people. Trauma Therapy is a specific approach to therapy that emphasizes understanding how the traumatic experience impacts a person’s mental, behavioral, emotional, and spiritual well-being. People react to trauma differently due to a combination of genetics, temperament, and repeated exposure to traumatic events.

Trauma can be defined in many ways. We know of the obvious traumas that people undergo such as physical and sexual abuse, rape, neglect, accidents, war, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters. But what about the soul wounds that people endure from abandonment, neglect, emotional and spiritual abuse, grief and loss, childhood health issues, childhood bullying, adoption, and divorce.

During counseling, several approaches can be incorporated to better support a person’s healing journey by understanding the connection between the trauma experience and the person’s emotional and behavioral responses.  Based on the neurology of the brain, people respond to trauma in different ways in the brain and body. The autonomic nervous system is one area that is impacted. The sympathetic nervous system increases heart, lung, and other systems, while the parasympathetic nervous system relaxes all those functions. Counselors at Palmetto uses Trauma Therapy to support the reduction of overstimulation of these systems and help a person feel less anxious, depressed, nervous, agitated, or otherwise feel harm from their environment as a result of trauma.

The purpose of trauma therapy is to offer skills and strategies for better understanding, coping with, processing emotions and memories tied to traumatic experiences, with the end goal of enabling a person to create a healthier and more adaptive meaning of the experience that took place in his/her life.

Treating Trauma and Addiction

Clients at Palmetto work with counselors who study and understand trauma, neglect, abuse, and how it all relates to substance abuse. At Palmetto, counselors are not just looking at the event that occurred and whether or not it is perceived as “traumatic” but how the individual has been adversely affected in mind, body, and soul as a result of the event. These responses to trauma can cause emotional development. These disruptions in emotional development lead to the individual being incapable of coping with life effectively as a mature adult, and can lead to utilizing alternative methods of coping, including addictions.

The importance of helping people feel safe while processing trauma cannot be underscored. Trauma Therapy is about the whole person and making sure they feel like their needs are met without causing them more harm. This can encourage people to continue their journey of recovery if they feel they are getting what they need and can move forward in recovery as they process trauma.

Attending a Trauma Therapy Program in Louisiana

The Palmetto Addiction Recovery Center is based on a Therapeutic Community model. Our goal is to provide trauma therapy that takes all of your trauma and neglect into account when we think about the best treatment modalities. We honor your story and work hard to help you navigate the trauma without causing more harm. Call us to find out more: 318.728.2970.

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