Trauma & PTSD

What is Trauma & PTSD?

Trauma refers to experiences that feel overwhelming, frightening, or distressing, often leaving a person feeling helpless or unsafe. These experiences can affect how we think, feel, and respond to the world long after the event itself has passed.

Trauma can occur in many ways. You may experience trauma directly, witness something distressing, or be exposed to ongoing stressful or unsafe environments. For some people, trauma responses may result from a single incident such as a car accident, assault, or natural disaster. For others, trauma develops over time through repeated or ongoing experiences, such as family violence or bullying.

While many people recover naturally over time, others may continue to experience ongoing distress. When trauma-related symptoms persist and begin to interfere with daily life, this may indicate Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In cases where trauma has been repeated or prolonged, some people may experience complex-PTSD (cPTSD), which includes the core symptoms of PTSD alongside deeper impacts on identity, relationships and emotional regulation.

PTSD is a common and understandable response to overwhelming experiences, and with the right support, recovery is possible.

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Common Responses to Trauma

Everyone responds to trauma differently. Some people may notice changes immediately, while for others symptoms develop over time. The impact of trauma can depend on factors such as age, severity and duration of the experience, and available support.

Common responses to trauma and PTSD may include:

• Feeling on edge or hypervigilant: You may feel constantly “on guard,” scanning for danger even when you are safe. You may also experience intrusive memories, flashbacks, or distressing thoughts about the event.
• Emotional changes: Trauma can lead to a range of emotions, including anxiety, anger, guilt, shame, sadness, or emotional numbness. Some people feel detached from themselves or others, or describe feeling “foggy”.
• Physical symptoms: Trauma activates the body’s stress response, which can lead to:
  • Racing heart
  • Muscle tension
  • Fatigue
  • Headaches
  • Nausea
  • General aches and pains
• Avoidance: You may find yourself avoiding reminders of the trauma, such as certain places, people, or conversations.
• Relationship difficulties: You might have difficulty trusting others, as well as avoid emotional or sexual intimacy. People who have experienced interpersonal trauma can also be more vulnerable to partnering with people who are abusive.
• Sleep difficulties: Sleep disturbances are common following trauma and may include:
  • Difficulty falling or staying asleep
  • Nightmares
  • Racing thoughts
  • Night sweats
  • Restless sleep
• Changes to beliefs: You may feel deep guilt or shame after experiences that go against your values, along with a lasting loss of trust in yourself, others, or the basic goodness of the world. Survivors also often struggle with feelings of self-blame and worthlessness.

We also explore in more depth five types of stress and trauma response in our article on Important ‘F words’: Fight, flight, freeze, fawn and flop’.

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When to Seek Trauma & PTSD Counselling

It is normal to experience distress following a traumatic event, though for many people these reactions gradually settle over the days to weeks following the event.

You might consider seeking support if one or more of the following are true for you:

• Feeling overwhelmed or unable to move forward with your life
• Ongoing distress that is not improving, or is getting worse over time
• Negative changes in how you see yourself, such as increased self-doubt, or feelings of guilt or shame
• Persistent feelings of low mood, or losing interest in things you usually enjoy
• Persistent feelings of betrayal, loss of meaning, or worthlessness
• Difficulty trusting others, feeling unsafe or guarded in relationships, or withdrawing from closeness or intimacy
• Feeling stuck in a loop, for example; repeating the same unhelpful behaviour, dating similar types of people who don’t meet your needs, or engaging in self-sabotage
• Struggling to concentrate, stay organised or motivated, or keep up with work or study
• Increased irritability, emotional reactivity, or feeling on edge
• Using alcohol, substances, or other unhelpful behaviours like self-harm to cope with distress
• Acting in ways that feel impulsive, risky, or out of character, or feeling less concerned about your safety or wellbeing

Seeking support does not mean something is wrong with you, it means your brain and body are responding to something that overwhelmed you. Therapy can help you process events in a way that allows you to move forward with your life.

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How Trauma & PTSD Therapy Can Help

Trauma therapy aims to support you to:

• Feel safer and more grounded
• Reduce anxiety and distress
• Process difficult experiences so that they ‘live in the past’ rather than intrude into your daily experience (e.g. resolve flashbacks, nightmares, or intrusive thoughts)
• Improve emotional regulation and strengthen healthy coping strategies
• Rebuild confidence and trust in yourself, other people, and the world at large
• Improve relationships, closeness, and intimacy
• Improve sleep

Trauma therapy is collaborative and paced according to your needs. You are never required to share more than you feel ready to.

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Common Approaches to Trauma Counselling

At Peaceful Mind Psychology, we use evidence-based approaches to support recovery from trauma and PTSD. These include:

• Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to replicate the brain’s natural emotion processing capabilities. You can read more about EMDR here.
• Trauma-focussed Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT): CBT helps identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviours that may be maintaining trauma symptoms. This can also include gradual exposure in a safe and supportive way.
• Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT): CPT is a structured therapy derived from CBT that helps identify and shift unhelpful beliefs, such as guilt or self-blame, so that traumatic experiences can be understood in a more balanced way.
• Schema Therapy: Schema therapy works to heal long-standing emotional, behavioural, and cognitive patterns formed in early life (often as a consequence of early trauma), helping people respond to themselves and others in more balanced and adaptive ways.
• Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT): DBT is also often used with trauma survivors. Although DBT does not treat trauma directly, it provides people with skills usually needed for trauma processing, such as emotion and distress management skills and supporting general stability and wellbeing.

Although not yet considered a first-line treatment for trauma, Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is also considered a promising and increasingly researched treatment for trauma, particularly for complex trauma.

Your psychologist will work with you to determine the most appropriate approach based on your experiences and goals.

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Fees, Medicare Rebates & Mental Health Care Plans

Fees vary depending on the experience and qualification of your psychologist. After-hours sessions also incur a higher fee. You can find out more about our fees here in our FAQs.

If you have a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHCP) from your GP, you are eligible for a Medicare rebate for psychology sessions under the Better Access initiative. Current rebates are listed in our FAQs.

Medicare rebates are available for up to 10 individual sessions per calendar year.

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Why Choose Our Melbourne Psychologists for Trauma Treatment

At Peaceful Mind Psychology, we understand that trauma work requires sensitivity, care, and a safe therapeutic environment.

Our Melbourne psychologists aim to provide:

• A warm, supportive, and non-judgemental space
• Evidence-based trauma therapies delivered by psychologists with a genuine interest in this area
• Individualised and collaborative care
• Support at your pace
• A focus on long-term recovery and wellbeing

If you are experiencing the effects of trauma or PTSD, you don’t have to navigate this alone. Support is available, and recovery is possible.

Contact Peaceful Mind Psychology to learn more about trauma counselling or to book an appointment.

If you are interested in learning more about trauma and PTSD, Phoenix Australia has a range of really good resources covering a wide range of trauma-related topics. 

FAQs for Trauma & PTSD Therapy

What type of psychologist deals with trauma?

Supporting trauma survivors is a particular area of training within the psychology field. Psychologists who have a particular interest, and are trained in, trauma-informed or trauma-focused approaches are best equipped to treat trauma. This often includes experience in therapies such as EMDR, trauma-focused CBT, or schema therapy, as well as an understanding of how trauma affects the nervous system, relationships, and sense of self.

Can you treat trauma if you don't have a diagnosis of PTSD?

Yes. Many people experience the effects of trauma without meeting full criteria for PTSD. You don’t need a formal diagnosis to benefit from support, and therapy can help with a wide range of difficulties such as anxiety, emotional overwhelm, relationship challenges, or lingering distress linked to past experiences.

What type of therapy is used for childhood trauma?

Childhood trauma is often addressed using therapies that work with long-standing patterns and emotional responses, such as schema therapy, EMDR, IFS, and trauma-focused CBT. These approaches can help process past experiences while also supporting changes in how you relate to yourself and others in the present.

What type of therapy is best for trauma?

There isn’t a single “best” trauma therapy for everyone. Evidence-based approaches such as EMDR, trauma-focused CBT (including CPT and exposure-based therapies), and schema therapy are commonly used and are a good place to start. Some people also find they resonate more with the approach or ‘feel’ of one therapy over another. The most effective approach will depend on your experiences, goals, and what feels manageable and safe for you. The best way to work this out is in discussion with your psychologist.

Can trauma therapy make things worse?

Trauma therapy can feel confronting, particularly when discussing difficult memories or emotions. However, a trained psychologist will work at a pace that feels safe, focusing on building coping skills and stability first, to reduce the risk of overwhelm and support a sustainable recovery process.