Trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Trauma is the fallout from experiencing or witnessing a frightening event, such as physical, emotional or sexual abuse; accidents; natural disasters or deaths. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) results from severe or multiple traumas that have never been resolved and continue to have an ongoing and devastating impact upon one's life. Not all frightening experiences cause PTSD, and what may cause trauma and/or PTSD for one person may have little effect upon another.
A trauma victim may experience flashbacks and dreams of the event, hyper-vigilance, depression, sleeping difficulties, and problems with relationships. Alternately, the event may cause the victim to numb-out emotionally. Often trauma survivors don't see a connection between the traumatic event and their current problems.
Society has little patience with the emotionally wounded and expects people to just "get over it." For many trauma survivors, that expectation is not only unhelpful but also adds to the difficulty of resolving the trauma.
A trauma survivor needs a safe and supporting place in order to resolve the past negative experiences which are interfering with living more authentically and compassionately in present time.
STAR provides that net of safety and support which offers the survivor an opportunity to finally seek resolution from painful events of the past. Our caring therapists and facilitators help people find the courage to face and heal the emotional residue that remains from trauma, so it becomes possible to claim the power and freedom to move into the future with meaning and self-respect.
