Specialties


Post-traumatic stress
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can affect anyone who experiences
any type of trauma, from military combat to an auto accident to sexual,
physical or emotional abuse. Not everyone who experiences a trauma develops
PTSD, but those who do can struggle for months or years with painful and
difficult symptoms. These symptoms can include, but are not limited to:
flashbacks, nightmares, hyper-vigilance as well as generalized anxiety
and depression.
Using a variety of techniques, we work with our clients who struggle
with PTSD to reduce and gradually eliminate symptoms such as flashbacks,
nightmares, or anxiety. Most of the staff at Temenos have received training
in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a technique that
has been proven to be very effective in treating many kinds of PTSD
(see EMDR: A Tool For Healing).
Basically, treatment for PTSD consists in telling your
story in a safe environment and processing it in the context of a supportive
and caring relationship. Once processed, the memory of the experience
is no longer disruptive to your life, and becomes a normal memory of a
bad event, instead of a constant re-living of it.
Many people who struggle with PTSD have come to experience the
world as a dangerous place. At Temenos, we work to help people to develop
and maintain a realistic sense of safety as a foundation for further emotional
growth. Part of the goal is to integrate the trauma and the rest
of life (both good and bad) into a new, albeit more complex understanding
of the world. We have found that developing this type of coherent "life
story" helps people have the perspective and strength necessary to take
new risks towards happiness.
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