Home | Therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

New Moon Psychotherapy offers Therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Downtown Toronto with online sessions available across Ontario.

What is PTSD?

Many people think of war and natural disasters when they think of PTSD. While these experiences can result in PTSD, PTSD is not limited to these experiences.

PTSD is a mental health condition that can happen when a person is exposed to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation by either:

Directly experiencing the traumatic event(s):
Eg. Victim of a sexual assault or physical assault, experiencing bullying, becoming seriously ill
Witnessing, in person, the traumatic event(s) as they occurred to others:
Eg. Witnessing a motor vehicle accident or an assault
Learning that the traumatic event(s) occurred to a close family member or a close friend:
Eg. Losing a loved one to Covid-19
Experiencing repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of the traumatic event(s):
Eg. Working as a first responder or a caregiver to someone who has experienced trauma.

Therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Downtown Toronto

What are the Symptoms of PTSD?

PTSD symptoms can be divided into four categories: avoidance symptoms, re-experiencing symptoms, changes in arousal and reactivity, and changes in thinking and/or mood.

People who experience PTSD try to protect themselves through avoidance
Avoidance of people, places, images, sounds, smells, tastes, and situations that remind you of the event
Avoidance of emotions and memories associated with the event
Substance use, self-harm, difficulty falling asleep, preoccupation with work, social withdrawal and feeling numb are all signs of avoidance
Dissociation can also happen – this is becoming lost in an event or losing the sense of present time

Hypervigilance – keeping your guard up, feeling on alert
Exaggerated startle response – jumpy, easily startled
Problems concentrating
Difficulty staying or falling asleep
Feeling easily irritated, losing your temper
Reckless or self-destructive behaviour such as self-harm, driving erratically or too fast, driving a motorcycle without a helmet, risky sexual behaviour, or other risk-taking behaviours

Believe that you are bad, that others can’t be trusted, and that the world is dangerous
Blame yourself or others for the traumatic event and what you should or could have done differently
Sense that you don’t fit in or that you’re cut off from others, even when you’re with them
Feel afraid, angry, guilty, and/or ashamed
Have a hard time feeling joy, happiness, and love
Lose interest in the things that were once important to you

Many of these symptoms are a natural response to trauma. If they are persistent, last for more than a month, and impair various areas of your life, it’s possible that you’re experiencing PTSD.

Not everyone experiences all of these symptoms and some people find some symptoms more distressing then others. At your first appointment, we’ll review your symptoms to see how the trauma has affected your life. Then we’ll develop a plan to target these areas specifically.

How is PTSD Treated?

The reason we love working with PTSD is because it is a highly treatable condition! Much research has been done to find out what therapies are most effective at helping you process and heal from trauma. When research supports the effects of a therapy, it is called evidence-based.

At New Moon Psychotherapy we only offer evidence-based therapies to help you feel better. This includes: