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Medical Trauma Therapy
Sometimes the medical experience itself becomes part of the trauma.
A diagnosis, medical emergency, surgery, hospitalization, invasive procedure, difficult treatment, unexpected complication or frightening interaction with the healthcare system can leave an impact long after the immediate medical crisis has passed.
Medical trauma therapy can help you process what happened, understand the ways your nervous system responded, and begin rebuilding a sense of safety and trust in your body.
AMES Therapy offers specialized medical trauma therapy using EMDR and somatic approaches, with online sessions available across Ontario and in person support in Oxford County and Kitchener-Waterloo/Cambridge area.
Medical trauma can develop following experiences such as a frightening diagnosis, emergency treatment, hospitalization, surgery, invasive procedures, cancer treatment, organ transplant, traumatic injury, chronic illness or pain, reproductive healthcare, or experiences of feeling dismissed, unheard or unsafe within the healthcare system.
When the Body Remembers
You may know you're safe now, while your nervous system is still responding to what happened then.
A medical experience may be over, but your nervous system may continue to respond as though the danger is still present.
Hospital smells, medical appointments, body sensations, test results, procedures or even thinking about what happened can trigger a response before you have time to make sense of it.
You might notice anxiety before appointments, intrusive memories, difficulty sleeping, hypervigilance, avoidance of medical care, panic, emotional numbness, or feeling disconnected from or mistrustful of your body.
These responses can be understood as the nervous system trying to protect you after an experience that felt frightening, painful, overwhelming or outside of your control.
You Might Notice
In the Mind
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Intrusive memories or images
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Fear about future medical care
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Constantly anticipating something going wrong
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Difficulty concentrating
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Avoiding reminders of what happened
In the Body
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Racing heart or changes in breathing
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Muscle tension or feeling on edge
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Nausea or other stress responses
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Feeling frozen, numb or disconnected
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Strong reactions to medical environments or body sensations
These reactions aren't necessarily signs that something is wrong with you.
They can be understandable protective responses following an overwhelming medical experience.
How Medical Trauma Therapy Can Help
Process What Happened
Work with distressing memories, thoughts, senstations, images and experiences that may still feel unresolved.
Regulate the Nervous System
Develop ways to recognize and respond to activation, shutdown and other protective nervous-system responses.
Reconnect With Your Body
Build greater safety and trust in a body that may have become associated with pain, illness, uncertainty or fear.
Prepare for What Comes Next
Strategies for appointments, procedures, tests, and other situations that may trigger anxiety or trauma responses.
An Integrative Approach
Depending on your needs, therapy may incorporate EMDR, somatic approaches, Polyvagal-informed nervous-system work, CBT/DBT, mindfulness, parts work and other trauma-informed strategies.
