Trauma and PTSD Treatment in New Jersey

Trauma is an emotional response. It can occur as a response to one event or a distressing set of events. Traumatic events can overwhelm your coping abilities. It can stem from accidents, witnessing violence, abuse, combat or natural disasters. When the effects of trauma are persistent, they can lead to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

New Jersey Behavioral Health is a PTSD treatment center. We offer trauma-informed care in addition to treatment for co-occurring addiction disorders.

Our programs provide a path to healing and recovery, addressing each person’s unique needs.

Our team of compassionate professionals provides innovative, evidence-based and holistic therapies that can help you beat trauma and PTSD. We help you regain control over your life and find hope for the future.

What is Trauma?

Trauma is a response that can be emotional and physical to something deeply disturbing or distressing. The experiences can leave a lasting impact on mental and emotional well-being.

Trauma is not just about the event itself. It’s about how it’s perceived and processed. What could be traumatic for one person might not be for another. Individual resilience, previous experiences and support systems all play a role in how we respond to trauma.

Types of trauma include:

  • Acute trauma, which results from a single major event.
  • Chronic trauma arising from repeated, prolonged exposure to distressing events. Examples include long-term illness or ongoing abuse.
  • Complex trauma is linked to chronic trauma. It refers to the profound effect of exposure to multiple traumatic events.
  • Developmental trauma occurs during childhood. It involves exposure to ongoing or repeated events like neglect.

Trauma can have far-reaching effects on one’s life. It can affect one’s sense of safety, trust in others, and self-worth.

Without treatment, it can make other mental health challenges like depression and anxiety more likely to happen.

Trauma’s Impact on Mental Health and the Risk of PTSD

Trauma can significantly impact your mental health.

It can interrupt your ability to effectively manage your emotions. Emotional dysregulation can mean that you experience intense anger, sadness or shame, for example. It can be hard for you to calm down once you’re upset.

Traumatic experiences lead to negative beliefs about yourself, others, and the world. You might see others as untrustworthy and yourself as lacking power.

When you’re exposed to trauma, it can lead to you isolating yourself from others.

PTSD is a mental condition that may occur after trauma. Not everyone will develop it,  but factors that raise the risk include:

  • The severity and duration of trauma.
  • A lack of support systems.
  • Previous mental health issues.
  • Biological and genetic factors.
  • Coping mechanisms and resilience.

Symptoms of PTSD include:

  • Intrusive memories: Recurrent and unwanted memories of the event can occur. Flashbacks where you relive it are a symptom, or you may have distressing nightmares or dreams about the event.
  • Avoidance: If you have PTSD, you might avoid thinking or talking about the traumatic event. You could also find that you avoid people, activities and places that are reminders.
  • Negative changes in your mood and thoughts: These can manifest as negative thinking about yourself, memory problems and hopelessness. It could be hard to keep up close relationships. You may experience feelings of detachment and emotional numbness.
  • Changes in how you react both physically and emotionally: Known as hyperarousal, these symptoms mean you could be started easily, feel tense or edge, and have angry outbursts. You might also engage in self-destructive behaviors like substance abuse.

Treatment for PTSD

At our PTSD treatment center, approaches usually involve a combination of therapy and medicine. Some of the common therapies we use as treatment for PTSD include:

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): This therapy helps you identify negative thought patterns and related behaviors and make changes.
  • Exposure therapy: As a form of CBT, during exposure therapy, you face and work to control your fears by exposing them to trauma in safe ways.
  • Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR): EMDR uses guided eye movements to help you process and integrate traumatic memories.
  • Medication management: Antidepressants and anti-anxiety medicines might be used when appropriate to manage PTSD symptoms.

At New Jersey Behavioral Health, we offer comprehensive treatment for PTSD, focusing on both the psychological and physiological aspects.

Trauma, PTSD and Addiction

There’s often a close, interconnected relationship between trauma, PTSD and addiction. The cycle can get complex and affect your physical and mental health.

Trauma can be a root cause of PTSD as well as addiction. You might not be able to cope with the emotional distress you’re going through. You could turn to drugs or alcohol for self-medication or to numb your emotional pain.

Substances can be used for managing intrusive thoughts or reducing hyperarousal and anxiety.

The relief is temporary, leading to addiction and physical dependence on these substances.

Addiction can make PTSD symptoms worse and lead to further trauma, guilt and shame.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment

We offer dual diagnosis treatment at New Jersey Behavioral Health.

It’s an integrated approach addressing addiction and mental conditions simultaneously. If one condition goes untreated, the result can be incomplete recovery or relapse.

We pair evidence-based therapy approaches to help with processing trauma, managing systems and developing healthier coping strategies. We also integrate supportive and holistic services to support complete physical and mental well-being.

Our levels of care at our PTSD treatment center include an intensive partial hospitalization program, which is highly structured. It provides an in-depth, high level of care but without the 24/7 supervision of an inpatient program.

Our intensive outpatient program (IOP) is more flexible if you’re transitioning from a higher level of care or need support but need the ability to manage other life responsibilities.

Our outpatient treatment program is good if you require ongoing therapy and support but have a stable living environment and can be accountable for your progress and recovery.

Connect with Our PTSD Treatment Center in New Jersey

If you’d like to learn more about trauma and PTSD treatment as well as dual diagnosis care for addiction, reach out to our caring and experienced team at New Jersey Behavioral Health. We support patients throughout their recovery journey, and our team specializes in treating PTSD and addiction. Get help today.

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