Understanding Trauma & PTSD, and How SHIFT Your Journey™ Can Help

What Is Trauma?

Trauma is a response to deeply distressing or disturbing experiences that overwhelm your ability to cope. It may result from a single event, repeated exposure to painful situations, or even long-standing emotional neglect. Trauma impacts how you feel about yourself, how you connect with others, and how safe you feel in the world. You may find yourself constantly on edge, emotionally numb, or triggered by things that seem small to others. These reactions are not flaws in you, they’re natural responses to what you’ve been through.

What Is PTSD?

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a condition that can develop after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. It can affect people of any age and background. You might feel stuck in the past, reliving moments of fear, or struggling to feel safe even when nothing is physically threatening you. PTSD can affect your relationships, job, sleep, and overall sense of peace. But recovery is possible, and you don’t have to go through it alone.

Types of Trauma We Address

• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): After a traumatic event (accident, assault, violence, disaster). Can include intrusive memories/nightmares, avoidance, feeling on edge, sleep problems, or negative shifts in mood/beliefs; feeling detached/unreal (dissociative symptoms and with delayed expression) symptoms start months later.

• Acute Stress Disorder (ASD): PTSD-like symptoms in the first 3–30 days after trauma.

• Adjustment Disorder (with anxiety/depressed mood/mixed): Emotional or behavioral symptoms after a major stressor or life change that feel overwhelming or out of proportion.

• Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD): Intense, persistent grief that lasts beyond cultural expectations and disrupts daily life.

• Reactive Attachment Disorder (children): Withdrawn, limited seeking/accepting comfort following severe neglect.

• Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (children): Overly familiar behavior with unfamiliar adults after severe neglect/disrupted caregiving.

• Other Specified/Unspecified Trauma- & Stressor-Related Disorder: Clinically significant symptoms that don’t fit a single category.

• Related concerns we support

• Complex trauma / C-PTSD (long-term, repeated trauma)

• Racial, intergenerational, and historical trauma

• Immigration/migration & acculturative stress

• Medical/birth trauma

• Community violence & safety threats

• Vicarious trauma / secondary traumatic stress (helpers, caregivers)

• Moral injury (conflict with core values)

Common Symptoms of Trauma and PTSD

Trauma and PTSD symptoms can show up in many ways. Some of the most common include:

• Flashbacks or nightmares

• Avoidance of reminders of the event

• Difficulty sleeping or relaxing

• Feeling emotionally numb or detached

• Hypervigilance or being easily startled

• Trouble with trust, intimacy, or emotional regulation

• Guilt, shame, or anger that feels hard to shake

These experiences can interfere with daily life and create a feeling of being “stuck” in survival mode. But healing is possible with the right support.

How SHIFT Helps You Heal from Trauma

At SHIFT Your Journey™, our therapists are trained in trauma-informed care and understand the complexity of trauma and PTSD. We offer online therapy throughout NY, NYC,CT, FL, and NJ so you can begin your healing process in a space that feels safe, comfortable, and accessible.

Our Trauma-Informed Approaches

• Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT): Helps you process traumatic memories and reframe the beliefs that keep you stuck.

• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): A powerful method used to reduce distress from traumatic memories.

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Supports emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and mindfulness for those dealing with intense emotional responses.

• Somatic & Mindfulness-Based Techniques: Help reconnect your body and mind to promote safety and grounding.

• Narrative Therapy: Encourages you to reclaim your story in a way that empowers your identity and growth.

Culturally Responsive Trauma Therapy

Trauma doesn’t look the same for everyone. At SHIFT Your Journey™, we honor the influence of culture, identity, and systemic challenges in your healing journey. Our therapists specialize in working with BIPOC clients and are committed to providing culturally affirming, identity-safe care that validates your lived experience.

A Note on Diagnosis and Safety

If you suspect you’re experiencing PTSD or trauma-related symptoms, a professional evaluation is key. Our licensed clinicians offer comprehensive assessments to guide your treatment, whether your trauma is recent or decades old. We also connect with medical and psychiatric providers when needed to ensure comprehensive support.

What Healing Can Feel Like

Healing from trauma does not mean forgetting what happened. It means learning to live without being defined or controlled by the pain. Over time, you may feel more grounded, more connected, and more capable of trusting yourself and others again. You begin to reclaim your life, one step at a time.

Take the Next Step with SHIFT

You don’t have to carry trauma alone. With virtual trauma and PTSD therapy in New York and Connecticut, SHIFT Your Journey™ makes it easier to begin healing at your own pace, in your own space. Whether you’re seeking relief from nightmares, emotional pain, or the invisible weight of past trauma, we’re here to walk with you through the journey.