Traumatic Loss
Some examples of traumatic loss are death by suicide, overdose, accidental death, or murdered and missing persons. When a death occurs without warning, is untimely, if it involves violence, or if the survivor believes that the death could have been prevented was unfair and /or was unjust we call this a traumatic loss.
When you are a survivor of a traumatic death, you have a double layer of grief. Frist, you must cope with the trauma surrounding the circumstances of the loss ,and then, deal with your grief. Some people describe traumatic loss like your thoughts and emotions are thrown into a big emotional blender. And so, it is easy to get utterly stuck in a place of prolonged and intense symptoms of grief.
One of the first and most powerful reactions to a violent or sudden death is that survivors’ beliefs are shattered. These beliefs of safety are replaced by thinking the world is unsafe and unpredictable, that others are malicious and evil, and that one is powerless in protecting themselves and their family. This is a lonely and angry place to land and remain.
Ruminating thoughts about the death along with guilt and self blame, can create the false conclusion that the survivor is going crazy. When these thoughts and feelings are suppressed and not shared with a trusted person, the intensity of the grief reaction can explode.
Social support is very important in any stressful situation but especially in grief.
Remember, your grief is welcome here.
Trauma-informed care - although there are multiple biological and environmental factors that affect our mental health and lead to mental illness, trauma plays a huge role. Through various modalities, including psycho-education, I work with individuals to understand their nervous system and learn strategies to self-regulate.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), where I work with clients to learn how our thoughts influence our emotions, and further, how our emotions influence our actions.
Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), where I focus more on mindfulness, grounding strategies, and radical acceptance.
Multiple areas of our lives lead to our mental health, so I focus holistically, where I work with your biological, psychological, social, and spiritual needs.