Medical Trauma Therapy Seattle
Expert Support for Medical Trauma Therapy in Seattle: Healing with Compassion
Chelsea Kramer LMFT #60543643 | Licensed in Washington | 15 years in practice | Perinatal Mental Health Certified
Image from Unsplash by Mathew Schwartz
You experienced a major medical event and it was awful. You may or may not use the word ‘traumatic’ but dealing with the medical system leaves its impact. You’re feeling much more vulnerable than you did previously. You’ve been a lot more anxious and on edge. You struggle with trusting your body and don’t know if that will change. You often judge yourself; you don’t think this should be a big deal and hate when it comes up in your mind. You don’t want to be perceived as weak or a burden. You also worry about getting proper treatment and the care you need.
You’re not only coping with a major medical event but you’re having to deal with the medical system. You’ve been dismissed, minimized and de-valued more times than you can count. You know the system is the problem, but can’t help starting to question your experience, question if you can believe what you’re feeling in your body. The trust you’ve previously had in yourself, and your experience has been shaken. You’ve been disregarded because of your size, a lack of a diagnosis, your gender, your skin color, you name it. You no longer want to feel guilt or shame simply for existing and having needs. You’d love to be able to move forward with peace, acceptance, and a plan.
I help clients dealing with impacts of a major medical event as well as preparation for an upcoming surgery or procedure. This can include processing the health event itself or the treatment from the medical system. Events may be due to chronic illness, injury, a challenging diagnosis, surgery, or procedure. I help people build foundations of support, process trauma, and heal. I help people like you who often are disregarded by the medical system build concrete skills to promote psychological flexibility, mental resilience, and confidence. I can help you heal trust within yourself, build on your strengths, and create committed action plans to work towards fulfillment of your goals. I continue to work on myself to promote weight inclusive, gender inclusive, anti-racist care. I am here to walk alongside you during your journey. I don’t do toxic positivity–that’s not helpful. I can offer 15 years of working with clients of all different abilities as well as unique empathy having been the patient time after time.
If you’re ready to decrease anxiety, feel safer and reduce avoidance, schedule a free therapy consultation today.
Symptoms of Medical Trauma
Photo from Unsplash by Clay Banks
You keep replaying the event in your mind
You’re anxious about the future
You’ve been depressed and had a low mood
You feel isolated
You don’t trust yourself or your body
You don’t trust doctors or the medical system
You avoid going to the doctor
You worry about your health
You’re dreading an upcoming surgery, procedure, or appointment
You’re a medical professional dealing with the impacts of your job
You saw a loved one experience an injury, illness, or traumatic experience
A Note For Healthcare Workers:
If you’re a healthcare worker, a doctor, nurse, anesthesiologist, surgeon, physicians assistant, or any other provider, you probably deal with intense human interactions on a regular basis. If you’re a woman, a person of color, or a minority in these space, it can feel even more challenging. If you feel frustrated, irritable, overwhelmed and are taking your work home with you, know that you don’t have to. I help healthcare workers deal with the long term impacts of dealing with secondary medical trauma build sustainable mental health practices to support a valued life. Therapy is a confidential space to explore both the systemic challenges and daily hurdles you face on a regular basis. Schedule a free consultation today.
Questions About Medical Trauma Therapy in Seattle
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Trauma is subjective, but generally it’s a significant event that both at that time caused stress, fear or pain which is also felt mentally, emotionally, and physically long after the event has concluded. Trauma can entail one specific incident or can be a set of experiences compounding another. Trauma can get people stuck mentally and physically. Your nervous system can get stuck in responding perceived threats when you’re actually safe.
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Narrative therapy is particularly well-suited to work with medical trauma — helping clients reauthor the story of what happened to them — and ACT is well-researched for trauma-related avoidance and building resiliency.
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Medical Trauma can be defined as a set of psychological and physical responses to treatment experiences, the medical system, injury, illness, procedure or surgery. It can be a result of interpersonal interactions with providers or as a result of physical injury or illness. I work with both healthcare professionals and patients who’ve been traumatized by their medical experiences.
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Acute:
Acute trauma means the trauma came from a specific incident. This can happen in response to an injury, accident, maltreatment, procedure or surgery.
Chronic:
Chronic trauma is ongoing. This kind of trauma repeats itself. Many people who deal with chronic health conditions might experience this form of trauma.
Complex:
Complex trauma is compounded trauma. It’s hard to tease out individual events because they compound on one another. Systemic issues such as the impact of racism would fall into this category.
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Remember, trauma is subjective, so if something is bothering you to the degree that it’s stopping you from living the kind of life you want, then it’s something that needs to be addressed. These examples are intended only to provide examples, not be an exhaustive list of what may be considered medical trauma.
Examples:
Traumatic birth
Traumatic anesthesia experience
Traumatic surgery or procedure
Traumatic injury
Traumatic diagnosis
Terminal diagnosis/degenertive illness
Systemic racism, ableism, anti-fatness
Having your symptoms dismissed
Not being believed
Lack of provider knowledge
Provider Harm
Lack of physical accessibility
Chronic physical strain
Recovery from diet culture
Medical malpractice or mistake
Secondary Trauma
Burnout
Caregiving
Winessing loved one’s trauma
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Trauma responses are stored in the body. Your nervous system doesn’t know that the threat is now gone because it’s still experiencing stimuli associated with the event. The nervous system can get stuck, its job is to protect you at all costs. Therapy can help re-set your nervous system and not be overly vigilant in providing safety.
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You can experience something traumatic and not develop post-traumatic stress disorder and it can still negatively impact your life. Clients often don’t meet the specific diagnostic criteria for PTSD but would still consider their experience(s) traumatic. Trauma is subjective. One person may think an event went smoothly while the other person is traumatized. Not being in network with insurance providers allows me to serve clients that don’t fit into diagnostic criteria.
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Medical trauma can manifest as burnout, a pre-occupation with work, disruption in appetite or sleep, irritability, apathy, and isolation. Medical trauma among healthcare providers has always been a challenge, but there’s been a rise since the pandemic. Doctors, nurses, EMTs, physical therapists, mental health practitioners, anyone regularly exposed to patients can experience medical trauma. The term ‘secondary trauma’ is also used.
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As said before, trauma is subjective and many times as a way to cope, you may minimize events that have happened in your life. It’s okay if you just don’t feel confident or comfortable going to the doctor or medical appointments and want help. There could be a variety of reasons why you feel the way you feel. What is important is that you get support and can take action you feel good about. Basically, don’t feel like you have to have an identified ‘Big T’ Trauma to come to therapy. I will meet you where you are at and help you meet your goals.
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When one person in a family experiences a medical trauma, it impacts the entire system. It can impact the amount of stress felt by each person, it can challenge roles and rules within the system, and it can also exacerbate existing challenges within the family. You and your family may benefit from addressing not only the individual impacts of medical trauma but the systemic and familial impacts as well.
Disclaimer: Remember, therapy for of medical trauma is NO SUBSTITUTE for medical care and does not constitute legal advice regarding medical mistreatment. If you’re dealing with the negative effects of one or multiple medical traumas, or you’re a medical professional dealing with the impacts of providing care, reach out and schedule a consultation today.
Want to learn more about Chelsea? My work focuses on individuals and families dealing with anxiety, grief, and medical trauma, with a special focus on infertility, pregnancy loss, menopause, and health issues.