Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD for short, is a name which is given to a particular range and combinations of reactions after a trauma. It is a framework which helps health care professionals understand which reactions you may be experiencing and how to best help you.

After a trauma most people experience a range of reactions. If you experience those reactions for longer than one month, your reactions may be given the name Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Depending on how many reactions and the type and severity of the reactions that you are experiencing you could be experiencing partial or full blown Post-Traumatic Disorder.

Sufferers of trauma may benefit from a treatment known as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR is a non-drug, non-hypnosis psychotherapy procedure. The therapist guides the client in concentrating on a troubling memory or emotion while moving the eyes rapidly back and forth (by following the therapist's fingers). This rapid eye movement, which occurs naturally during dreaming, seems to speed the client's movement through the healing process.

EMDR is an intensive procedure for working through upsetting material. It should only be provided by a mental health professional with formal, supervised training in EMDR. It is safe and does not involve hypnosis or drugs. Research has shown that EMDR can help to make treatment both fast and effective.