Kelly O’Donnell provides PSTD treatment for people looking to regain control of their thoughts, feelings, and relationships. She has helped multiple kinds of trauma, including complex PTSD so that they can find relief from their symptoms.
What is PTSD?
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, such as a car accident, a natural disaster, a sexual assault or combat.
Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Complex PTSD) describes a more severe form of PTSD that can occur after long-term and repeated exposure to physical or emotional trauma over which a person has little or no control.
Schedule an appointment by calling 314-643-8224 or submit a contact form online.
Our approach to EMDR therapy combats PTSD to provide healing specifically for St. Louis first responders. Learn more.
St. Louis PTSD Counseling
PTSD is typically caused by a single instance or short incidences of trauma, while Complex PTSD is typically caused by prolonged trauma.
The following are examples of traumatic situations that can be associated with Complex PTSD:
- Long-term domestic violence or sexual abuse
- Childhood emotional, physical or sexual abuse
- Entrapment, kidnapping and human trafficking
- Repeated violations of personal boundaries
- Long-term objectification
- Prisoner of War (POW) camps and concentration camps
- Forced prostitution or forced labor
- Long-term taking care of mentally ill or chronically sick family members
- Long-term exposure to crisis conditions
If you or someone you love has been involved in any of these types of situations, I would like to help.My interpersonal approach helps you heal, understand, process and move forward from traumatic events.
Please call me today at 314-643-8224 to discuss St. Louis Complex PTSD treatment .
Complex PTSD Symptoms
Long-term exposure to trauma can disrupt a person’s ability to control emotions and form relationships with others. It can also cause memory problems, anxiety, guilt, the inability to trust and physical pains.
Symptoms that are commonly associated with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are:
- Persistent sadness, suicidal thoughts or extreme anger
- Difficulty controlling emotions
- Memory loss
- Feelings of shame or guilt
- Inability to trust others
- Dissociation
- Physical pain that can’t be medically explained
- Loss of identity
These symptoms can manifest in a myriad of ways.
Extreme anger can turn inwards and result in eating disorders, substance abuse, self-mutilation and promiscuity. Or, conversely, extreme anger can turn outwards and result in theft, destruction of property, physical violence or obsessive compulsive behaviors. Complex PTSD symptoms can also manifest as perfectionism – the practice of holding oneself or others to unrealistic and unattainable standards of organization or accomplishment.
Those experiencing Complex PTSD may withdraw from relationships altogether or develop unhealthy relationships with controlling, narcissistic people. They may become inappropriately dependent on another individual for their health, subsistence, decision making and emotional well-being.
Symptoms of Complex PTSD can be displayed as severe depression, fear of abandonment, low self-esteem and self-loathing. Symptoms can also manifest as panic attacks – short intense episodes of anxiety, often accompanied by physical symptoms, such as hyperventilating, shaking and sweating.
Those suffering from Complex PTSD may escape reality by taking imaginary excursions to happier, more peaceful places and deny the traumatic experience ever happened.
If you or someone you love is experiencing any of these symptoms, I would like to help. Please call me, Kelly O’Donnell, today at 314-643-8224 to discuss your symptoms and how they can be treated.
St. Louis Complex PTSD Treatment
Recovery from Complex PTSD requires the restoration of control for the traumatized person. Those suffering from Complex PTSD can become empowered by healing relationships, a supportive environment and time to mourn.
The following is recommended as general treatment of Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder:
- Removal of and protection from the source of trauma
- Acknowledgement of the trauma as real and that recovery will take significant time and effort
- Identification of and mourning for what has been lost
- A supportive environment where the victim can discover that they are not alone
- Program of recovery that focuses on what can be improved in an individual’s life that is now under their own control
Personal therapy and counseling is also recommended in the treatment of Complex PTSD. Counseling often includes addressing interpersonal, behavioral, emotional, and mental difficulties and methods for restoring control of one’s life.
If you are suffering from Complex PTSD, I can help you restore your sense of control using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and psychotherapy. I can also help you understand your thoughts, feelings and behaviors, and help you change the way you think and feel about the traumatic events that have happened to you. My goal is to teach you how to maintain healthy relationships, move on from the past and reconnect to daily life.
Contact Kelly O’Donnell today at 314-643-8224 or submit a contact form online to discuss treatment for Complex PTSD.