Addressing Medical Trauma with Trauma Informed Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive processing therapy, or CPT, is a specific type of cognitive behavior therapy designed to address trauma in adults. CPT can be highly effective in helping individuals with various traumas, including medical trauma. As a therapist, I am trained in the use and application of CPT and offer my services online from my DC-based practice.

What Makes Cognitive Processing Therapy Different From Other Trauma Treatments?

CPT helps individuals empower themselves to confront traumatic memories and intrusive thoughts by replacing these unhelpful thought patterns (or stuck points) with more helpful thought patterns. However, CPT does not require exposure to the traumatic event. Exposure, or processing the traumatic event via talk therapy or images, may not be helpful for everyone. CPT is focused on the here and now and addresses unpleasant thoughts as they occur in the present moment.

Is Cognitive Processing Therapy for Me?

You may benefit from this trauma-informed type of cognitive behavior therapy if you are struggling to navigate:

• Sexual abuse

• Sexual assault

• Death of a loved one

• Emotional or verbal abuse

• Natural disaster

• Experiencing an act of terror

• Medical trauma

What do we do in CPT Treatment?

Identify stuck points

These may sound like this:

• The world is an unsafe place.

• My body is broken and my illness is my fault.

• I must be on guard at all times.

• Medical professionals cannot be trusted.

• I am unloveable because of my illnesses.

• No one can understand how I am feeling.

• I have no control over my body or future.

Answer challenging questions to address the stuck points:

• Find evidence that supports the stuck point.

• Find evidence that that is against the stuck point.

• Is the suck point a habit or fact?

• Is the stuck point all or nothing or rigid?

• Is the stuck point possible or likely?

• Is your stuck point based on feelings or facts?

Recognize how your medical trauma or traumatic events have impacted the way you feel about:

• Esteem

  • Your beliefs in your self-worth and how you value those around you.

• Intimacy

  • Your belief is that you can meet your own emotional needs and are able to make emotional and intimate connections with others.

• Power or control

  • Your belief is that you have power in your day-to-day to solve problems and meet challenges or you may attempt to control the future or those around you.

• Safety

  • Your belief that you can protect yourself or that others are safe to be vulnerable with.

• Trust

  • Your belief is that you can trust yourself, your thoughts and feelings as well as others in your life.

Create helpful new thought patterns.

Use the evidence you gathered from challenging questions to acknowledge your feelings surrounding the belief while reframing the thought pattern to include new evidence.

Is Medical Trauma Real?

Yes. Medical trauma is just as real and valid as any other traumatic event. Individuals with chronic illness or pain experience repeated invasive surgical procedures, medical treatments, and physical pain on a repeated basis. Childbirth is often spoken about as a briefly painful experience to give way to the most magical time of life.

However, the reality is that childbirth can be extremely traumatic, life-threatening as well as emotionally and physically exhausting. Having a scary childbirth experience can make it difficult to want to think about expanding your family or impacting your physical abilities to care for your newborn.

Medical trauma is emotional and physical responses to pain, injury, serious illness, medical procedures, and frightening treatment experiences.

There are lots of different experiences related to illness, injury, or medical treatment that can be difficult, uncomfortable, or frightening.

• A sudden, life-threatening illness or injury and the related treatment

• Shock and feeling out of control when receiving a scary diagnosis

• Life-changing complications or problems during or after a medical procedure

• Unexpected medical intervention such as needing an emergency intervention

• Things about the hospital like constant noise, frequent medical checks, and staff disrupting sleep

-International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies

What Can Cause Medical Trauma?

• Giving birth

• Cancer

• Chronic Pain

• Chronic Illness

• Pregnancy loss

• Repeated dismissal of pain or illness by medical providers

• Repeated invasive medical procedures or surgical procedures

  
  

What are Some Signs I am Experiencing Medical Trauma?

• High anxiety surrounding flare-ups, pain, new testing, or new treatments

• Depression

• Avoidance of situations that remind you of the trauma, such as an OBGYN’s office or surgeons in hospitals.

• Flashbacks or intrusive thoughts surrounding the traumatic event(s)

• Feeling hypervigilant about your bodily safety

• Catastrophizing about your health or outcomes of appointments

• Difficulty sleeping

Medical Trauma Therapy Available in the DC Area

If you are a postpartum mom still struggling with the thoughts and feelings surrounding the birth of your baby or navigating the roller coaster of chronic illness and chronic pain, reach out. Learn ways to manage your symptoms of medical trauma, be present in the here and now, and thrive.