Aedra Therapy Services

Your Journey to Healing Starts Here

Compassionate therapy and coaching to support your recovery, growth, and resilience.

Book a Free Consultation

Our Services

Eating Disorder Therapy

Specialized support for individuals navigating recovery from anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders.

Trauma Therapy

Compassionate care for CPTSD, PTSD, and healing from life’s most difficult experiences.

Anxiety and Burnout Support

Empowering you to manage anxiety and rediscover balance in your personal and professional life.

top of page

therapy topics

Post-Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI)

 Understanding, Compassion, and Treatment

​

What Is Post-Traumatic Stress Injury?

​

Post-Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI) is a psychological and physiological response to overwhelming experiences that exceed your capacity to cope or process. It can result from:

  • A single traumatic event (e.g. accident, assault, natural disaster)

  • Repeated or chronic trauma (e.g. childhood abuse, domestic violence, combat exposure)

  • Relational or developmental trauma (e.g. neglect, emotional abandonment, attachment disruptions)

You may be more familiar with the term PTSD—Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—but many clinicians and survivors are now shifting to the term Injury instead of Disorder.

​

Why?

​

Because what you’re experiencing isn’t a flaw in your personality—it’s a wound that deserves care, not correction. Language matters, especially when we are working to reduce shame, stigma, and self-blame. As a shame-informed therapist, I honour the adaptive, protective ways your system has responded to traumatic events. Healing begins when we approach those responses with understanding and curiosity—not criticism.

​

Common Symptoms of PTSI

​

Each person’s experience of trauma is unique, but symptoms often fall into four key areas:

  • Re-experiencing: intrusive memories, flashbacks, nightmares, emotional flooding

  • Avoidance: withdrawing from reminders of the trauma, emotional numbing, dissociation

  • Hyperarousal: sleep difficulties, irritability, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response

  • Negative mood and beliefs: persistent shame, self-blame, loss of interest, difficulty trusting others

PTSI may also manifest as chronic anxiety, depression, unexplained physical symptoms, self-criticism, or difficulty feeling connected and safe in your own body.

​

How Trauma Affects the Nervous System and Brain

​

Trauma doesn’t just happen in the mind—it’s stored in the body and the nervous system.

When we experience trauma, the brain shifts into survival mode. The amygdala becomes overactive, constantly scanning for danger. The prefrontal cortex, which helps us reason and plan, becomes less active. The hippocampus, responsible for time and memory, may shrink, leaving us feeling stuck in the past or disconnected from time altogether.

These are adaptive survival responses, not signs of weakness. Your body and mind are doing what they were designed to do—to protect you from harm. But when those responses persist long after the trauma has passed, they can start to interfere with daily life and relationships.

​

My Approach to Healing PTSI

​

As an integrative, shame-informed therapist, I provide trauma care that is gentle, collaborative, and deeply respectful of your pace. I blend evidence-based psychological therapies with body-oriented, relational, and narrative approaches to support lasting recovery.

Rather than using a one-size-fits-all method, I tailor our work to your unique story, nervous system, and goals.

​

Phases of Trauma Recovery

​

1. Safety and Stabilisation

Healing begins with safety—not just physical safety, but emotional and nervous system safety. In our early sessions, we’ll focus on:

  • Establishing tools for grounding and emotional regulation

  • Understanding trauma’s impact through psychoeducation

  • Creating internal and external resources

  • Identifying and reducing shame-based inner narratives

This phase is about building a foundation. We don’t rush into trauma processing—you’ll always set the pace.

​

2. Reconnection with the Body

Many trauma survivors feel disconnected from their bodies—cut off, numb, or unsafe inside themselves. Together, we can gently restore that connection using body-based approaches such as:

  • Somatic Experiencing

  • Sensorimotor techniques

  • Polyvagal-informed therapy

  • Mindfulness and grounding

You’ll begin to feel more anchored, present, and embodied—able to notice internal states without being overwhelmed by them.

​

3. Processing the Trauma (When You Are Ready)

When you feel ready to process the trauma itself, we’ll work together to choose the most appropriate, evidence-based method for you. This may include:

  • Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) – a structured method for contextualising trauma within your full life story, especially useful for complex or multiple traumas.

  • Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) – helps identify and shift the stuck beliefs trauma can create (e.g., “It was my fault,” “I’m not safe,” “I’m unloveable”).

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS) – explores the protective parts of you that may carry fear, anger, or shame, and supports healing of the wounded parts they protect.

  • Brainspotting – a powerful, brain-based approach that helps release trauma held deep in the subcortical brain, without needing to relive the story verbally.

  • Trauma-Focused CBT and Narrative Therapy – offering structured support for cognitive and emotional processing, while helping you reclaim agency and authorship of your story.

All processing work is done collaboratively and gently, staying within your window of tolerance—the emotional zone where healing can happen safely.

​

4. Integration and Rebuilding

Healing from trauma isn’t just about reducing symptoms—it’s about reclaiming your life. In the integration phase, we focus on:

  • Strengthening your identity and self-worth

  • Rebuilding trust and safety in relationships

  • Exploring post-traumatic growth

  • Living more in alignment with your values and needs

We may also work with creative and expressive approaches to help integrate the trauma story in a meaningful, life-affirming way.

​

                       You Are Not Broken. You Are Brave.

​

PTSI is a completely human response to overwhelming events. If you’ve been living with anxiety, shame, numbness, or self-doubt, please know that you are not alone—and it is not your fault.

Your survival responses were adaptive and protective. Now, you have the chance to gently unlearn what no longer serves you and create space for new ways of being, relating, and living.

​

Ready to Begin?

​

If you're struggling with the effects of trauma and would like to explore support, I’d be honoured to walk alongside you. I offer a compassionate, non-judgemental space to explore your story at your pace.

You can get in touch to arrange a consultation or find out more about working together.

You don’t have to carry this alone.

​

bottom of page