Every day, millions of people across the U.S. are affected by some kind of trauma-related mental health condition. Illnesses of this type can seriously interfere with the ability to function in daily life. That’s true for teenagers, as well as younger children and adults. Fortunately, effective therapy for healing trauma is available. This therapy provides an array of potential benefits for participants of all ages. Separately and collectively, trauma therapy’s benefits can help form the basis for a lasting recovery.
Benefits of Trauma Therapy Programs
#1: Understanding the Effects of Trauma
Lingering trauma can lead to major changes in your teen’s thoughts, emotional responses, and behaviors. However, the causes of such changes aren’t always obvious, especially to affected people. One of the key benefits of trauma therapy is learning what trauma is and how it works. This knowledge can improve your child’s understanding of what’s happening to them. In many cases, it also generates feelings of empowerment and greater self-esteem.
#2: Decreasing the Impact of Trauma Symptoms
People affected by serious trauma may experience a range of damaging symptoms. Examples of these symptoms include:
- Nightmares
- Flashbacks
- Intrusive thoughts
- Anxiety
- A sense of shame or guilt
- Depression
- Jitteriness
- Emotional instability
Trauma therapy is specifically designed to address such problems. It relies on a range of methods to reduce its impact. The end result is often a much more functional daily routine.
#3: Improved Coping Skills
Adolescence can be stressful in the best of circumstances. To deal with this stress, your teen needs effective coping skills. However, serious trauma can degrade those skills. Without help, this situation can lead to a downward cycle of worsening symptoms.
The development of improved coping skills is a cornerstone of trauma therapy. These skills can help protect your child from the things that trigger traumatic reactions. In turn, they can also limit future susceptibility to trauma triggers.
#4: A Renewed Sense of Safety
Teens affected by lingering trauma often feel unsafe. This lack of safety can manifest in multiple ways, including heightened:
- Physical vulnerability
- Mental vulnerability
- Emotional vulnerability
- Vulnerability in relationships
Trauma therapy can help your teen re-establish a sense of safety. It does so, in large part, by reducing symptoms and improving coping skills.
#5: A Greater Sense of Self
Some of the effects of lingering trauma can damage your child’s sense of self. Common indicators of this damage include feelings of shame and low self-esteem. Depression may also play a role. In addition, some affected teens may feel separate from their surrounding reality.
For many teenagers, trauma therapy benefits include a greater sense of self. As a rule, this is a process that happens over time. An improved sense of self often comes with greater feelings of agency. These feelings can help transform your child’s perspective on their recovery. Instead of participating passively, they may become active forces in the search for increased well-being.
Learn More About the Benefits of Trauma Therapy Programs at Imagine Fort Collins
Want to learn more about the many advantages of trauma therapy? The experts at Imagine Fort Collins are ready to assist you. We understand the many ways in which untreated trauma can harm your teen’s mental health. We also understand how effective therapy can help heal this damage and help them move forward.
Imagine Fort Collins provides multiple treatment options for teenagers recovering from trauma. Some teens are well-suited to our intensive outpatient program. Others need the added resources provided by partial hospitalization. Call Imagine Fort Collins today at 888.291.2309 to find out which option works best for your child’s situation. You can also reach our team through our brief online message form.