Clinically, Medical trauma is defined as a set of psychological and physiological responses to pain, injury, serious illness, medical procedures and frightening treatment experiences.1
Medical trauma can be viewed as an acute onset of a disrupted physiological system in which the ongoing threat is internal (i.e., the body) and may be long-term or permanent (e.g., cancer treatment).2 This differs from an external trauma (e.g., car accident) where once the event ends, the external threat ends.
My guest today is a medical trauma specialist.
Allison is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor, a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor, and an Approved EMDR Consultant. Her previous background was in education of the deaf. She currently has a private practice in Texas, specializing in trauma as well as other types of trauma, working with adults, parents, and children. She became interested in specializing in medical trauma during her own experience with a life changing medical issue which involved healing from past traumas as well as her on-going medical trauma as part of her physical treatment plan. Her practice now focuses primarily in training new therapists to be able to understand how client’s real experiences of pain and medical issues can be worsened by past traumas as well as how they are affected by medical treatments, and how getting healing for the psychological trauma can impact the body’s ability to handle the physical issues.
Join us for part 1 of our conversation here on the website or wherever pods are cast! If you feel you are experiencing medical trauma, please reach out to someone for help
Links from the show:
Pediatric article:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.2206
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