Today, the 27th of June 2025, it is dedicated to increasing understanding and awareness of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as part of June, which has been PTSD Awareness Month.
“Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent and complex psychiatric condition that arises in response to exposure to traumatic events, significantly impacting an individual’s mental well-being”.
It can affect individuals, but also those around them. Its impact extends beyond the person who experienced the trauma, reaching families, friends, and whole communities.
Trauma can arise by showing different symptoms, which can be related to cognition, mood, somatic experiences, and behaviour. Symptoms that are common are re-experiencing symptoms (intrusive memories, nightmares, and flashbacks), avoidance symptoms (avoiding trauma-related thoughts, people or places), negative changes in cognitions and mood and alterations in arousal or reactivity symptoms.
As therapists but also as human beings, we must get to know this condition and understand that a considerable number of people have passed through challenging situations in life that can create trauma. This not only need to be life-threatening events like wars, natural disasters, accidents or abuse, but also dealing with difficult day to day situations at home, school or work…like living with an illness or a family member illness, experiencing bullying, discrimination… and other everyday experiences that, although they may not seem as severe, can have a lasting impact on people’s mental health.
From this perspective, repeated minor events during childhood or adolescence, such as adverse childhood experiences, can create traumas that can leave complex consequences.
Authors Judith Herman and Bessel van der Kolk suggest that trauma is not defined only by the event itself, but by its impact on the individual’s ability to process it and to recover emotionally from it.
PTSD UK is a charity that is dedicated to raising awareness of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the United Kingdom.
You can find lots of resources on the following link:
The presence or absence of support after trauma can both increase or decrease the risk of PTSD. Individuals who have good support are less likely to develop PTSD after a traumatic event. Having a supportive family, a healthy environment around, and having the possibility of attending therapy, can be resilience factors that can help people to get through trauma.
If we, as therapists, understand what someone with PTSD can experience, we can better provide support to people in everyday life, and help to reduce its effects on people.
Several books can help you better understand trauma and maybe to understand yourself and others.
You can find an excellent library on the ASI-Wise Amazon Shop:
Also, ASI-WISE offers a workshop about Trauma and mental health, called Ayres’ Sensory Integration and Trauma Across the Lifespan:
Workshop | Ayres’ Sensory Integration and Trauma Across the Lifespan
References:
Mann SK, Marwaha R, Torrico TJ. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. [Updated 2024 Feb 25]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
Lancaster CL, Teeters JB, Gros DF, Back SE. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Overview of Evidence-Based Assessment and Treatment. J Clin Med. 2016 Nov 22;5(11):105. doi: 10.3390/jcm5110105. PMID: 27879650; PMCID: PMC5126802.