Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• About 3.6 percent of US adults ages 18 – 54 have PTSD during a given year

• PTSD can develop at any age

• Symptoms usually begin within three months after a traumatic event

• Groups prone to PTSD include:
o War veterans
o Survivors of military terror
o Rape survivors
o Victims of incest or other emotional, sexual or physical abuse
o Survivors of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and fires
o Immigrants fleeing violence in their homelands

• Symptoms include:
o Flashback episodes
o Nightmares
o Memories of the event
o Emotional numbness
o Sleep disturbances
o Depression
o Anxiety
o Anger outbursts
o Intense guilt

• PTSD is diagnosed when symptoms continue for one month

• Alternative therapies such as expressive arts therapies have been effective in conjunction with cognitive-behavioral therapies

Source: National Institute of Mental Health www.nimh.nih.gov



Grief Counseling Information
Grief is defined as the series of conflicting emotions that occur whenever there is a change in a familiar pattern of behavior. (Grief Recovery Handbook, James & Friedman). Grief is not a disease. It is not abnormal. It is a normal and natural reaction to loss of any kind.

This change could be a death, but it could also be a move, a job change, a graduation, a divorce, the death of a pet or the birth of a child. Life is always changing. The grieving process, therefore, should be an intimate part of our lives. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. Grief is not spoken about in our culture. We hide our grief behind addictive behaviors such as workaholism, alcoholism, compulsive spending or exercise, and over or under eating. Learning to control our addictive behaviors means coming face to face with why they are there in the first place. This often means facing our shadow sides of abandonment and loss.

J. William Worden developed four “tasks” that the griever must go through to complete the task of mourning. They are:

Task 1: To accept the reality of the loss
Task 2: To work through to the pain of grief
Task 3: To adjust to an environment in which the deceased is missing
Task 4: To emotionally relocate the deceased and move on with life

Breaking Free can assist the client through all four tasks of grief. Creative arts therapies can help the griever maintain a sense of control. Writing helps us create order from chaos. (Opening Up, James Pennebaker) The exercises and discussions in Breaking Free help the client through this difficult passage while encouraging an empowering process of healing.


“Having been is still a form of being.”
- Viktor Frankl