Overcoming PTSD with Compassionate Care

What Is PTSD?

PTSD is a mental health condition with symptoms including intrusive thoughts, avoidance behaviors, negative changes in mood, and hyperarousal. It affects about 6% of people and occurs more frequently in women.

PTSD symptoms fall into four main categories:

• Intrusive thoughts — Unwanted, distressing memories of the traumatic event, flashbacks that make you feel as though the event is happening again, and nightmares
• Avoidance — Steering clear of places, people, activities, or situations that remind you of the trauma; avoiding thinking or talking about the event
• Negative changes in mood and thinking — Persistent negative beliefs about yourself or the world, feelings of detachment from others, emotional numbness, loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities, difficulty experiencing positive emotions
• Hyperarousal and reactivity — Being easily startled, feeling tense or on edge, difficulty sleeping, irritability, angry outbursts, difficulty concentrating, and reckless or self-destructive behavior

For a diagnosis of PTSD, symptoms must persist for more than one month and cause significant distress or impairment in daily functioning. Common triggers include combat exposure, sexual or physical assault, serious accidents, natural disasters, childhood abuse, and witnessing death or violence.

Treatment Modalities

At Coastwise Health, we draw on multiple proven modalities to create a treatment plan tailored to your specific experience and needs:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — CBT helps you identify and change the distorted thought patterns that perpetuate PTSD symptoms. Through structured sessions, you learn to challenge negative beliefs about yourself and the traumatic event, develop healthier coping strategies, and gradually reduce avoidance behaviors.

Emotional Transformation Therapy (ETT) — ETT is an innovative approach that uses visual brain stimulation to rapidly access and transform the emotional distress associated with traumatic memories. This modality can produce significant relief in fewer sessions than traditional talk therapy alone.

EMDR — Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing uses bilateral stimulation to help your brain reprocess traumatic memories that have become stuck. Over the course of treatment, the emotional charge of traumatic memories diminishes, allowing you to recall events without being overwhelmed by them.

Trauma-Informed Therapy — All of our clinicians practice within a trauma-informed framework, ensuring that every aspect of your care — from intake to discharge — is grounded in principles of safety, trust, collaboration, and empowerment.

Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) — For cases of treatment-resistant PTSD, KAP offers a breakthrough option. Ketamine's rapid-acting properties can provide relief from severe symptoms, creating a window of opportunity for deeper therapeutic work.