Trauma and PTSD therapists in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland NI, United Kingdom UK
Find experienced trauma and PTSD therapists in Carrickfergus who provide testing, evidence-based treatment for trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and related challenges such as anxiety, depression, and stress. Compare detailed therapist profiles and connect with a provider that’s right for you.
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Sara Aicart-Pendlebury
Art Therapist, Human Givens Practitioner (HG.Dip.P), Member of Human Givens Institute, IFS therapist Levels 1&2, Narm Practitioner
PHOBIAS, PANIC ATTACKS AND POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS
The brain has an emotional alarm system designed to keep us safe. When people suffer from panic attacks, phobias or post-traumatic stress, it is because the system has gone into overdrive.
What happens is this. There is a small, structure in the brain, known as the amygdala (Greek for almond, which is its shape), that has access to our emotional memories and learned responses. It evolved in the distant past and its job is to match new circumstances to what is already in the store and alert us to anything that previously represented a risk and might do so again. In the distant past, this might have been a movement or flash of colour that could have signified an approaching predator. The amygdala would then have triggered changes to help the body get ready to fight or flee the danger – pounding heart, racing pulse, quick, shallow breathing, etc.
Now imagine this. A young woman, who has had a highly stressful day, is waiting in a long supermarket queue, worrying whether she’ll be out of the shop in time to catch the bus to school to collect her little girl. It is one pressure too many. The amygdala responds as if she is under threat and she starts to feel her heart pounding strangely and her breathing quickens. She becomes terrified that she is having a heart attack and that makes the symptoms escalate – her palms sweat; her chest feels as if it is bursting and she struggles to breathe. Soon she feels overwhelmed and may collapse or run out of the shop. The amygdala, fearful that this could happen again, files away the fact that there were bright lights and lots of people queuing when the ‘threat’ occurred. Then, when the woman is queuing in the post office the next day, the bright lights and queue may be sufficient for the over-vigilant amygdala to trigger another panic attack to deal with the new ‘threat’.
Phobias start the same way – the amygdala makes associations with what was going on when a person first felt threatened, not all of which may be relevant. So, while it is understandable that someone who is attacked by a vicious dog may well develop a fear of dogs generally, it could equally be the case that someone develops a fear of broken glass because, on a previous occasion, when they had had a panic attack, there was broken glass lying near to where they collapsed. Agoraphobia develops when someone is too frightened of panic attacks even to leave the house.
In the case of post-traumatic stress, someone who was in the back seat of a car when a collision occurred may find it frightening to travel in the back seat again but there may be other, unconscious, connections with the accident too, such as the smell of petrol. So the person may experience seemingly inexplicable panic when filling up their own car with petrol.
Fortunately, human givens practitioners are taught a simple and effective way to deal with all these circumstances. If a traumatic memory is causing panic attacks, phobias or post-traumatic stress, they can use a powerful, painless visualisation procedure, known as the rewind technique, to take the emotion out of the memory and enable the memory of the event to be stored away as history, instead of as one that continues to intrude on the present. The memory remains, and always will remain, a deeply unpleasant one but no longer is it emotionally arousing. This method can work swiftly and reliably even in the most extreme of cases.
17 Years Experience
Online in Carrickfergus, NI Northern Ireland
Emma Poxon
Counsellor/Therapist, MA Person-Centred Experiential Counselling
Trauma is an incredibly painful thing to experience, as your therapist I am here to be with you, reminding you that you are not alone. We can explore what you have experienced without fear of it being "too much". Therapy is a space wherein you can say and do anything, and I am here to be your support throughout this, allowing the pain to have a space to dissipate in. You are not a problem to be fixed, my aim as your therapist is to try to provide the right conditions to allow you to explore whatever you want to bring to therapy to support your growth. This isn't a therapeutic approach wherein I will set a treatment plan or tell you what to do. We will work together as a partnership rather than me taking away your autonomy. I absolutely love the work I do, it is the biggest privilege being let into people’s personal worlds and seeing the immense growth of my clients. I hope to hear from you soon!
7 Years Experience
Online in Carrickfergus, NI Northern Ireland (Online Only)
Eric C Bettelheim
Registered Psychotherapist, PhD, MSc., J.D., M.A. A.B. Member: BACP, BPC.
Trauma is foundational to a wide variety of distress and is most resistant to change if experienced in early childhood. PTSD severity is inked to childhood trauma and should be understood in that context.
4 Years Experience
Online in Carrickfergus, NI Northern Ireland
Fiona Corbett
Registered Psychotherapist, Higher Diploma Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Diploma Humanistic Counselling, EMDR Consultant
EMDR is a NICE recommended treatment for Trauma and PTSD and I offer this wonderful therapy which has a positive impact.Using eye movements or tapping we reprocess the trauma to create less emotional charge and to create new responses to the event.Get in touch to find out more or book a free initial meeting.
18 Years Experience
Online in Carrickfergus, NI Northern Ireland
Anjali P.
Registered Psychotherapist, MA in Person-Centred Experiential Counselling, Registered Member MBACP- 408062
Trauma can continue to affect us long after an event has passed. It may show up through anxiety, hypervigilance, emotional overwhelm, numbness, relationship difficulties, self-criticism, or feeling disconnected from yourself and others. My approach is trauma-sensitive and grounded in safety, pacing, and understanding trauma responses as adaptations rather than personal failings. Together, we can work towards greater emotional safety, self-understanding, and healing.
4 Years Experience
Online in Carrickfergus, NI Northern Ireland (Online Only)
Trauma and PTSD therapists in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom Statistics
Trauma and PTSD therapists in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom average 15 years of experience and charge around ¤126 per session. 100% offer online sessions. The top treatment approaches are Integrative Therapy (55%), Person-Centered Therapy (Rogerian) (53%), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) (49%).
Average years in practice
15 Years Experience
Average cost per session
¤126
Accept insurance
41%
Offer sliding scale
51%
Gender ID
| 71% |
Female |
|
| 27% |
Male |
|
| 1% |
Non-Binary |
|
| 1% |
Gender Fluid |
|
Session Type
| 66% |
In Person and Online |
|
| 34% |
Online Only |
|
Top Treatment Approaches
| 55% | Integrative Therapy |
| 53% | Person-Centered Therapy (Rogerian) |
| 49% | Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) |
| 39% | Somatic Therapy |
| 35% | Behavioral Therapy |
| 35% | Existential / Humanistic Therapy |
| 34% | Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) |
Ages Served
| 100% | Adult |
| 62% | Young Adult |
| 57% | Senior |
| 55% | Teen |
| 24% | Children |
Client Focus
| 65% | Women |
| 49% | Men |
| 47% | LGBTQ+ |
| 39% | Persons with Disabilities |
| 34% | Christian |