“…every catastrophe can hand us exactly what we need to awaken into who we really are.”
Elizabeth Lesser
Nikita assists individuals restore their sense of self and sense of control after a precipitating event involving a sudden or anticipated life change or loss. Grief can become protracted and adaptation to change may feel impossible and in some cases psychological trauma persists. Nikita is well-equipped with the tools to treat psychological trauma, mitigating the extent of it for those who feel as though coping with ordinary life is no longer possible.
Sometimes, the initial reaction to a shocking event or change in one’s life continues in an altered or exaggerated form even though it is no longer a useful adaptation, as in the case of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). After a psychological trauma or event, one’s self-protection and defences can be torn apart and need to slowly be re-integrated in order to once again trust in oneself, others and the world.
Depending on the basic vulnerability or resilience of the person and, other competing stressors and losses, the degree of need for additional professional help and community support will be determined. Depending on many factors, the crisis requiring an intervention may transition into an ongoing therapy process. The work may also end with the completion of the crisis support phase with the client returning at a later date for more insight-oriented therapy.
Although trauma can occur at any age, trauma occurring in childhood can be repressed resulting in the limitation or distortion of cognitive development, physical autonomy and sense of self. In turn, this is then woven into the development of the person and extended into adult life, where certain events can trigger interfering memories or states. It is not uncommon for a patient in psychotherapy or a client in counselling who initially presents with depression, anxiety or general lack of vitality, to have undiagnosed trauma. When it emerges safely in the course of therapy, counselling, or in other services Nikita is providing, she is ready and able to assist with the crisis at hand.
What Kind of Crisis Might Warrant Support and Management?
• Sudden unanticipated loss of a loved one (child, sibling, parent, partner, friend)
• Discovery of an affair
• Uncovering of a family secret
• Loss of hope for fertility
• Discovery that someone close to you has been living a parallel life you knew nothing about
• Sexual assault
• Recalling childhood abuse
• Ending an abusive relationship
• Receiving a serious mental or physical health diagnosis in one’s self or a close other
• Abrupt termination of one’s employment
• Faced with multiple life transitions concurrently i.e. new baby, loss of one’s parent, moving etc.
• Having experienced or witnessed a traumatic event, possibly where others might not have survived.
…to name just a few.