PTSD & Trauma Treatment
At Mind Garden, we offer integrative psychiatric care for PTSD and trauma-related conditions, taking the time to understand how your experiences have shaped your nervous system and building a treatment plan that helps you feel safe, grounded, and like yourself again.
UNDERSTANDING TRAUMA & PTSD
Your nervous system is not broken. It is responding to what happened to you.
Trauma is not defined by the event itself but by what it does to your nervous system. When an experience overwhelms your capacity to cope, the brain encodes it differently than ordinary memories, keeping the threat response activated long after the danger has passed. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, about 6 out of every 100 people will develop PTSD at some point in their lives, and women are significantly more likely to be affected than men.
PTSD does not only happen to combat veterans. It can develop after childhood abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, accidents, medical trauma, sudden loss, or prolonged exposure to frightening or unsafe environments. For many people, the most lasting damage comes not from a single dramatic event but from years of chronic stress, neglect, or emotional harm.
Living with unresolved trauma can feel like being permanently on high alert, cut off from your emotions, or unable to escape a past that keeps bleeding into the present. At Mind Garden, we approach trauma care with both clinical precision and genuine compassion, helping you build a path forward that is grounded in safety and real healing.
RECOGNIZING THE SIGNS
You might be living with trauma or PTSD if you experience...
Intrusion and Avoidance
- Flashbacks or intrusive memories of the traumatic event
- Nightmares or disturbing dreams
- Intense distress when reminded of the trauma
- Avoiding people, places, or situations connected to the trauma
- Emotional numbness or feeling detached from your life
- Loss of interest in activities you once valued
Mood and Arousal
- Persistent negative beliefs about yourself or the world
- Feeling constantly on guard or easily startled
- Difficulty sleeping or staying asleep
- Irritability or angry outbursts
- Difficulty concentrating or feeling disconnected from reality
- Shame, guilt, or self-blame about what happened
TYPES WE TREAT
Trauma takes many forms.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Develops after exposure to a traumatic event and involves intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, and heightened reactivity that persist for more than a month.
Complex PTSD (C-PTSD)
Arises from prolonged, repeated trauma, often in childhood or within close relationships. Includes core PTSD symptoms plus difficulties with emotional regulation, identity, self-worth, and relationships.
Acute Stress Disorder
A short-term trauma response occurring within days to weeks of a traumatic event. Early intervention can significantly reduce the risk of developing full PTSD.
Childhood & Developmental Trauma
Early adverse experiences including neglect, abuse, instability, or loss that shape the developing nervous system and often underlie adult mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, and ADHD.
Medical Trauma
Traumatic stress resulting from life-threatening illness, invasive procedures, ICU stays, or difficult diagnoses. Often overlooked but can produce full PTSD symptoms.
Domestic Violence & Relational Trauma
Trauma arising from abusive or controlling relationships. Often involves complex grief, identity disruption, and safety concerns that require sensitive, specialized care.
Occupational & First Responder Trauma
Repeated exposure to traumatic events in high-stress professions such as healthcare, law enforcement, firefighting, and military service. Cumulative trauma is as serious as single-incident trauma.
Trauma with Depression or Anxiety
Trauma frequently co-occurs with depression, anxiety, and substance use. Treating only one layer of the presentation leads to incomplete relief. Carolyne evaluates and treats the full picture.
- Trauma lives in the body as much as the mind.
Carolyne looks beyond symptom checklists to understand how trauma has shaped your nervous system, your sleep, your hormones, and your overall biology, then builds a plan that addresses all of it.
- We coordinate care with trauma-specialized therapists.
Medication is most effective for PTSD when paired with trauma-focused therapy such as EMDR, CPT, or Prolonged Exposure. Carolyne manages the psychiatric side of your care and can provide referrals to trauma therapists in your area. Learn more about our Psychiatric Evaluations & Medication Management service.
HOW WE HELP
What to expect when you work with us.
- Comprehensive Initial Evaluation
Carolyne reviews your full psychiatric, medical, and personal history with care and patience. For trauma, this includes understanding your trauma history at a pace that feels safe, your current symptoms, and how your past experiences are showing up in your daily life today.
- Do I have to have experienced combat or a major disaster to have PTSD?
We explore how trauma has affected your nervous system, sleep, hormones, inflammation, and overall biology, because trauma is a whole-body experience and treatment needs to match that complexity.
- Personalized Treatment Plan
Your plan may include SSRI or SNRI medication, coordination with a trauma therapist, and integrative support strategies. Pharmacogenetic testing is available to guide medication selection and minimize trial and error.
- Ongoing Medication Management
Regular follow-up appointments to monitor your progress, adjust medication as needed, and keep your goals and sense of safety at the center of every decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. PTSD can develop after any event that felt life-threatening, overwhelming, or deeply violating. This includes childhood abuse, domestic violence, medical trauma, accidents, sexual assault, and prolonged emotional neglect. The nervous system does not rank trauma by external severity, and your experience is valid regardless of how it compares to others.
PTSD typically develops after a single traumatic event. Complex PTSD arises from prolonged, repeated trauma, often in childhood or within close relationships such as abusive partnerships or neglectful families. It involves the same core PTSD symptoms plus additional difficulties with emotional regulation, identity, self-worth, and forming trusting relationships.
Yes. Mind Garden accepts most major insurance plans including Aetna, Allways Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Compsych, Harvard Pilgrim, Health New England, Point32 Health Care, Oscar, Oxford, Tufts, and United Health Group/Optum. Self-pay rates are also available. Contact us to verify your coverage before your first appointment.
TAKE THE FIRST STEP
You deserve care that actually works.
Same-week appointments available. Telehealth across AZ, CO, MA, NM, RI, VT, and WA. Most major insurances accepted.