Meg Young

PTSD does not only happen to rape victims or war vets. PTSD is not a sign of weakness or failure. I am a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional Level 2 meaning I have intensive training in trauma treatment. I am also certified in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). I am a member of the International Association of Trauma Professionals, the EMDR - International Association, and The EMDR - Humanitarian Assistance Program.

Secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout are all too common in careers that people deal with others' pain on a daily basis. It is my mission to help people prevent and come back from burnout. I speak to members of the community as well as at professional seminars about understanding and preventing burnout. We are too valuable to let any of us die of suicide because we are burnt out and cannot handle the burden alone.

There is a huge correlation between PTSD and anxiety as well as Burnout and anxiety. Physiologically many of the symptoms are the same. Getting past anxiety is very difficult as it is our survival brain trying to protect us. I help people understand what is happening in the brain and body, teach skills to decrease anxiety, and help people through the process of "it is taking too long." I utilize CBT, EMDR, and a variety of other techniques to help decrease anxiety.

Mindfulness is staying in the present moment, allowing for thoughts and not getting stuck on them. It is a fundamental part of what I do with trauma recovery as traumatic memories take people out of the current moment of safety. In order to get into trauma work, it is very important to my way of helping to teach you the skills to feel safe in the present moment as when we start working on the trauma, there will be times you may not feel safe whether emotionally or physically.

Please make sure you do your research before finding an EMDR therapist. Some say they do EMDR but are not actually trained. Others are not fully trained. This can actually be more harmful to your recovery than anything else. A therapist who is "basic trained" IS fully trained. A therapist who is "Certified" has additional hours of consultation. A therapist does not have to be Certified. I love EMDR and see it work wonders daily, but it is not a cure-all immediate fix.

CBT is your basic therapy model. It is what most of us do. We help you understand and change your thoughts and behaviors to help you change how you feel about yourself or a situation. We do not do this by telling you what to do so much as helping you see that maybe what you're doing isn't working and help you find another way that will be more helpful and beneficial to your goals.