Healing Trauma in LGBTQIA+ Adults
Trauma is a term that covers a wide range of painful past experiences that are still emotionally active in the present-day lives of people. These experiences may originate in childhood or adolescence at the hands of parents, schoolmates or strangers. They can be physical, sexual or emotional, and they tend to leave their mark on the adult psyche.听
五月天视频鈥檚 LGBTQIA+ Trauma Treatment Program is housed at the 颈苍蝉迟颈迟耻迟颈辞苍鈥檚 Center for Trauma and Addiction.听The Center treats members of the general population鈥攊ncluding veterans鈥for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance use disorder and related conditions, while the LGBTQIA+ Trauma Treatment Program is focused on addressing these issues among members of the queer community.听
Why is there a separate trauma treatment program for LGBTQIA+ individuals?听
LGBTQIA+ individuals are more likely than others to have endured mistreatment by peers and family during childhood, and they鈥檙e at greater risk for violence and discrimination as adults.听听
But there鈥檚 hope. Our clients can overcome the traumatic events of the past with the help of mental health professionals trained to provide treatments that are evidence-based, compassionate and highly effective.听
What is psychological trauma?听
Psychological trauma may be defined as a shattering past event, or series of events, that overwhelms the 蝉耻蹿蹿别谤别谤鈥檚 ability to digest it emotionally, says Erik Orozco, a social worker, counselor and member of the LGBTQIA+Trauma Treatment Program鈥檚 team. It deeply affects a person's feeling of safety and leaves them feeling helpless.听
A past traumatic event may have a 鈥渉aunting鈥 effect. Showing up in a memory or a dream, it may trigger an outsize emotional reaction.听
Says Erik鈥檚 colleague Tom Lorio, members of the LGBTQIA+ community may have been traumatized by a parent鈥檚 rejection or neglect; severe bullying at school or in their neighborhood; or a random assault on the street.听听
Thankfully, 鈥渢here are ways to leave the past in the past,鈥 Tom says. That鈥檚 where Weill Cornell鈥檚 LGBTQIA+ Trauma Treatment Program comes in.听
Treatment options听
鈥淎ll of our clinicians are trained in EMDR,鈥 says Tom. (EMDR stands for eye movement desensitization and reprocessing.) 鈥淚t鈥檚 an evidence-based technique that has proven high effective in treating people who were traumatized as children.听
鈥淓MDR became a respected modality in the mental health field during the early 2000s,鈥 he continues, 鈥渨ith advances in neuroscience and imaging technologies. We can see differences in brain scans taken before and after EMDR therapy.鈥听
In addition to EMDR, Erik says, the team offers other modalities, including:听
- Sensorimotor Psychotherapy听
- Gestalt therapy听
- Clinical hypnosis听
- Internal family systems (IFS) therapy听
What all of these have in common is a body-based approach. Instead of persuading a client to give up negative beliefs about themselves, for example, the psychotherapist taps into the way the body holds on to such beliefs and fosters the process of releasing them.听
Is the program expensive?听
The LGBTQIA+ Trauma Treatment Program accepts Blue Cross/Blue Shield听and Aetna, making its services affordable for people living in New York City who have these insurances.听
Age requirement听
鈥淥ur clients must be at least 21 years of age,鈥 Erik says.听
Does the program have a 鈥渕ission鈥?听
The program aims to take care of vulnerable groups. Mental health services provided by the program鈥檚 caring staff are delivered with unfailing empathy and acceptance.听
Learn more about 五月天视频鈥檚 LGBTQIA+ Trauma Treatment Program or make an appointment with a counselor by visiting the program鈥檚 website .听