What Is Trauma?

Trauma occurs when an experience overwhelms a person’s ability to cope. It is not just about what happened—it’s also about how the mind and body respond to it. Traumatic experiences can include abuse, violence, accidents, sudden loss, medical crises, or even ongoing stress in unsafe environments. What feels traumatic to one person may not feel the same to another; it depends on individual history, resilience, and support.

Trauma often leaves people feeling unsafe, powerless, or disconnected from themselves and others. The effects can show up immediately, or emerge years later in subtle ways.

What Is Moral Injury?

Moral injury is closely related to trauma but has its own distinct impact. It occurs when a person acts—or feels forced to act—in ways that go against their deeply held values, or when they experience betrayal by trusted leaders or institutions. This is often seen in military service, first responders, medical professionals, or anyone who has faced impossible choices.

Unlike physical injuries, moral injury affects a person’s sense of integrity, trust, and meaning. It can lead to shame, guilt, anger, and a deep questioning of identity and purpose.

The Effects of Trauma on the Mind and Body

Trauma is not “just in the past.” The body and nervous system often continue to react as though the danger is still present. This can show up as:

Intrusive memories, flashbacks, or nightmares
Anxiety, hypervigilance, or difficulty relaxing
Feeling numb, disconnected, or “shut down”
Trouble concentrating, memory gaps, or emotional swings
Physical symptoms such as headaches, muscle tension, stomach upset, or chronic pain

The mind and body are deeply connected. When trauma is unresolved, it can disrupt sleep, relationships, work, and overall well-being. Many people also struggle with self-blame or shame, even though their reactions are normal responses to overwhelming events.

How Trauma Therapy Works

Trauma therapy provides a safe and supportive space to process what happened, restore a sense of safety, and begin healing. Therapists use evidence-based approaches such as:

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT): helping clients reframe harmful thoughts and develop coping strategies.
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT): a structured form of cognitive therapy that helps people examine and challenge unhelpful beliefs related to trauma, such as guilt, shame, or self-blame. CPT supports clients in developing healthier, more balanced ways of understanding their experiences.
Somatic and body-based therapies: focusing on how trauma is stored in the body and teaching ways to release it.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT): repairing the impact of trauma on relationships and attachment.

Therapy does not erase the past, but it helps people reduce the power of traumatic memories, reclaim a sense of control, and build resilience.

What to Expect from Trauma Therapy

Every healing journey is unique, but you can expect the process to move at your pace. In the early sessions, therapy often focuses on building trust, learning grounding techniques, and creating a sense of safety before exploring painful memories. You will never be pushed to share more than you are ready for.

Over time, therapy may involve gently revisiting difficult experiences, exploring the emotions and beliefs connected to them, and learning to integrate those memories in a healthier way. Many clients begin to notice: