PTSD Therapy
PTSD Therapy in Petersfield, Hampshire & Online
Evidence-Based Therapy for Flashbacks, Nightmares, Avoidance, Hypervigilance and the Lasting Effects of Trauma.
Experiencing a traumatic event can change the way you see yourself, other people and the world around you.
For some people, the effects gradually lessen with time. For others, the trauma continues to feel as though it is happening in the present, leaving them constantly on edge, emotionally overwhelmed or struggling to regain a sense of safety.
You may find yourself reliving distressing memories through flashbacks or nightmares. You might avoid places, people or conversations that remind you of what happened, feel emotionally numb or remain constantly alert for danger.
These experiences can be frightening and exhausting, often leaving you wondering whether you will ever feel like yourself again.
I’m Dr Sonney Gullu-McPhee, a Chartered Clinical Psychologist who supports adults experiencing PTSD and the lasting effects of trauma. Join me at my Petersfield, Hampshire clinic or online across the UK for tailored, evidence-based therapy to help you process traumatic experiences, feel safer and regain greater confidence and control in your life.
Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Experiencing trauma does not automatically lead to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Many people recover naturally with time and support.
For others, the brain and body remain in survival mode, making it difficult to recognise that the danger has passed.
PTSD is not a sign of weakness or an inability to cope. It is an understandable psychological and biological response to an experience that overwhelmed your ability to process what happened.
During a traumatic event, the brain’s threat system prepares the body to fight, flee, freeze or submit. This response is essential during genuine danger, but trauma can affect how memories of the event are stored.
Instead of feeling like ordinary memories belonging to the past, traumatic memories may remain emotionally intense and closely connected to the original images, sensations and feelings.
As a result, reminders can trigger your mind and body to respond as though the danger is happening again, even when you logically know that you are now safe.
This is why people with PTSD often say that they do not simply remember the trauma – they feel as though they are reliving it.
Therapy helps your brain process the experience so that it becomes part of your past rather than something that continues to intrude into your present.
What Can Cause PTSD?
PTSD can develop after experiencing or witnessing an event or series of events that feel extremely threatening or horrific.
This may include physical or sexual assault, domestic abuse, a serious accident, medical trauma, traumatic bereavement, witnessing violence, military combat, natural disaster or repeated exposure to distressing events through work.
Trauma can also arise from childhood abuse, neglect or prolonged interpersonal experiences. When trauma is repeated, developmental or difficult to escape, a person may experience broader difficulties associated with complex trauma or Complex PTSD.
Not everyone responds to the same experience in the same way. Our responses are influenced by factors such as previous experiences, available support, earlier trauma and what the event meant to us.
Many people minimise their experiences by thinking that others have been through something worse or that they should have recovered by now. What matters is whether the experience continues to affect your wellbeing, relationships and ability to live the life you want.
Signs That PTSD May Be Affecting You
Following trauma, it is normal to experience shock, fear or emotional distress. For many people, these reactions gradually reduce.
When symptoms continue and interfere with daily life, they may indicate PTSD.
Re-experiencing the Trauma
Traumatic memories may intrude through flashbacks, nightmares, unwanted images or powerful emotional and physical reactions to reminders.
Rather than feeling like something that happened in the past, the experience may feel vivid, immediate or as though it is happening again.
Avoidance
You may avoid places, people, conversations, emotions or activities connected to what happened.
Some people stay constantly busy, suppress memories or use work, alcohol or other distractions to escape distress.
Although avoidance can provide temporary relief, it may prevent the brain from learning that the danger has passed.
Changes in Thoughts and Emotions
Trauma can affect how you see yourself, other people and the world.
You may experience guilt, shame, self-blame, emotional numbness or difficulty trusting others. You may feel permanently changed, lose interest in activities or become disconnected from people who matter to you.
Feeling Constantly Under Threat
Your body may remain prepared for danger even when you are safe.
You may feel constantly alert, easily startled, irritable or unable to relax. Difficulties with sleep, concentration and physical tension are also common.
Living in this state of heightened alertness can be exhausting and may affect your work, relationships, confidence and physical wellbeing.
What Keeps PTSD Going?
One of the most confusing aspects of PTSD is that you may know the event is over while your mind and body continue responding as though the threat remains.
This happens because the brain is trying to protect you.
After trauma, your threat system may become highly sensitive to anything resembling the original experience. Situations that are objectively safe can then trigger fear, panic, helplessness or physical alarm.
In an understandable attempt to cope, you may avoid reminders, push memories away or remain constantly alert to prevent something similar from happening again.
Although these responses reduce anxiety temporarily, they can unintentionally maintain PTSD.
Avoidance prevents you from discovering that a situation is now safe. Hypervigilance reinforces the belief that danger may appear at any moment. Trying to suppress memories can make them return more strongly, while guilt and shame may prevent you from developing a balanced understanding of what happened.
Therapy helps gently interrupt this cycle. By processing traumatic memories, reducing avoidance and reconnecting with the present, your mind and body can begin to recognise that the danger belongs in the past.
How Can Therapy Help?
Recovering from trauma involves more than learning to cope with anxiety.
Therapy aims to help you understand how the trauma has affected you, process the experience safely and regain confidence in your ability to live without feeling controlled by the past.
Depending on your needs, therapy may help reduce flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance and hypervigilance. It can also help address guilt, shame and self-blame, rebuild trust and support you in reconnecting with relationships, activities and parts of yourself that may have been lost following the trauma.
NICE Guidelines and Evidence-Based Treatment for PTSD
PTSD is one of the most extensively researched psychological conditions, and effective treatments are available.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends trauma-focused psychological therapies for adults with PTSD. These include Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing and trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
These treatments do more than help you manage symptoms. They aim to process traumatic memories, reduce avoidance and help your mind and body recognise that the danger belongs in the past.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing
EMDR is an established treatment for PTSD and is recommended by NICE.
Following trauma, memories may remain stored in a way that causes them to be repeatedly activated by reminders in everyday life. EMDR helps the brain reprocess these memories so that they become less vivid, emotionally overwhelming and likely to trigger intense reactions.
EMDR does not erase the memory or make you forget what happened. Instead, it helps the experience feel like something that happened in the past rather than something you continue to relive.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Trauma-focused CBT is also recommended by NICE for PTSD.
It helps you understand how trauma has affected your thoughts, emotions, behaviours and physical responses. Together, we may address avoidance, hypervigilance, self-blame and trauma-related beliefs such as “I am not safe,” “It was my fault” or “I am permanently damaged.”
The aim is to help you process the experience, develop a more balanced understanding of what happened and recognise the difference between danger in the past and safety in the present.
Schema Therapy
Schema Therapy is not a first-line NICE treatment for PTSD, but it may be integrated when trauma has contributed to long-standing difficulties with identity, self-worth or relationships.
It can help you understand deeply rooted beliefs such as “I am damaged,” “I cannot trust anyone” or “I must always cope alone,” and gradually develop healthier ways of relating to yourself and others.
Compassion Focused Therapy
Compassion Focused Therapy may also support trauma treatment when shame, guilt or a harsh inner critic are prominent.
It helps you understand how your threat system has been affected and develop a kinder, more balanced response to yourself. This does not minimise what happened; it helps reduce the shame and self-blame that can interfere with recovery.
Therapy Tailored to Your Needs
There is no single treatment that is right for everyone.
Some people benefit primarily from EMDR or trauma-focused CBT. Others may initially need support with emotional regulation, self-criticism or long-standing beliefs about themselves.
Although these approaches are described separately, they may be integrated within a personalised treatment plan.
Throughout therapy, we review your progress and adapt our approach so that treatment remains responsive to your needs and goals.
The aim is to help you safely process what happened, move beyond survival mode and regain the freedom to live a life that is no longer defined by trauma.
Trauma Can Affect More Than Your Memories
Trauma does not only cause flashbacks, nightmares or anxiety. It may also affect your self-confidence, relationships, emotions and sense of safety.
You may blame yourself for what happened, believe you should have reacted differently or feel permanently changed. You may find it difficult to trust others, withdraw from relationships or feel emotionally disconnected from people who care about you.
The world itself may begin to feel less safe. Ordinary places or situations may trigger anxiety, and you may constantly scan for signs of danger.
Trauma can also affect the body through sleep problems, muscle tension, headaches, fatigue, digestive difficulties, a racing heart or an exaggerated startle response.
These reactions are not imaginary or signs of personal failure. They reflect the mind and body’s ongoing attempt to protect you.
As therapy progresses, your nervous system can gradually learn that although the traumatic event was real, it is no longer happening.
Recovery Is About More Than Reducing Symptoms
Reducing flashbacks, nightmares and anxiety is an important part of therapy, but recovery means more than having fewer symptoms.
It may involve feeling able to relax, rebuilding confidence in yourself, reconnecting emotionally with other people and returning to activities you once enjoyed.
Recovery does not mean forgetting what happened. It means reaching a point where the trauma forms part of your life story without continuing to control your present or determine your future.
Many people begin to feel calmer, more confident and more hopeful as traumatic memories become less emotionally overwhelming and the world begins to feel safer again.
What Working With Me Looks Like
PTSD and Complex PTSD
PTSD and Complex PTSD share the same central trauma symptoms: re-experiencing, avoidance and a continuing sense of current threat.
Complex PTSD also includes persistent difficulties regulating emotions, a deeply negative sense of self and problems feeling close to or secure with other people.
Complex PTSD is more commonly associated with prolonged, repeated or difficult-to-escape traumatic experiences, particularly when they occur during childhood or within important relationships.
Someone can experience repeated trauma and develop PTSD rather than Complex PTSD. It is also possible to experience significant effects of complex trauma without meeting all the diagnostic criteria for either condition.
You do not need to determine the diagnosis yourself before seeking therapy. A careful assessment and psychological formulation can help us understand your experiences and identify the most appropriate treatment.
For more information about developmental, childhood and relational trauma, please visit my Complex Trauma and Complex PTSD Therapy page.
Why Choose Dr Sonney Gullu-McPhee?
Choosing the right psychologist is an important part of recovery.
As a Chartered Clinical Psychologist, I bring doctoral and postdoctoral level training in understanding, assessing and treating a wide range of psychological difficulties, including trauma and PTSD.
People seeking trauma therapy may also experience anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, relationship difficulties or difficulties managing emotions. My role is to understand how these experiences fit together rather than focusing on individual symptoms in isolation.
Drawing upon EMDR, trauma-focused CBT, Schema Therapy and Compassion Focused Therapy, I tailor treatment to your individual needs rather than applying the same approach to everyone.
Above all, I aim to offer a compassionate and collaborative therapeutic relationship in which you feel understood, supported and able to work at a pace that feels safe.
PTSD Therapy in Hampshire and Online
I offer PTSD therapy from my private practice in Petersfield, Hampshire, as well as secure online appointments for adults across the UK.
Whether your difficulties followed a single traumatic event or several experiences, therapy provides a safe, compassionate and confidential space to understand what happened, process traumatic memories and move towards recovery.
You do not have to continue living as though the danger is still present.
With the right support, many people regain a greater sense of safety, confidence and hope for the future.
I offer a free 15-minute consultation where we can discuss what has been happening, answer your questions and explore whether working together feels like the right fit.
Can PTSD Develop Months or Years Later?
Yes. Some people notice symptoms soon after a traumatic event, while others experience significant difficulties months or years later.
New stress, life changes or reminders may reactivate memories that were previously avoided or managed.
Will I Have to Describe Every Detail?
Not necessarily.
Therapy is collaborative and progresses at a pace that feels manageable. Approaches such as EMDR do not always require you to describe every detail of what happened.
Is EMDR Suitable for Everyone?
EMDR is an established treatment for PTSD, but no single therapy is right for everyone.
The most appropriate approach depends on your history, symptoms, preferences and goals.
How Long Does PTSD Therapy Take?
This varies from person to person.
The nature of the trauma, whether there were single or repeated experiences, other psychological difficulties and your therapy goals can all affect the length of treatment.
We will discuss this during assessment and review your progress throughout therapy.
Can PTSD Be Treated Successfully?
Yes. Many people experience significant improvements through trauma-focused psychological therapy.
The traumatic experience remains part of your history, but it does not have to continue dominating your thoughts, emotions, relationships or future.
Book a free 15-minute consultation to explore whether PTSD therapy is the right approach for you.