Some things stay with you, even when you don't talk about them.
A frightening event. A harsh childhood. Memories that arrive uninvited, a body that jumps at a sound, days when you feel numb or watch yourself from a distance. This assessment looks at what you're carrying, how much, and where it touches your life.
What is a trauma assessment?
A structured look at how very stressful experiences, one or many, are affecting you now. It doesn't need one dramatic event. It can be about years of how you were treated growing up. It combines questionnaires with a conversation at your pace.
This assessment helps you see
- ✓ Whether your reactions fit post-traumatic stress, and how strong they are
- ✓ Whether the effects reach your feelings, your sense of worth and your closeness to people
- ✓ How early experiences may still be shaping things
- ✓ Whether zoning out or memory gaps are part of the picture
- ✓ Where it affects work, relationships or daily life
Secure, confidential scheduling
The questionnaires we use
I choose from these, usually two or three. You fill them in at home.
- PCL-5. Twenty questions about the past month after a very stressful event: unwanted memories, nightmares, avoidance, jumpiness, sleep, guilt, feeling cut off.
- ITQ. Eighteen questions on the same ground, which also ask about longer-lasting effects on how you feel, how you see yourself and how close you can get to people. You choose the experience that troubles you most.
- ACE. Ten yes/no questions about your first 18 years: how you were spoken to, what home was like, losses in the family. You can skip any question, or we go through it together in the room.
- DES-II. Twenty-eight questions about zoning out, losing stretches of time, and feeling detached or as if things aren't real.
How it works
You never have to tell me the story to begin. The forms ask for only a brief description of what troubles you most, and you can skip any question. We go slowly in session. We start with how things are now, and we go back only as far as is useful.
Questions people ask
Do I have to tell you what happened?
You decide how much to say, and when. You can skip any question, stop at any time, or ask to go through a form together.
Is zoning out a sign that something is wrong?
Everyone drifts sometimes, on a long drive or in a dull meeting. The DES-II looks at how often it happens and how much of your life it takes.
What if the questions upset me?
Tell me, or stop. Some people feel stirred up afterwards. If that happens, I'd rather hear about it than have you sit with it alone.
Is this therapy?
No. It's the map you make before choosing what kind of help to look for.