Trauma and Health Psychology

Brentwood Psychologist Specializing in Health Psychology And Trauma

Through my education and training as a Clinical Health Psychologist and my experience working at the UCLA Rape Treatment Center, I have developed a specialty in health psychology and trauma psychology. At first glance those two areas of expertise seem worlds apart, but in contrary, they are more alike than one might think. Both health psychology and trauma psychology address psychological phenomena and challenges as a result of physiological effects.

Sexual trauma, as well as many other traumas, are a physical and psychological trauma that has significant and detrimental effects on one’s psychological well-being and can affect one’s health. In addition, the psychological trauma can easily manifest as health complications and when an individual experiences acute stress or PTSD it is often impossible to separate the two. In order to recover from such a trauma both the body and the mind need to heal.

This is similarly the case for chronic illnesses. Illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, autoimmune disease, and STIs have a tremendous effect on one’s physical well-being but they equally affect one’s psychological health. For example, an encounter with cancer and a cardiac event is often a near death experiences and a significant trauma. Fortunately our medical treatments have advanced to where there is often hope for physical recovery but the emotional recovery can be a lengthy and painful process. During and after dealing with illness, there are major lifestyle changes, traumatic medical procedures, and changes in family dynamic that can be difficult to cope with. Psychotherapy can be a huge help in dealing with accepting one’s diagnosis, adjusting to lifestyle changes and differences in functionality, depression, anxiety, PTSD, concerns about one’s health, and grief & loss.

Health and trauma psychology is not just for the affected individual but also for family members and significant others. Parents, children, and partners are often significantly affected and at times traumatized by seeing a loved one in such pain and despair. It can be difficult to be able to support the loved one while being able to take care of one’s self. Psychotherapy is helpful for the individual family member and friend but also for couples as it provides space to openly talk about one’s emotions and to adjust to new family dynamics.