Dr. Michael Dadson, Ph.D. has a history of helping veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Imagine experiencing the sense of powerlessness, terror, helplessness, or horror of reliving those moments. These emotional experiences are so difficult that, psychologically, some of us need to avoid fully entering them. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is considered an anxiety disorder because it usually comes with the avoidance of an extremely difficult, stressful past experience where our survival defences were activated.
Carl Jung said the mind is such a frightening thing that we dare not go there alone. And there are certain experiences that, when we do try to go through them on our own, physiologically overwhelm us. It’s the avoidance of these painful experiences that characterizes PTSD.
The first step in treatment is to establish a relationship with a therapist where there is so much trust that the therapeutic relationship can ease the fear of entering those traumatic experiences. There’s a trust and openness that forms, and the person is not afraid to enter that relationship with a therapist.
One of the things that I’ve learned from working with veterans for so many years, in groups and individually, is that veterans have helped me appreciate and grow in my gratitude for being a Canadian. The way they serve their country, willing to lay down their lives not only for one another, but for people they’ve never met, deeply inspires me.
If I’m working for a veteran, a first responder, or others who put their lives on the line for the general public, it’s a particular honour for me. It is my way of serving them and saying “thank you,” because they have served us.
If you have any questions or think you might be experiencing PTSD, get in touch.
I’ll always be here for you.
Dr. Michael Dadson, Ph.D. Counselling Psychology, at my clinic in Langley, BC.
Dr. Dadson was the past Executive and Clinical Director, Veterans Transition Network, of Canada, and was a board member of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation.