Trauma services offered through telehealth throughout Illinois
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A frightening or overwhelming experience can keep affecting you long after it ends. Stephanie Kutella, APRN, PMHNP-BC, at Tohi Psychiatry in Downers Grove, Lemont, Mokena, and the Greater Chicagoland Area in Illinois, treats trauma and the symptoms that follow it, including flashbacks, avoidance, sleep disruption, and constant tension. She moves at a pace you set and never pushes you to share more than you want to. Telehealth appointments are also available to patients throughout Illinois. Call the practice today or schedule an appointment online.
Trauma Q & A
What counts as trauma?
Trauma refers to your response to an event that overwhelmed your ability to cope with it. That event might be a single incident, such as an assault, an accident, or a sudden loss. It might also stretch across years, as with abuse, neglect, or repeated exposure to violence.
Two people can live through the same event and come away with very different responses, so what registers as trauma depends on your experience.
How can trauma affect you day to day?
Trauma symptoms often surface weeks or years after the event itself and show up in ways that seem unrelated at first. You may notice any of the following:
- Intrusive memories, nightmares, or flashbacks
- Avoiding places, people, or conversations tied to the event
- Feeling on edge or startling easily
- Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
- Emotional numbness or detachment from people close to you
- Guilt, shame, or blaming yourself
- Anger that comes on quickly
- Drinking or using substances to quiet the symptoms
Symptoms that persist respond to treatment, and you do not have to wait until they get worse.
What conditions can trauma lead to?
Untreated trauma raises your risk for several psychiatric conditions Stephanie regularly diagnoses and treats:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Depression
- Anxiety disorders
- Substance use disorders
- Sleep disorders
- Difficulty with emotional regulation
Stephanie evaluates your full history and current symptoms so your treatment addresses what you are experiencing now.
How does Stephanie treat trauma?
Your plan depends on your symptoms, your history, and what feels manageable to you.
Trauma-focused therapy
Therapy helps you process the experience and change the beliefs it left behind, in a setting where you control the pace.
Body-based and creative approaches
Yoga, meditation, and art therapy give you a way to work through what happened without putting all of it into words, and they help you settle a nervous system that stays braced for danger.
Early intervention
Stephanie treats trauma symptoms as soon as they appear rather than waiting for them to entrench, which builds your resilience and shortens how long you carry the worst of it.
Medication management
Medication can ease sleep problems, anxiety, depression, and hypervigilance while you do the harder work in therapy.
Coordinated care
Stephanie works alongside your therapist or primary care provider so your treatment stays consistent.
Recovery from trauma is possible. Call Tohi Psychiatry today or schedule an appointment online.