Therapy for post-traumatic stress and medical trauma
Some events end medically and the body carries on as though they are still happening. Therapy works on the specific memories that are still active, not on your character.
A free 15-minute call first. I usually reply within 2 working days.
You might recognise
- I go over the same few seconds again and again, and I cannot stop it from starting.
- I have cancelled follow-up appointments at that hospital more than once.
- I sleep badly, and the dreams are not always about what happened.
- Small things set me off: a smell, the beep of a machine, one particular corridor.
- People tell me I was lucky, and I feel I have no right to still be struggling.
- I have become watchful. I notice the exits and I check on everyone.
Why it happens
During a frightening event the brain prioritises survival over filing. Sensory fragments - a sound, a smell, the light above a bed - are stored in a raw form, without the stamp that says this is over. That is why the memory can return as though it were happening now, rather than as something being recalled. Medical settings produce this more often than people expect. Being awake and unable to move, being unable to speak, not understanding what is being done to you, pain you were not prepared for, or overhearing staff talk about you can all be encoded as threat. So can news delivered abruptly, an emergency admission, a difficult birth, or accompanying a child or a partner through treatment. Avoidance is the natural next step, and it works in the short term. Not going back into that building, not booking the scan, not talking about it - each lowers distress today and leaves the memory unprocessed. Over a few months the world narrows, and the medical care you actually need becomes harder to accept. Alertness stays high because the nervous system has not yet been given evidence that the event has finished. None of this is a flaw of character and none of it is weakness. It is a normal response that has stayed switched on longer than it is useful.
How therapy helps here
- EMDR
- Bilateral stimulation while holding a specific memory in mind allows it to be reprocessed and stored as past. In medical trauma we usually target something concrete - the moment in the recovery room, the sentence the surgeon said, the sound of the machine - rather than the whole event at once. You do not have to narrate the event in detail for this to work.
- Assessment and stabilisation before processing
- Before we touch the memory itself, we build the capacity to regulate arousal, using grounding, breathing and psychophysiological techniques. This makes processing safer, particularly when the medical situation is still active. Some people stay at this stage for several sessions, and that is not a delay.
- Trauma-focused CBT
- Where avoidance has taken over daily life, we plan graded steps back: the follow-up appointment, the drive past the hospital, the conversation with the specialist. Alongside that we examine beliefs formed during the event itself, such as I should have noticed sooner, or my body cannot be trusted.
- Psychophysiological techniques
- Focused relaxation and attention regulation can lower baseline arousal and improve sleep while the main work continues. These are tools inside the therapy, not a substitute for it.
What the first sessions look like
- The first session is a conversation about what happened, in as much detail as you choose, and about how it is affecting your life now.
- We map what is being avoided, how you are sleeping, and what your current medical situation demands of you.
- We agree what to work on first, and I will tell you if I think EMDR is not the right starting point.
- Before any processing begins, you learn at least one way to bring arousal down and to stop a session.
You do not have to prove that what happened was bad enough. If your body is still reacting, that is reason enough to look at it.
What this does not replace
This is psychological therapy and it does not replace medical care, psychiatric assessment or medication where those are needed. In situations of immediate danger, severe dissociation, or using alcohol or substances to manage the memories, in-person or multidisciplinary care is the safer setting, and I will say so. Where the event is still ongoing, we may focus on coping in the present and postpone processing.
Common questions
How long is a session and what does it cost?
An individual session is 45-50 minutes and costs €130. A group session is 90 minutes and costs €70-100. All sessions are online, in Hebrew or English.
Do I have to describe in detail what happened?
No. EMDR can be done with very little spoken detail; what is needed is the ability to hold the memory in mind. Some people say more as the work goes on, and some never do.
Can EMDR be done online?
Yes. Bilateral stimulation can be delivered through the screen with eye movements, with sounds, or with self-administered tapping. It requires a private room, a stable connection, and an agreement in advance about what we do if the call drops mid-session.
How many sessions will this take?
A single recent memory sometimes settles within a small number of sessions. Repeated trauma, an active medical situation, or trauma from childhood usually takes longer. I will not give you a number before I understand the picture, and we review together whether it is helping.
What if I feel worse after a processing session?
Some people report more dreams or more feeling in the days that follow. We plan for that in advance, we do not begin processing in a week that cannot hold it, and we can slow down at any stage.
Related areas
Anxiety and health anxiety
For health anxiety and worry that follows the body: checking, searching, and reassurance that never lasts.
Read moreChronic illness and diabetes
For living alongside a long-term diagnosis: the appointments, the numbers, and the self-management that never quite finishes.
Read moreWomen's health and motherhood
Fertility treatment, pregnancy and loss, birth and the first year, alongside the gynaecological and hormonal conditions that shape daily life.
Read more
Unsure whether to write?
Write one sentence about what is going on. I will say if I work with that, and if not, where else to look.
A free 15-minute call first. I usually reply within 2 working days.