Welcome
My name is Shirley Porter, and I am a Registered Psychotherapist who has been providing trauma counselling for almost 30 years. Throughout my career, my goal has been to try to demystify Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Trauma Therapy for both my clients, and the therapists I have taught and supervised.
Books for Survivors of Trauma and Trauma Therapists
A Survival Guide for Those with PTSD
A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding and Treating PTSD - for Therapists
A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding and Treating PTSD - for Therapists
Surviving the Valley: Trauma and Beyond.
For more than a decade I searched for an easy-to-read book that I could give to my clients - for between our counselling sessions - to help them to understand and cope with their PTSD symptoms. I wanted to find a book that would take into account the fact that trauma survivors who are dealing with severe PTSD symptoms, needed straight-forward, non-triggering information that would:
- increase their understanding of PTSD and the stages of healing;
- reduce their fear;
- give reassurance; and
- provide simple coping strategies that they could try right away to effectively reduce their distress.
When I couldn't find what I was looking for, I started to create handouts for my clients. Over time, the handouts became a book...
This book is available through Amazon, Indigo, Barnes & Noble, Caversham Books, and other fine book sellers world-wi
A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding and Treating PTSD - for Therapists
A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding and Treating PTSD - for Therapists
A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding and Treating PTSD - for Therapists
Treating PTSD: A Compassion-Focused CBT Approach
I wrote this book to provide a therapist with the evidence-based information they to need understand trauma’s effects on the mind and body as well as the phases of healing. It offers practical tools, and interventions that therapists can use with clients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to reduce feelings of distress and increase their sense of safety. Readers are introduced to the metaphor of ‘the valley of the shadow of death’ to explain the experience of PTSD; they’re also shown how to identify the work they’ll need to do as therapists to accompany clients on their healing journey. Two new compassion-focused CBT interventions for trauma processing are also introduced.
Available through Routledge Press at: https://www.routledge.com/Treating-PTSD-A-Compassion-Focused-CBT-Approach/Porter/p/book/9781138303331
Links to My Other Articles
PTSD and Climbing out of the Valley of the Shadow of Death
PTSD and Climbing out of the Valley of the Shadow of Death
PTSD and Climbing out of the Valley of the Shadow of Death
Max came into my office and sat down. He was a big guy in his late 30s. When I asked how I could help, he responded that he believed he had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). When I asked what led him to this conclusion, he said he had been a sniper in the military and had been abused as a child...
Psychological Traumatic Stress Disorders
PTSD and Climbing out of the Valley of the Shadow of Death
PTSD and Climbing out of the Valley of the Shadow of Death
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Psychological or emotional trauma can occur when one experiences an event (or several events) in which death, serious injury, or sexual assault, are threatened— or actually occur. A person can also be traumatized by hearing of these events happening to a loved one. First responders and soldiers can experience psychological trauma as a result of repeated exposures to these types of events
Traumatic-Stress Disorders manifest as either Acute Stress Disorder or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depending on several factors, including how long symptoms last. With medical support and psychotherapy, survivors of trauma can learn ways to manage, reduce, or eliminate their symptoms and reclaim their lives.
Trauma-Bonding: What it is and How to Heal
PTSD and Climbing out of the Valley of the Shadow of Death
Trauma-Bonding: What it is and How to Heal
Trauma bonding refers to a strong emotional bond that develops between a survivor of prolonged abuse and the perpetrator of the abuse. This bond can be responsible for keeping a trauma survivor in a toxic, and sometimes potentially fatal, relationship with their abuser. Counseling with a therapist who specializes in trauma can help the survivor to better understand how trauma affects the mind and body and heal.
Cycle of Abuse: What it is and How to Heal
Cycle of Abuse: What it is and How to Heal
Trauma-Bonding: What it is and How to Heal
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The cycle of abuse refers to the predictable phases of behaviour that occur in abusive relationships: tension-building, acting out, reconciliation/honeymoon, and calmness. The good news is that with awareness and appropriate interventions, the cycle of abuse can be broken.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and COVID
Cycle of Abuse: What it is and How to Heal
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and COVID
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are faced with potentially traumatic stressors and events for prolonged periods of time. There are several factors that may increase the likelihood of PTSD for individuals during the COVID-19 Pandemic, including severe or intense trauma, perceived threat to one’s life, and lack of support, among others.
It’s easy to confuse the symptoms of PTSD with other common mental health issues, like anxiety and depression. If you’re experiencing intrusive and upsetting thoughts and feelings that are impacting your quality of life or your ability to maintain employment and relationships, you should speak with a licensed mental health professional. PTSD, anxiety, and depression are all highly treatable and a professional can make a diagnosis and put together an appropriate treatment plan for you.
5 Stages of Grief: Myth or Reality
Cycle of Abuse: What it is and How to Heal
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and COVID
The 5 Stages of Grief (i.e., denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance) are a well-known model of grief that was first proposed almost 50 years ago. Despite its continued popularity, grief research has demonstrated that each person handles grief in their own distinct way. and the “stages of grief” do not reflect how the majority of people grieve.