Maslow Stories
Jordan was diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and referred for 12 sessions of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Regular planned sessions enabled Jordan to open up about her experience in a way that she had previously found difficult to do. It turned out that there were two central themes standing in the way of Jordan’s recovery:
1) From such a young age, Jordan had always blamed herself for everything that had ever went wrong (i.e., “it is all my fault, it is always my fault”)
2) Jordan always believed that she was always right and that there could not possibly be another way
Using evidence based-techniques and strategies specifically designed to treat the symptoms of PTSD (as per NICE Guidelines), our sessions helped Jordan discover for herself that actually she might be wrong this time in that the accident might not have been her fault. In doing so, this helped Jordan reduce the nightmares and anxiety that she was experiencing as she was not so plagued with guilt about the road traffic collision. The sessions also permitted Jordan to start taking initial steps towards driving independently (and with others), which she managed to fully accomplish by the end of the sessions.
“I found my initial sessions extremely daunting at first as I had never done any form of therapy prior to this. My therapist helped me feel really relaxed in the first session by really getting to know and understand me, and what I was experiencing. I was also informed every step of the way at what our therapy would entail. Although I was initially afraid of doing the reliving work, as the last thing I wanted to do was replay the traffic collision that had brought me to therapy in the first place, I trusted my therapist that this would help me long term – he didn’t disappoint! Having relived the incident again, I was then given a copy to listen to at least once a day to help me process what I had actually been through. The more sessions we had, the more I became aware that I had a tendency to blame myself for everything, especially the road traffic collision; even though it wasn’t my fault. It was exactly this thought process that was actually serving to keep me stuck in this traumatic world. After this realisation, I started to become more of my normal self again and became more confident. I even started to recognise other of life’s arenas where I had this tendency to blame myself and managed to make positive changes. One of my proudest achievements was getting back behind the wheel again fully and driving on the motorway with other passengers as I sworn I would never drive again. Thank you so much for helping me help myself.”
— Jordan
“Initially, the last thing I wanted to do was to go to therapy to admit that I was having the thoughts that I was having as I felt so ashamed and full of guilt. My therapist helped me feel relaxed and helped normalise the thoughts that I was having which made me feel much better. The more therapy sessions I attended and the more we talked through my difficulties; the more we were able to put the pieces together and make connections between things that had happened to me previously. I learned to acknowledge and accept these experiences which acted as a catalyst to help me begin to move forward. It became apparent that it was no wonder my thoughts and fears were what they were after all that I had been through. Therapy enabled me to explore these things in a safe and non-judgemental space which allowed me to think about my values and the direction I would like my life to steer into. I am still extremely grateful for my therapist who was kind, warm, and genuine and for his support throughout my therapeutic journey. I now enjoy being a mum and have learned to trust myself and not my thoughts.”
— Michelle