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Trauma & PTSD Counselling in Cambridge & Ely

Trauma can stay in the body long after the event has passed. You may feel on edge, disconnected, overwhelmed, or find that small things trigger big emotional reactions. Trauma counselling offers a safe, steady space to understand what happened, reclaim your sense of safety, and begin to rebuild your life with confidence.

At Cambridge and Ely Psychotherapy Services (CEPS), trauma work is calm, grounding, and paced carefully — always led by your nervous system, not by pressure to “move on” before you’re ready.

What Is Trauma?

Trauma isn’t just what happened — it’s what happened inside you as a result.

Many people think trauma must be something extreme, but trauma can come from:

  • childhood emotional neglect

  • inconsistent or unpredictable parenting

  • bullying

  • relationship breakdowns

  • humiliation or chronic criticism

  • sudden loss or shocking news

  • accidents, surgeries, or medical events

  • domestic violence or emotional abuse

  • sexual trauma

  • living in chaotic or unsafe environments

Trauma is any experience that overwhelms your ability to cope, leaving your mind and body in a long-term state of protection.

Understanding PTSD & CPTSD

PTSD

PTSD typically develops after a single overwhelming event. Symptoms often include:

  • intrusive memories

  • flashbacks

  • nightmares

  • feeling constantly on edge

  • avoidance of reminders

  • difficulty concentrating

  • emotional numbness

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CPTSD (Complex PTSD)

CPTSD develops from ongoing, relational, or childhood trauma. Symptoms may include:

  • emotional flashbacks

  • deep shame or worthlessness

  • difficulty trusting others

  • people-pleasing or freezing during conflict

  • intense reactions in relationships

  • chronic self-doubt

  • strong inner critic

  • difficulty regulating emotions

Many adults don’t realise their symptoms are trauma-based — they just feel “too much,” “not enough,” or “broken.”
You are none of those things. Your system is doing its best to protect you.

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Common Signs You May Be Living With Trauma

You might notice:

  • overthinking or racing thoughts

  • anxiety in your chest or stomach

  • difficulty feeling present

  • emotional shutdown during stress

  • feeling unsafe in relationships

  • sudden overwhelm from small triggers

  • sensitivity to rejection or conflict

  • chronic guilt or shame

  • feeling constantly “on alert”

Many of these are survival responses — not personal failings.

How Trauma Counselling Helps

In therapy we work gently and safely to help your mind and body reconnect.
This includes:

1. Rebuilding emotional safety

We focus on grounding, stabilisation, and helping your nervous system feel less overwhelmed.

2. Understanding your survival patterns

We explore how your body protected you — fight, flight, freeze, fawn — and how these patterns show up today.

3. Processing your experiences at your pace

No pressure. No forcing. Trauma work is always slow, steady, and contained.

4. Reconnecting with your identity

Many people with trauma feel lost or disconnected from who they are. Therapy helps rebuild a sense of self, confidence, and direction.

5. Building healthier relationships

Trauma often affects trust, attachment, and communication. Therapy helps you feel more secure and grounded with others.

Services: Service

My Approach to Trauma Therapy

I use an integrative, trauma-informed approach combining:

  • nervous system regulation

  • psychoeducation

  • attachment-focused therapy

  • parts work (inner critic, protector parts, etc.)

  • somatic awareness (working with the body gently)

  • grounding and stabilisation

  • exploring childhood meaning-making

Sessions are always at a pace your body can tolerate.
The goal is not to “tell the story” but to help your system feel safe enough to live fully again.

What Trauma Work Looks Like in Our Sessions

  • You don’t have to share anything before you’re ready.

  • We build safety first — emotional, relational, physical.

  • We explore triggers and what happens in your body during them.

  • We identify patterns rooted in old experiences (e.g., freeze, fawn, shutdown).

  • We help your system unlearn fear and rediscover a sense of control.

  • You learn how to ground yourself both inside and outside sessions.

Trauma work is not about re-living the pain — it’s about finally feeling supported in moving beyond it.

Who Trauma Counselling Can Help

People come to trauma therapy for many reasons, including:

  • childhood emotional neglect

  • family conflict or unpredictable parenting

  • abusive relationships

  • loss, grief, or abandonment

  • shock or medical trauma

  • people-pleasing and fear of conflict

  • emotional shutdown

  • jealousy or hypervigilance in relationships

  • feeling disconnected or “numb”

If your past still affects your present — trauma counselling can help.

Online & In-Person Trauma Counselling

You can choose online sessions or in-person appointments in Ely.
Online counselling is equally effective and offers flexibility and comfort, especially for trauma work.

Fees & Availability

Sessions are £50 and last 50 minutes.
Weekly or fortnightly appointments are available.

Take the First Step

If you’re ready to feel more grounded, regulated, and in control of your life again, trauma counselling can help.

You don’t have to do this alone.

Book an initial session or ask a question below — I’m here when you’re ready.

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