Trauma Care Guide
Trauma Care Guide
Understand Trauma and Find the Right Support
This guide helps you understand what trauma is, how it can show up, and how to choose a therapist and approach that suit you. It is educational, not a diagnosis or treatment plan.
If you are in immediate danger or crisis, contact local emergency services or a crisis line in your area.
What is Trauma?
Understanding Trauma and Healing
Where do I start?
Level of Support Needed
Using the Directory
Navigating the Filters
What Trauma Therapy looks like
The First Few Sessions
What is Trauma?
Trauma is not only about what happened. It is about how your mind and body were able, or unable, to process the experience at the time.
Two people can live through similar events and be affected very differently. Support, timing and a sense of safety make a significant difference to recovery.
Single-Incident Trauma
A one-off event such as an accident, assault or disaster.
Complex Trauma
Long-term experiences, often starting in childhood, involving neglect, abuse or persistent fear.
Vicarious Trauma
The impact of working with or caring for others in distress.
Common Trauma Responses:
Poor sleep, startling easily, feeling constantly on alert
Sudden memories or images, distressing dreams
Feeling numb, spaced out or disconnected from yourself or your surroundings
Avoiding reminders of what happened
Irritability, shame, low mood, loss of interest
Difficulty trusting others, feeling unsafe in relationships
These are not signs of weakness. They are survival responses that helped you then and may be getting in the way now.
How healing usually progresses:
Safety and stabilisation: grounding, calming the body, and building daily coping skills.
Processing and integration: gently revisiting and digesting what happened so it no longer dominates.
Reconnection and growth: strengthening identity, relationships and meaning.
A good therapist matches the pace to your needs.
Self Reflection
Which Starting Point Fits You?
What do you want help with right now?
A. Stress, anxiety, burnout or relationship strain. I want a steady space to start.
B. Effects of past experiences such as being on edge, distressing memories or dreams.
C. Long-term or childhood trauma, feeling disconnected or like different parts of me take over. Past help has not gone deep enough.How intense is it day to day?
A. Manageable. I would like better tools.
B. Noticeable. It affects sleep, work or relationships.
C. Severe. I am often triggered, overwhelmed or not fully present.Have you done trauma-focused work before?
A. No, I am new to this.
B. Some, and I want to go further.
C. Yes, and I need a specialist who understands complex trauma.Do you experience spacing out or losing time?
A. Rarely. Mainly stress or anxiety.
B. Sometimes, though I stay oriented.
C. Often, with gaps in time or strong shifts in state.What do you most need from therapy now?
A. Education, coping skills and a safe base.
B. A structured way to process difficult memories with support.
C. Care that understands complex trauma and dissociation, with careful pacing.
Mostly A?
Start with a trauma-informed therapist.
Focus on safety, understanding patterns, nervous-system regulation and daily coping.
Mostly B?
Work with a trauma-advanced therapist.
Adds structured trauma methods to process what happened at a safe pace.
Mostly C?
Seek a complex trauma specialist.
Skilled in long-term trauma and dissociation, with phase-based, well-contained work.
Choosing an approach that fits you?
A therapy approach, sometimes called a modality, is the way a therapist works.
You do not need to be an expert. Start with what you want help with and how you like to work.
How to use the Directory effectively
Select care level
Choose Informed, Advanced or Specialist based on your quiz result.Filter by approach
Pick one or two approaches that match your needs. Example: Body-based and Parts work.Filter by fit
Language and culture, online or in-person, budget or sliding scale, specific focus such as complex trauma or dissociation.Open two or three profiles
Look for experience with your concerns, how they describe their way of working, fees and availability.Send a brief first message
Hello [Name]. I am seeking support for [brief concern]. I prefer [online or in-person]. My budget is about [range]. Do you have availability in the next few weeks and does this fit your scope of practice
Most therapists reply within a few working days. If it is not a match, try another profile. This is normal.
What to expect in the first three sessions
Session 1: outline your aims, history at a comfortable pace, immediate safety and coping.
Session 2: agree priorities, begin skills for stabilisation, map triggers and supports.
Session 3: discuss an initial plan, pace and how you will review progress.
It is reasonable to ask what a therapist recommends, how they will keep work safe and how you can give feedback.
Green flags and caution signs
Green flags: clear boundaries and fees, informed consent, attention to safety and pacing, invites questions, collaborative plan, comfort with pausing or slowing.
Caution signs: pressure to move fast, dismisses dissociation or body reactions, unclear about qualifications or supervision, promises quick fixes for complex issues.
Access and practicalities
Many therapists offer online sessions and limited sliding scale places.
Ask about frequency and fees, as well as any brief consultation call.
In the Directory, public profiles show the licensing body and country. The team verifies licences and good standing during onboarding.
Key reminder
The impact of trauma is not measured by the size of the event but by how it was processed at the time and what support was available. You deserve care if you are struggling, whatever the cause or size of the event.
The Directory is free for people seeking therapy. You contact and pay therapists directly. This guide suggests a starting point. It is not a diagnosis.
