I am a PACFA registered counsellor and psychotherapist in Leichhardt and Blacktown with specialties in trauma, grief and loss and substance dependence and addiction.

When I say trauma I don’t just mean big, capital ‘T’ trauma. Trauma can come from small things like mild neglect or abandonment. Sometimes we don’t even remember it has happened to us, we just know something’s not right. Or we respond to things in a way that doesn’t seem to fit the situation, or we feel it as anxiety. This happens because our bodies store the memory without our conscious awareness. The best news is that we can become aware of it, learn to get distance from the feeling, and therefore trust ourselves and find peace and safety.

Often we start treating this trauma with substances or other behaviours long before we realise we are doing it. It is not our ‘fault’. Addiction doesn’t happen because we’ve chosen it, and it can happen to ANYONE. Working with it is a multifaceted approach after some careful assessment of where you’re at in the trajectory of it… it does tend to worsen without attention. And we cannot do it alone.

My work is informed by specific knowledge of the Autonomic Nervous System. This is the one that takes us to Fight, Flight and Freeze. Those states take us out of connection – with not only other people, but firstly our own ability to think rationally. I have also a powerful tool called Depth Enquiry, which is a process of desensitising the brain to a traumatic memory.

If I don’t have the strategy for you, I will help you find the person who does. Call for a chat: 0439470116.

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Charlotte Ritchie

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