Psychological trauma or abuse experienced in childhood shows itself in unpredictable emotions and reactions in adult life. Traumatic experiences in childhood lead to mental health disorders, addictions and physical health problems.
In one of his articles, the renowned American psychiatrist Dr Bruce Perry describes trauma as an experience that changes the brain irrevocably. Every experience changes our brain, whether good, like piano lessons, or bad, like sexual abuse or war. This happens because the brain is designed to change in response to patterned, repetitive stimulation. Stimulation associated with fear and trauma leaves a lifelong imprint.
Because the brain develops very actively in the first years of life, negative and positive experiences strongly influence its development during this period. Traumatic events alter several areas of the brain that respond to threat. To heal childhood trauma, therapeutic interventions must activate the areas of the brain that the trauma has altered.
The path to freedom: treating childhood trauma in Zurich
Working with childhood trauma is demanding. That is why the path to healing should begin with a psychotherapist who understands in depth how traumatic experience affects the brain.
Dr Claudia Elsig, one of Switzerland’s leading practising psychotherapists, has opened CALDA, a new-generation psychiatric clinic where childhood trauma and other mental health disorders are treated with a personalised approach, without psychotropic medication.
CALDA works according to the principles of integrative medicine. This approach draws on practical and theoretical knowledge from various fields of conventional and alternative medicine. The focus is on the patient. Every person is unique, with an unrepeatable body and mind. The clinic addresses the central challenge of modern psychiatry: it personalises treatment. Therapy is built on the development of an individual programme for each patient.
Dr Elsig’s clinic is among the best psychiatric clinics in Switzerland. CALDA offers elite service, six-star accommodation and exceptional confidentiality, yet its true foundation is its medical team, made up of professors and holders of medical doctorates.
Childhood trauma calls for the most sensitive, empathetic therapy. During treatment the patient needs round-the-clock support. At Dr Elsig’s clinic, each patient is assigned a personal therapist who is always close at hand.
Traumatic experiences in childhood often lead to the following consequences:
- post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD);
- adjustment disorders;
- acute stress reaction.
PTSD is a particularly severe condition. War veterans also experience it, which is why some sources call it “Vietnam syndrome” or “Afghan syndrome”. Post-traumatic stress disorder has a negative effect on the patient’s quality of life. PTSD is characterised by episodes of painful memories of the traumatic event. The patient may be haunted by constant nightmares and, at times of acute distress, by thoughts of suicide.
Dr Elsig and the team of psychiatrists and psychoanalysts at the CALDA clinic help patients overcome the consequences of childhood trauma, regain confidence and control over their emotions, and free themselves from constant anxiety and fear.
The clinic’s motto is “New paths to a free life”. Childhood trauma, like other mental health disorders, restricts freedom of action, emotion and thought. Putting up with the problem, keeping silent about it or “numbing” it with drugs and alcohol leads to even greater loss of freedom. An experienced psychotherapist will help you find yourself again, leave the pain in the past and embrace the world anew.
