Trauma therapy
How PHC's psychologists work with past or ongoing trauma, and what trauma-informed practice actually changes in a session — in clinic in PECHS and DHA, or online wherever you are.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, this page is not the right place. Here is what to do.
What this is
Trauma therapy is not a single method. It is a way of working — and, at PHC, a set of therapies our psychologists are trained in, chosen according to what a person is carrying and what they can manage to approach.
What it has in common across all of those is pace. Trauma work goes at the speed of the person doing it, not at the speed of a treatment plan. A great deal of the early work is not about the events at all: it is about having somewhere steady to stand first, so that approaching a difficult memory does not simply repeat it. Nothing is opened that cannot be closed again before you leave the room.
Where the difficulty is a memory that has not settled, EMDR may be the therapy used, and PHC has a Level 1 trained EMDR therapist on the team. Where thought patterns formed around the trauma are carrying as much of the weight, CBT may be used; where the feelings themselves are the difficulty, DBT skills may come first. For children, the work is usually done through play therapy.
What it is not: it is not a requirement to describe what happened, it is not a technique for recovering memories you do not have, and it is not a promise that anything will be dismantled on a timetable. It is also not something you are given before anyone has worked out what is going on. Which therapy is indicated for you is a clinical decision made after an initial session, not a choice you have to make from a website.
Trauma-Informed Therapy
Trauma-informed is one of the nine approaches PHC names, and its meaning is practical rather than decorative. It changes four things in a session. Choice — you decide what you bring and when, and "I would rather not go there yet" is a complete answer. Pace — the session is built to be closed down deliberately, not stopped when the clock runs out. Explanation — you are told what is about to happen and why before it happens, because being surprised is itself part of what trauma does. Assumption — the clinician works from what happened to you rather than what is wrong with you.
It applies equally to people who never use the word trauma about themselves.
How it works at PHC
PHC is an assessment-first practice. Nobody begins trauma work here because they asked for it by name — they begin it because an initial session found it was what the situation called for.
- An initial session.We ask what has been going on, for how long, and what it is costing you. You are not asked to narrate anything you do not want to. Where the picture needs more than a conversation, emotional assessment and symptom screening decides which further tests, if any, are clinically warranted.
- A psychologist matched to what that found.Psychologists at PHC are not assigned on availability. Assignment is based on speciality, your presenting needs and clinical fit. Preferred psychologist gender is one of the six details we ask for when you book, and on this kind of work it matters to a lot of people. If the fit is not right, tell us and we will move you to someone else.
- 50-minute sessions, in clinic or online.A standard session is 50 minutes. Early sessions often work on steadiness rather than on the events, and that is the work rather than a delay before it. If a session runs beyond 50 minutes and your psychologist has the time, you can extend by an hour at an extra fee — you are told what that is before it happens. Minor overruns of one to five minutes are not charged.
- Reviewed as it goes.What you are working on is revisited rather than assumed, and the therapy used can change as the picture does. Where safety in a current situation is the live issue rather than a past event, that is addressed first and openly.
Who it is for, and who it is not for
At PHC, trauma therapy is used with children, adolescents and adults, in the form that fits the age — play-based for young children, talking and structured protocols for older children and adults. It is used for a single event and for something that went on for years, and a diagnosis is not a prerequisite for being offered it.
It is not the right service for everything. Where screening points to a picture that needs psychiatric input, where a medical cause needs ruling out first, or where the immediate need is safety rather than therapy, you will be told that plainly and referred on rather than kept.
Conditions we use this for
Each of these has a page of its own explaining what PHC does about it. Which therapy applies to you is decided at the initial session.
These are some of the presentations trauma therapy is used for at PHC, not all of them. See every condition we work with.
Who delivers it
Only psychologists whose own supplied credentials name this area appear here. Every one of them holds a minimum postgraduate qualification in clinical psychology and completed over 800 supervised clinical hours before joining PHC.
Nabiha Rasheed.
Clinical Psychologist MPhil Clinical Psychology. 3,500+ clinical hours. Seven years as an early-years practitioner. In their own words: "offering unbiased, inclusive psychological guidance for people navigating trauma and major life shifts."Read their profile →
Aisha Ahmad.
Clinical Psychologist · Workshop Facilitator Master's in Clinical Psychology. 5+ years. Trauma-focused interventions, attachment-informed and psychodynamic-informed approaches, CBT and DBT.Read her profile →
Falahat Awan.
Clinical Psychologist · 18+ years MPhil Clinical Psychology. 4,000+ clinical hours. EMDR Level 1 trained and an Accredited CBT Therapist. Clinical specialisations include PTSD.Read their profile →Three of PHC's psychologists are listed here, and more of the team names this area than the cards show. See every psychologist at PHC.
Questions people ask first
Do I have to talk about what happened?
No. You decide what you bring and when. A psychologist may ask where something started, but nothing is forced, and a great deal of trauma work is done without the events being narrated in detail. If being asked is the part you are dreading, say so in the first session — it is useful information, not an obstacle.
It happened years ago. Is it too late?
There is no point at which something stops being worth speaking to someone about, and time passing does not make a difficulty less real. Whether therapy is what is indicated, and which therapy, is what an initial session is for.
What if it is still happening?
Then that is what the first conversation is about. Ongoing harm is a different situation from a past event and is treated as one — safety comes before processing, and we will say plainly what we can and cannot do. If the immediate need is not therapy, here is what to do.
Can my child have trauma therapy?
Yes, in the form that fits their age. For children under seven the work is usually done through play therapy, with the parents closely involved. That is not a lesser version of it; it is the form the work takes at that age.
For confidentiality, fees, switching psychologist and everything else people ask before booking, see our FAQs.
Where sessions happen
Speaking to someone starts here
PHC is appointment-only. Message or call and a real person answers — Monday to Saturday, 10am to 8pm PKT.
Not sure whether this is us? Contact us anyway. We will tell you directly whether we can help, and refer you elsewhere if we cannot.
Six details, and we can match you
- Name of the person who will attend
- Their age
- What is going on, in your own words
- Whether you would prefer a male or female psychologist
- Online, or in clinic in Karachi
- Whether the person attending is a minor or elderly
If someone else is paying, we will also ask for guardian or payer details. A slot is held once the booking payment is received — half the fee, at least 24 hours ahead.