Post-traumatic stress disorder affects millions of Americans, with California reporting the highest number of positive PTSD cases nationally at 3,303 in 2023. Living with PTSD means dealing with flashbacks, nightmares, and hypervigilance that disrupt work, relationships, and daily functioning. Many people also experience co-occurring conditions like depression, anxiety, or substance use disorders, making recovery more complex.
However, healing is possible with the right support and evidence-based treatment approaches. At Lennox CMHC in Van Nuys, California, we understand that seeking help for trauma isn’t easy, but it’s one of the bravest steps you can take. We offer compassionate, trauma-informed care through outpatient programs designed to help you process traumatic memories, develop healthy coping skills, and rebuild your life. Whether you’re beginning treatment or returning to recovery, our team provides the professional support you need to move forward.
What is PTSD?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) emerges after you’ve experienced or witnessed something deeply traumatic. It fundamentally changes how your brain processes memories and reacts when it senses danger. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 6% of U.S. adults experience PTSD in their lifetime, with about 13 million Americans living with the condition.
PTSD isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a medical condition that changes brain chemistry and nervous system functioning. Trauma overwhelms your ability to cope in the moment, and your brain continues responding as if the danger remains present even after the event has ended.
Common Causes of PTSD
Traumatic experiences that can lead to PTSD include:
- Combat exposure: Military service members who experience or witness violence during deployment
- Physical or sexual assault: Survivors of violence, abuse, or attacks
- Serious accidents: Car crashes, workplace injuries, or other life-threatening incidents
- Natural disasters: Earthquakes, wildfires, floods, or hurricanes
- Childhood trauma: Abuse, neglect, or witnessing domestic violence
- Medical trauma: Life-threatening illnesses, surgeries, or intensive care experiences
Trauma doesn’t affect everyone the same way. Whether you develop PTSD depends on many factors, including how severe the trauma was, whether you’ve experienced trauma before, what kind of support you had afterward, and even your family’s mental health history.
PTSD Symptoms and Warning Signs
Most people notice PTSD symptoms within three months after trauma, but sometimes they don’t surface until years later. These symptoms typically fall into four main categories:
- Intrusive memories: Flashbacks, nightmares, or distressing thoughts about the trauma that occur without warning
- Avoidance behaviors: Staying away from places, people, or activities that trigger memories of the trauma
- Negative changes in thinking and mood: Difficulty remembering parts of the trauma, negative beliefs about yourself or others, emotional numbness, or loss of interest in activities
- Changes in physical and emotional reactions: Hypervigilance, being easily startled, difficulty sleeping, irritability, or engaging in self-destructive behaviors
Symptoms that last longer than a month and disrupt daily life may indicate PTSD. This differs from a normal, short-term response to trauma.
How PTSD Impacts Daily Life and Mental Health
PTSD doesn’t just affect one part of your life. You might be going about your day when symptoms suddenly appear, throwing you off balance without any warning. Flashbacks transport you back to traumatic moments, while hypervigilance keeps your nervous system in constant alert mode, making relaxation nearly impossible.
PTSD symptoms often interfere with concentration and focus at work. You might be in the middle of a meeting or just doing routine tasks when intrusive thoughts or flashbacks hit, pulling you away from the present moment. Memory problems affect your ability to retain information or follow complex instructions.
Being constantly on high alert is exhausting. When nightmares disrupt your sleep night after night, you're starting each day already drained. By afternoon, you're struggling to focus or make clear decisions.
Avoidance behaviors may cause you to miss work or avoid certain situations. You might skip meetings that trigger anxiety or avoid coworkers who remind you of traumatic experiences. Emotional numbness affects workplace relationships, leading to isolation and misunderstandings with colleagues.
PTSD can build invisible walls between you and the people you care about most. Many of our clients tell us they feel emotionally numb, unable to connect or show affection even when they want to. Partners and family members often feel shut out or confused by sudden mood changes they don't understand.
After trauma, trusting others often feels impossible. The same hypervigilance that keeps you scanning for danger can spill into your closest relationships, leaving you constantly suspicious or worried about the people you love. Communication breaks down when irritability leads to arguments over small issues, while avoidance means important conversations get postponed or ignored entirely.
Family members often take on caretaking roles they weren't prepared for. Children may witness symptoms they don't understand, while partners feel helpless watching someone they love struggle without knowing how to help.
PTSD affects your body as much as your mind. Chronic stress from hypervigilance keeps cortisol levels elevated, wearing down your immune system over time. Sleep disturbances prevent the restorative rest your body needs, increasing risk for heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
Physical symptoms often accompany PTSD, including chronic pain, headaches, and gastrointestinal problems. Muscle tension from constant vigilance can lead to back pain and other musculoskeletal issues.
Substance abuse becomes a common coping mechanism. You may turn to alcohol or drugs to numb emotional pain or help with sleep. This self-medication creates additional health risks and can develop into addiction requiring dual diagnosis treatment.
Why Professional PTSD Treatment is Important
Professional treatment addresses the complex nature of trauma responses. PTSD symptoms often worsen over time without intervention, affecting work performance, relationships, and physical health. The condition frequently co-occurs with other mental health challenges, including depression and substance use disorders.
Risks of Leaving PTSD Untreated
Without treatment, PTSD typically gets worse, not better. The flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive thoughts that already disrupt your life often become more frequent and intense when you try to manage them alone. Many people develop avoidance behaviors that limit their ability to work, maintain relationships, or participate in activities they once enjoyed.
The connection between PTSD and substance use disorders presents significant risks. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 63% of veterans with substance use disorders who served in Afghanistan or Iraq also have PTSD. You may turn to alcohol or drugs to manage trauma symptoms, creating a cycle that complicates both conditions.
Types of Addiction and PTSD Therapy
PTSD treatment includes several evidence-based therapies designed to address trauma symptoms. Each approach can target different aspects of trauma processing and recovery, helping reduce symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, and hypervigilance that affect daily functioning.
Cognitive behavioral therapy helps you identify and change thought patterns connected to traumatic experiences. During CBT sessions, you learn how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors influence each other. This therapy teaches practical skills for managing triggers and developing healthier responses to stress.
Trauma-focused CBT addresses specific trauma memories and their impact on current behavior. Your therapist guides you through examining beliefs formed during traumatic events, helping you replace distorted thinking patterns with more balanced perspectives.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) helps process traumatic memories through guided eye movements or other bilateral stimulation. During sessions, you recall difficult memories while following specific visual or tactile patterns. This process reduces the emotional intensity attached to traumatic experiences.
EMDR differs from talk therapy because it doesn't require detailed verbal descriptions of trauma. Your brain reprocesses memories during bilateral stimulation, allowing them to become less distressing. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, EMDR can be effective for veterans dealing with both PTSD and substance use disorders.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) teaches skills for managing intense emotions that often accompany PTSD. The therapy focuses on four core areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. DBT balances acceptance of current emotions with active work toward behavioral change. These skills help you respond to triggers without becoming overwhelmed.
Group therapy creates a structured environment where people at various recovery stages share experiences. Sessions reduce isolation by connecting you with others who understand trauma's impact firsthand. Members provide accountability and encouragement as each person works toward recovery goals.
Trauma-focused groups address specific types of experiences like combat trauma, childhood abuse, or recent traumatic events. Facilitators guide discussions while teaching coping strategies and processing techniques.
Addiction and PTSD and Treatment programs in the Los Angeles Area
The Los Angeles area, including Van Nuys, offers multiple levels of care for people experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. Treatment programs range from intensive daily support to flexible weekly sessions, with each level addressing different needs based on symptom severity and daily functioning.
Partial hospitalization programs (PHPs) provide the most intensive level of outpatient care for PTSD. You attend treatment five to seven days per week for six to eight hours daily. This structure offers comprehensive support without requiring overnight stays.
PHPs typically include individual therapy, group sessions, medication management, and skills training. Trauma-focused therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and EMDR form the core of treatment.
Intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) offer three to five sessions per week, typically lasting three to four hours each. This schedule provides substantial therapeutic support while allowing you to maintain work, school, or family responsibilities.
Sessions include group therapy, individual counseling, and psychoeducation about trauma responses. You learn distress tolerance skills and emotional regulation techniques while benefiting from peer support in group settings and personalized attention in individual sessions.
Understanding Dual Diagnosis Treatment for PTSD
Dual diagnosis treatment refers to programs designed for people experiencing both mental health conditions and substance use disorders. For PTSD and addiction, this means therapists address trauma memories while also teaching skills to manage cravings and prevent relapse.
PTSD and substance use disorders frequently occur together, creating a dual diagnosis that requires specialized treatment. Research shows that integrated care models addressing both conditions simultaneously produce better outcomes than treating each separately.
Substance use often develops as a way to manage PTSD symptoms like nightmares, flashbacks, and hypervigilance. Alcohol and drugs temporarily numb emotional pain but ultimately worsen both conditions, creating a cycle where trauma symptoms trigger substance use, and substance use intensifies trauma symptoms.
Integrated Treatment Approaches for Co-occurring Disorders
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) helps you identify connections between trauma memories, thoughts, emotions, and substance use. Therapists teach skills to challenge negative thought patterns and develop healthier coping strategies, focusing on recognizing triggers for both PTSD symptoms and substance cravings.
EMDR helps in processing traumatic memories to reduce their emotional intensity. During sessions, you recall difficult memories while following guided eye movements or other bilateral stimulation. This therapy helps traumatic memories lose their power to trigger substance use or PTSD symptoms.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) teaches four core skill sets: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. These skills help you manage intense emotions without turning to substances, proving particularly effective for people who experience emotional dysregulation alongside PTSD and addiction.
Frequently Asked Questions about PTSD treatment in the Los Angeles area
Treatment duration varies based on symptom severity, trauma type, and individual response to therapy. Most evidence-based treatments like CBT or EMDR involve 8 to 12 weekly sessions, though some people benefit from longer-term support.
Outpatient PTSD treatment programs accommodate work schedules through flexible session times. Many Los Angeles area treatment centers offer evening and weekend appointments, and telehealth options eliminate commute time while providing greater scheduling flexibility.
Most California insurance plans cover PTSD treatment under mental health benefits, following the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. Coverage typically includes individual therapy, group therapy, and medication management when medically necessary.
The first session focuses on assessment and building rapport with your therapist. The clinician will ask about current symptoms, trauma history, and how PTSD affects daily functioning to determine the most appropriate treatment approach.
Treatment programs in the Los Angeles area serve veterans experiencing combat-related PTSD through specialized, trauma-informed care. Veterans may access treatment through VA benefits or community providers when VA facilities cannot provide timely care.
Begin Your Healing Journey at Lennox CMHC
We’ve seen countless people heal from PTSD and rebuild lives they love. With the right support and treatment approach, you can too. At Lennox CMHC in Van Nuys, California, we provide compassionate, trauma-informed care through flexible outpatient programs designed to fit your life. Our experienced team understands the complexities of trauma and co-occurring conditions, offering personalized treatment plans that address your unique needs.
Whether you’re dealing with recent trauma or long-standing PTSD symptoms, we’re here to help you process difficult memories, develop healthy coping skills, and rebuild your life. Contact us today to learn more about our PTSD treatment programs and take the first step toward healing.
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https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/substance-use/treatment.asp
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd