Karl42,

Trauma counseling- or someone who has experience with trauma clients. I have been involved with Cognitive Behavioral therapy with some significant help gained. Others here have had luck w/ other approaches. Most important thing is having a therapist you feel comfortable with. Often the therapist can coordinate with your regular medical doctor if meds are perceived to be needed useful at least in the short-run.

For most people the goal is to gain skills to manage symptoms so life can be more liveable again, (as opposed to expecting total cure.)

The source of the trauma effects the types of PTSD triggers and issues w/ in treatment, but in a broader sense PTSD is PTSD what ever that initiating cause. For a while I went to someone who specialized in counseling folks with my specific trauma source, was referred by a District Attorney's Victims Assistance office. It was useful in placing what had happened to me in perspective, but was more like triage, and later I found my CBT person where I could work on regrouping my life.

Hope this helps.

Welcome to the group. I hope you find it useful for you.

I have been attending an Action and Commitment Therapy (ACT) group through the VA. My trauma is not combat related, but this group believes trauma is trauma, whatever its source. It is about more effective processing of the information.

Seems to be helping.

Look for a therapist the specializes in PTSD. It may take you a while to find one who you are comfortable with. Realize that PTSD is no something you can be cured of. Strange things will trigger you and you will relapse. The good news is with therapy you will learn to identify those triggers, how to bring yourself back to the present and this will allow you to live a normal life. It will get easier. Learn to appreciate the little things in life, to love yourself and most of all be patient with yourself.
Personally I have found this site to be a wonderful resource and a safe place to vent or get advise. One of the biggest things for me about this site was that I felt normal just knowing others felt the same way I did. Strange I know, but no one seemed to understand me. Here they do.
I understand kids can be cruel. I failed 2 grades due to health issues and from grade 3 on, I did not belong anyplace. I was called stupid, loser, failure etc. I never got invited to a friends house because I had no friends. The kids I was supposed to be with did not want to hang out with a loser who failed, and the class I was with thought I was stupid and did not want to hang out with a stupid person. Lose...lose situaation. My teachers told me I would never amount to anything.
Hang in there man. You can control PTSD and life a good life without the pain you feel now.