PTSD and Trauma Treatment

What Is PTSD?

PTSD -- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder -- happens when your brain gets stuck after a traumatic experience. Instead of processing what happened and filing it away as a memory, your nervous system keeps reliving the event as if it's still happening. The result is a state of constant alertness, where everyday triggers -- a loud noise, a certain smell, a crowded room -- can send you right back to the worst moment of your life.

PTSD affects approximately 6% of the U.S. population at some point in their lives, with women being twice as likely as men to develop it. But here's what many people don't realize: PTSD isn't limited to soldiers and first responders. It can develop after any overwhelming experience -- a car accident, an assault, childhood abuse, a natural disaster, a medical emergency, the sudden loss of a loved one, or even witnessing violence.

A woman from San Diego came to my practice not for herself, but because she was desperate to understand what was happening to her husband -- a retired Marine. He'd been hypervigilant for years, unable to sleep, snapping at the children over nothing, and emotionally distant. The VA wait times were months long, and she couldn't watch him suffer anymore. When I evaluated him, we identified not just PTSD but also depression and chronic insomnia fueling each other. Within two months of combined treatment, his wife told me, "I have my husband back." That's the kind of transformation that proper trauma treatment makes possible.

The hardest part about PTSD is that it often tells you to avoid the very thing that will help you: talking about it. Many people suffer in silence for years, using alcohol, overwork, or isolation to cope. But avoidance doesn't heal trauma -- it prolongs it.

Signs and Symptoms of PTSD

PTSD symptoms fall into four main clusters. You don't need to have all of them to have PTSD -- but if several of these have been present for more than a month after a traumatic event, it's time to get evaluated:

What I want you to understand is this: these symptoms are not weakness. They are your brain's attempt to protect you from a threat it believes is still present. Your nervous system got stuck on "red alert," and it needs help finding its way back to safety. That's what treatment does.

Types of Trauma Disorders We Treat

Trauma manifests differently depending on what happened, when it happened, and how long it lasted. Each type requires a tailored approach. Click any card to learn more:

Causes and Risk Factors

Types of Trauma That Can Lead to PTSD

Not everyone who experiences trauma develops PTSD. About 20% of people exposed to a traumatic event go on to develop the condition. The types of events most commonly associated with PTSD include: combat and military service, sexual assault and domestic violence, serious accidents and injuries, natural disasters, witnessing violence, childhood abuse and neglect, sudden loss of a loved one, medical emergencies and life-threatening diagnoses.

Why Some People Develop PTSD and Others Don't

Several factors influence vulnerability: the severity and duration of the trauma, previous exposure to trauma (especially in childhood), family history of mental health conditions, lack of social support after the event, and pre-existing anxiety or depression. Having a strong support system and accessing help early are two of the strongest protective factors.

The Border Region Context

San Diego has one of the largest military and veteran communities in the United States. Many of the patients I see from across the border have direct or indirect connections to military service. Beyond that, the border region itself carries unique stressors: immigration-related trauma, family separation, exposure to violence, economic instability, and the psychological weight of living between two worlds. These experiences are real, they accumulate, and they deserve professional attention.

Diagnosis and Evaluation

What to Expect in Your First Visit

A safe, judgment-free space. I want to be very clear about this: you do not have to share every detail of your trauma in the first visit. We go at your pace. The evaluation is designed to understand how the trauma is affecting your life right now -- not to force you to relive it.

Structured assessment. I use the PTSD Checklist (PCL-5) and the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale when appropriate to accurately assess symptom severity and track your progress.

Screening for co-occurring conditions. PTSD rarely exists alone. Depression, anxiety, insomnia, and substance use frequently accompany it. Identifying everything at once means we can treat the whole picture, not just one piece.

A treatment plan built around you. Some patients want medication to take the edge off so they can function. Others want to process the trauma therapeutically. Most benefit from a combination. We'll build a plan that respects your goals and your readiness.

Treatment Options

Medication Management

SSRIs (sertraline and paroxetine are the only two FDA-approved medications for PTSD) are the first-line pharmacological treatment. They help reduce the intensity of intrusive memories, hyperarousal, and emotional numbness. For patients with severe insomnia or nightmares, prazosin can be remarkably effective at reducing trauma-related nightmares specifically.

I'm cautious with benzodiazepines in PTSD -- research actually shows they can interfere with trauma processing and worsen outcomes long-term. If acute anxiety management is needed, I prefer alternatives that don't carry these risks.

Trauma-Focused Therapy

The most effective therapies for PTSD are trauma-focused: Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). These approaches help your brain finally process the traumatic memory and store it as a past event rather than a current threat. I can coordinate referrals to trauma-specialized therapists while managing the medication component of your treatment.

My Approach

Trauma treatment requires patience, trust, and clinical precision. I never rush a patient into discussing something they're not ready for. My role is to stabilize your symptoms with medication so you can function and sleep, identify co-occurring conditions that need attention, and support your therapeutic work with ongoing psychiatric management. Many of my patients start feeling meaningfully better within the first month -- not because the trauma is gone, but because the grip it has on their daily life begins to loosen.

Why Are San Diego Veterans and Families Seeking PTSD Treatment in Tijuana?

San Diego is home to the largest concentration of military personnel and veterans in the United States. The demand for PTSD treatment far exceeds the available resources. VA wait times can stretch for months, and private psychiatrists in San Diego often have waiting lists of their own. Meanwhile, people are suffering now.

My practice offers an immediate alternative: see a board-certified psychiatrist within days, receive a thorough 60-minute evaluation, and start treatment right away. I understand the unique needs of the military community and the border region population. Our office in New City Medical Plaza is a modern, professional medical facility in Tijuana's safest district.

We accept cash, credit/debit cards, Zelle, and Venmo. Your first consultation is in-person. Telepsychiatry follow-ups are available for established patients when clinically appropriate and where legally permitted.

Our patients come from San Diego, Chula Vista, National City, San Ysidro, Oceanside, Imperial Beach, and Los Angeles. Learn more about cross-border care -->

Frequently Asked Questions About PTSD Treatment

Related Conditions

PTSD frequently coexists with these conditions. Treating them together produces much better outcomes: