Momentum for Health is proud to provide mental health and addiction treatment services for adults in Santa Clara County facing a wide variety of behavioral health challenges. PTSD Awareness Month is acknowledged every June. To mark the occasion, Momentum for Health spoke with one of our expert clinicians to learn more about the condition and its impacts. Bindu Khurana-Brown is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) who serves as the Associate Director of the Crisis Stabilization Unit and the TRUST Mobile Response Program. 

What is your role at Momentum for Health, and how long have you been with the agency?

I am the Associate Director of our Crisis Stabilization Unit and the North County TRUST team, which provides non-law-enforcement behavioral health response in the community. I have been with Momentum for almost nine years.

What is your experience with PTSD? 

I have worked with PTSD in many components of my career, including in my current role. My early career was in San Diego, where there is a large military population, during the height of the Iraq and Afghanistan deployments. Many veterans returned as changed individuals, often facing new challenges due to what they had experienced. 

What is something people might not know about PTSD?

Part of what is sometimes misunderstood about PTSD is that witnessing tragedy or experiencing emotional pain can result in trauma not being understood until after the event has ended. For example, in a life-threatening situation, someone may not be able to sit in the experience because a loss of focus could expose them to real danger. That is what makes it so difficult. The pain was pushed away for survival, and then the brain doesn’t know how to reconcile it later. So, it often comes back in subconscious ways.  

What are the most common signs and symptoms of PTSD?

The most common symptoms someone might experience are recurring nightmares, feeling like they need to be aware of their surroundings at all times (hypervigilance), increasing drug or alcohol use to suppress memories, increased irritability, difficulty sleeping, and a startle response to external triggers like fireworks or a car backfiring.

What can treatment for PTSD look like?

PTSD treatment may be done through individual work with a therapist or group work with others who have similar experiences or symptoms. It’s important for a provider to recognize PTSD and take the time to prepare the patient. It may take months of building coping skills, understanding triggers, and identifying emotions before directly discussing the trauma or specific events. Patience is key. 

Is there a connection between PTSD and substance use disorders, and how are their treatments related?

Absolutely! There is definitely a connection. If it is difficult to continue reliving something against your wishes that was emotionally or physically painful, people can turn to substances to help reduce the perceived occurrence of those thoughts. I specify “perceived” because substances can lead to disinhibition, which can actually allow thoughts and feelings to surface, even if someone was looking to avoid or dull them. Both conditions share a similar difficulty in facing what lies beneath the behaviors, may require confronting painful memories, and don’t always follow a linear course of treatment. 


What do you hope people experiencing PTSD know? 

This is not forever, and does not have to be lifelong. Help and relief are possible. But the journey will take time. 

What does the work of behavioral health mean to you?

It means I can help people look at a situation in a different way. Sometimes it takes someone who is not part of a client’s daily life to say the message that will make the difference. To help someone else find resolution and work
towards healing is worth all the hard work put into it.

What are some ways people can take something they’ve learned during PTSD Awareness Month into their lives or actions?

Individuals can define their own trauma. There is no limited set of experiences that lead to PTSD. In fact, PTSD is a common response to threats to our safety, like a car crash, near-miss accident, or shocking confrontation. 

We do not need to walk through every day afraid. I want people to know that help is available, and the most courageous step is to ask for it. 

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Thank you to Bindu for sharing her expertise with us. If you or someone you love is struggling and may be experiencing PTSD, please reach out to learn what help might be available.