---
title: "Hurricane & Storm Trauma Therapy | McFadden Institute"
url: https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/specialties/hurricane-and-storm-trauma
description: "Online therapy for Floridians still shaken by a hurricane: dread at every forecast cone, sleepless storm nights, and what was lost. Robert Cushing, LCSW."
lang: en
---

Image: Warm dune grass on a sandy ridge in low golden light. (https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/__l5e/assets-v1/df737464-1dd9-4608-af72-a5c549d1e526/hero-cinematic.jpg)

Specialties

# Hurricane & Storm Trauma

If you live in Florida, you know the rhythm. Every June the season starts again, and for some of us, so does the dread.

Book a free consultation: https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/contact
How RRT works: https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/approach

## What this looks like

Your stomach drops when a forecast cone shows up on the news.

Wind or heavy rain at night keeps you awake and listening.

You overprepare, or can't bring yourself to prepare at all.

You feel guilty for being shaken when others lost more.

## How Rapid Resolution Therapy approaches it

RRT works with how your mind is still holding the storm, so the next alert doesn't land like the last one.

You don't have to go back through that night in detail.

## A yearly reminder

Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30. That's half the year with a built-in reminder. For people who went through something bad, the ordinary rituals of the season, checking the tropics, buying water, the phone buzzing with an alert, can set off the same reaction as the night things went wrong.

Many Floridians still carry storms like Ian in 2022, or Helene and Milton in 2024. Some carry older ones. I grew up in coastal Pinellas County, so I know this rhythm firsthand.

## When the body reacts like it's happening again

The sound of wind on the windows. A sky going a certain color. The smell of wet drywall. Your body answers before you've decided anything: tight chest, racing thoughts, a pull to check the forecast one more time. That's the same learned reflex described on the trauma and PTSD (https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/specialties/trauma-and-ptsd) page, and it often overlaps with season-long anxiety (https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/specialties/anxiety).

## What was lost

Storms don't just damage houses. They take routines, neighborhoods, the corner store, the church, the feeling that home is a safe place. Evacuating, staying with relatives, living in a half-repaired house for months: displacement wears on people in ways that don't show up in any damage report.

Some of what you're feeling may be grief for a place or a way of life. That counts.

## The people who kept going

Some people spent the storm and the weeks after it helping: checking on neighbors, clearing roads, running shelters, working double shifts. They never stopped long enough to feel any of it. Then it catches up, sometimes a year later, sometimes when the next storm forms. If that's you, it isn't too late to set some of it down.

## Sessions that don't depend on an office

I work entirely online, so sessions don't rely on a building being open or roads being clear. As long as you're in Florida, have a private space and a working connection, we can meet. That includes people in areas that were hit hardest, like Fort Myers (https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/service-areas/fort-myers).

## Before and during the season

Some people find it useful to start in the quieter months, before the season ramps up. Others reach out in August when the tropics get busy and the dread returns. Either is fine. We can work with whatever the forecast is stirring up right now, and look at what the body is bracing for underneath it. Why the season can hit so hard is covered in why an anniversary can bring it all back (https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/resources/anniversary-reactions).

If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). For emergencies, dial 911.

The storm passed. Your body may still be waiting for it.

## Questions people ask

### Others had it worse. Does mine still count?

Yes. Comparing losses is a very common way people talk themselves out of getting help. What matters is how it's affecting you, not where you rank.

### Do I have to go back through the storm in detail?

No. You can say as much or as little as you like. The work focuses on how your mind is holding it now, not on a full account of what happened.

### Can we still meet during hurricane season?

Yes, as long as you're safe, in Florida, and have power and a connection. If a storm is bearing down, your safety comes first and we'll reschedule.

Not sure if what you're carrying fits here?

A free 15-minute call is the simplest way to find out.

Book a free consultation: https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/contact

Rapid Resolution Therapy is a therapeutic approach, not a guarantee of specific results and not a substitute for medical care. Every person's experience is different and individual outcomes vary.

Back to home: https://mcfaddeninstitute.com/

Free consultation · no pressure

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