How can I help my daughter who keeps waking up scared in the middle of the night?

I have a three-year-old daughter who has started waking up abruptly in the middle of the night. She’ll be screaming and confused and can’t be reasoned with. If I try to hold her she reacts by punching and kicking. Right now I just try to talk to her soothingly until she calms down, which usually takes about five minutes or more. After that she either goes to the bathroom or just falls back asleep. I’m a deep sleeper so I’ve only experienced this a few times, but I think my wife deals with this about 3–4 times a week.