Going through a traumatic experience will result in trauma responses and other mental changes. Some survivors of trauma will develop mental illnesses or trauma triggers that can be debilitating. Working through your trauma is not an easy feat and should be done with the help of a licensed professional.
Before you begin addressing trauma in therapy, it is important to find the right therapist. Finding one that specializes in trauma is most important, but you should also look for someone you feel comfortable with. Sharing these traumatic experiences can be emotionally taxing so it is important to find a therapist you can trust. In this blog, we will share how trauma is handled in therapy and some tips to help you open up during therapy sessions.
Types Of Trauma Therapy
Since there are many different types of trauma, there are also different therapeutic approaches to addressing it. Here are some of the most common therapy practices for trauma.
- Prolonged Exposure: This therapy will expose the person to triggers or trauma in a controlled environment. This allows the body and brain to process what is happening to them. Prolonged exposure can also be looked at as facing your fears.
- Cognitive Processing Therapy: Many trauma holders may believe that the trauma and its effects were based on their own actions. CPT helps to gain perspective on why the traumatic event happened and how you have changed since then. Processing complex emotions and using them as strengths can be done in Cognitive Processing Therapy.
- Trauma focused CBT: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a common therapy for those with mental illness. It focuses on changing negative thoughts and behaviors by reframing them in your brain. Trauma focused CBT will work to reframe the traumatic events and manage symptoms of stress and anxiety.
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing: Following rhythmic left and right eye movements can help release blocked emotions. The brain may experience amnesia or dissociation when trauma has occurred. It is hard to work through trauma when the brain has blocked it, so EMDR can help bring these emotions to the surface.
- Somatic Experiencing: This approach emphasizes connection between the body and the mind. Somatic Experiencing works on recognizing the bodies physical reactions to trauma, releasing stress from the body, and developing stability in the body and mind.
Techniques And Exposures
Inside of therapy practices, there are small practices or exposures that can be used to help treat trauma. Exposure therapy is often a way to help people overcome their triggers and learn more about why their brain processed the event as traumatic.
Exposure therapy, imaginal exposure, and in-vivo exposure are all methods that are used during processing trauma. These exposures will help push patients out of their comfort zone and help them confront their fears.
Other techniques that can be used for trauma patients include:
- Written account of the event or narrative around how you continue to handle the trauma
- Cognitive restructuring strategies
- Mindfulness or meditation practice
- Acupuncture
- Coping strategies for change
- Neurofeedback
Working Through Triggers
Knowing what fears you have and what triggers a trauma response is the first step in addressing trauma in therapy. Knowing your triggers can help you and your therapist to work through them in a controlled way. This can also help you to avoid them in daily life or face your fears to reframe how you feel about them.
For example, if a person’s trauma revolves around water or drowning, they may have trouble bathing. A therapist could start by having the patient touch water during the session. A person may need to start with a ‘sponge bath’ and work their way up to a full shower again as they remind themselves that they are safe.
Decrease Traumatic Stress
Our bodies hold on to trauma and stress, which can cause physical problems in the body. This can lead to pain in multiple parts of the body, difficulty sleeping, digestive issues, and more. Therapy can help reduce the stress in the body and provide a well-rounded healing for trauma patients.
Tips For Addressing Trauma
Working through trauma is extremely difficult, but working with a therapist can help lessen the load. Learning in therapy is a process, so it is ok to go at a slower pace and face your fears on your timeline.
Go At Your Own Pace
The most important thing to remember when seeking therapy is to only focus on your progress. Comparing your journey to someone else’s is not a beneficial way to heal. Every person will experience emotions and situations differently, so comparing your reactions to trauma is not accurate. Work with your therapist to establish a pace that will still allow you to make progress.
Set Boundaries
Even if you have decided to seek therapy for a traumatic event, you should never feel pressured to talk about a trauma memory. Gentle encouragement and providing a safe environment is the therapist’s job, they should not force you to confront it if you are not ready. Setting boundaries and creating goals with your therapist will help you address trauma in therapy without furthering your trauma.
Try Different Ways Of Communication
If you are worried about talking about the trauma and reliving it, there may be alternative ways to express yourself. Using non-verbal strategies can help your therapist learn about how it affected you, without causing you too much distress. Some expression techniques could be art, sand trays, music, or hypnosis.
Have A Support Group Outside Of Therapy
While a therapist is vital to your healing and trauma work, having friends and family who will support you outside of the session is also helpful. You don’t need to share all of your struggles with those close to you, but going out for lunch, taking a walk, or visiting a family member can be another type of healing on your journey. Feeling less alone can help you navigate the trauma therapy experience.
