How to Treat Trauma
Trauma is an experience that most people go through at some point in their lives. We also sometimes use the term Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) to describe these experiences (check out Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris’ phenomenal TED talk here to learn more about ACEs). Some experience it more often or more severely, but one thing is common: trauma changes us. It can change how we view ourselves, other people, and the world around us. The good news is that there are several evidence-based practices and interventions that have been proven to alleviate the symptoms of trauma and give people their lives back.
First, what exactly is trauma? I ask clients often if they’ve experienced anything traumatic and I commonly hear, “Well, I wasn’t abused or anything like that so I guess not.” While abuse is a very common form of trauma, it’s a small slice of the trauma pie. Other experiences I’ve heard that have some of the same post-traumatic responses are:
-Having an over-controlling parent
-Being the child of divorce
-Having harsh and very restrictive rules growing up
-Being the victim of enmeshment
-Being treated differently than another sibling (favoritism, double standards, etc)
-Having an emotionally distant/absent parent(s)
Anything that leads to a maladaptive response that affects you negatively for a long period of time (often forever unless treatment is received), could be considered traumatic. I like to think of trauma as an event that won’t heal on its own. If I get a small scratch on my arm, I’ll likely clean it and wait for it to heal. If I get a huge gash in my arm, chances are it’ll worsen over time if left untreated. Trauma is that huge gash that, unlike physical trauma, is often avoided. The longer we avoid it, the worse it gets.
What are some common post-traumatic responses?
-Hypervigilance
-Strict rules about life or everyday occurrences (i.e. needing things to be clean at all times and an inability to cope if something isn’t clean/perfect)
-”If-Then” statements (for example someone might say “If I get into a relationship, then I’ll be abused”, or “If I go out, I’ll be assaulted”)
What can you do about trauma?
One of the most common therapies out there is EMDR. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based treatment designed to help alleviate emotional distress stemming from traumatic experiences.
Cognitive Processing Therapy(CPT) is another effective and evidence-based therapy. CPT focuses less on the traumatic event itself and more on the maladaptive thinking patterns and belief systems. Beliefs about yourself, your future, and the world around you can be disrupted after a traumatic event. One very troubling aspect of PTSD is that the person is rarely still being exposed to the trauma, however, it is still negatively impacting their lives. CPT aims to identify those maladaptive beliefs, challenge them, and change them into more accurate and helpful beliefs.
Since trauma is no small topic, I highly recommend that you see a therapist that is trained/certified to treat trauma. I’ve unfortunately heard way too many horror stories of therapists/coaches who see trauma survivors, but due to a lack of training/competency, have at times caused more harm than good. You wouldn’t let a doctor operate on you unless you knew that they were well-trained in that procedure. The same thing goes for any kind of therapy, but trauma therapy especially needs to be handled by someone fully competent to do so.
At You Are Worth It Counseling, we offer CPT services and Gary has been doing CPT for over 4 years with multiple successful cases complete.
While trauma might feel like there’s no hope, I assure you there is. Please reach out to a qualified mental health professional today.