How Does Therapy Help Process Trauma?

Understanding trauma: What it is and how it affects us

Trauma is a term that is generally defined as a stressful event that would cause an individual distress. This can range from general life stressors, single incident traumatic events, to multiple prolonged stressful events (Jongedijk, van Vreeswijk, Knipscheer, Kleber, & Boelen, 2023). When giving thought to the impact of traumatic events on an individual, there are multiple factors to consider. A person’s unique life experience and how they understand, define, and internalize the event can directly impact the effect that it has on them. While PTSD is often understood to be a result of traumatic events, not all traumatic events lead to the development of PTSD. However, there are multiple other mental health disorders and symptoms of PTSD that can be associated with the traumatic situations that individuals are exposed to (Jongedijk, et al., 2023).  

It is important to keep in mind that the way that trauma impacts us will differ based on the person and the event that they are exposed to, and therefore everyone’s experience is unique. Generally, trauma can be defined as acute, chronic, and complex impacts. Acute trauma is defined by single incident event, this is a one-off situation where you were exposed to something that was a sudden, stressful, and/or shocking, such as a car accident. Chronic trauma is understood to be repeated exposure to traumatic events, which may be the same event repeated multiple times, such as ongoing domestic violence. Lastly, complex trauma is defined as the long-term impact of multiple traumatic events that take place during someone’s childhood or teenage years, typically in the form of child abuse. Some symptoms that may be associated with any type of stress response is shock, changes in mood, feelings of depression, anxiety, concerns sleeping, trouble concentrating, flashbacks, and unpredictable emotional shifts.

The role of therapy in trauma recovery

No matter what you experience, having a welcoming place that is safe to talk is an important starting point to the healing journey. Establishing safety with a counsellor is the first step on the path. It is not uncommon for people to feel a sense of confusion after they have experienced a traumatic event, and having someone to work through and process the event(s) with, can help in understanding what this event meant to you.

As a trauma therapist, I have often found that when people come into trauma therapy there is a fear that the counselling process may make things worse. Something that is critical to remember, is that during the entire counselling process you are in charge, and you will not be forced to talk about anything that you are not ready to. More often than not, trauma therapy starts as a process of developing coping skills to deal with the symptoms that someone is experiencing as a result of the situation or situations that they were faced with. Then, as trust and comfort grow, progress into discussions about the traumatic scenarios that someone has been subjected to.

Key therapeutic approaches for trauma processing

You will often hear that counsellors take a ‘trauma-informed approach’ but what does that actually mean? Taking a trauma-informed approach to counselling essentially means that the therapeutic approach is specifically targeted to help people process and heal from the situations that they were subjected to. Addressing the emotional, psychological, and physical impacts the traumatic situation/s have had on the individual. The process is slow and often starting with how the incident is impacting the persons life in the here are now, processing backwards from the event that took place. Some of the key therapeutic modalities that are used in trauma therapy are eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), somatic experiencing (SE), narrative therapy (NT), and dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT).

EMDR- This therapeutic approach uses bilateral stimulation to process the specific traumatic event/ events. While the individual recalls the distressing memory and how they made sense of the event, the counsellor supports them in using bilateral stimulation to process the distressing memory. The goal of this approach is to target and help reduce the emotions connected to those memories of the traumatic event. 

CBT- This therapeutic intervention helps individuals to understand the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and actions.  This can be a very powerful tool to use for trauma therapy as people develop an understanding of the impact of the traumatic event on their lives, and how to reframe and challenge their negative thoughts, feelings, and actions in a healthy way.  

SE- The main focus of this therapeutic intervention is the impact that trauma has had on the body and where the feelings of trauma are being stored in the body. The somatic approach works to release the tension that is often developed in the body as a result of the traumatic experience. This can be done through multiple processes, some of which include body awareness, mindfulness breath work, and releasing of physical tensions that have developed from traumatic experiences.

NT – The way trauma impacts us can in part be related to the story or narrative that we tell ourselves about the situation. This therapeutic intervention helps us to reframe the personal story that is connected to the event and separate it from ourselves. The goal being to develop strength and resilience and gain a sense of control over the feelings and perspectives that we have of ourselves from the event that took place.

DBT- For those who are struggling with intense emotional turmoil following a traumatic event this therapeutic intervention can be really powerful. The approach that DBT takes is skilled based, in addressing different ways to cope with some of the negative impacts that traumatic situations can have. It also focuses on developing varying levels of distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and balancing between acceptance and challenging the emotions connected to the experience.

Long-term healing: Building resilience and moving forward

We do not need to let traumatic experiences define our lives, or leave negative scars forever. While each event that happens to us in our lives makes us who we are, that doesn’t mean we have to live with the negative impacts of traumatic events forever; there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  By finding a therapist who you are able to connect with, feeling a sense of comfort, and learning to develop skills and tools to move forward, you can reduce the impact that events have on you. The idea is that you are able to understand the events and not allow them to define who you are. Your trauma does not have control over you. We are here to support you through this journey.  

One of my faviourite quotes about trauma is- ‘what happened to you was not your fault-your healing is your responsibility?’ 

Curious about how counselling can help you through a traumatic event? Book in for a free consultation with one of our counsellors at Virtual Connect.

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 References:

Jongedijk, R. A., van Vreeswijk, M. F., Knipscheer, J. W., Kleber, R. J., & Boelen, P. A. (2023). The Relevance of Trauma and Re-experiencing in PTSD, Mood, and Anxiety Disorders. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 28(4), 404–420. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2022.2116782