What is Trauma?
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Trauma results from events that are experienced as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening. When a person feels that she cannot run or fight or protect herself from danger, she shuts down. Usually memories of these types of experiences are "filed away in the wrong part of the brain". This part of the brain will do anything it can to work through the experiences so that they can be put to rest. However, because the memories are the in wrong place, the brain loops like a vinyl record who's needle is skipping. Stories play OVER AND OVER, haunting the person to the point of exhaustion. The painful memory is truly stuck.
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raumatic memory needs to be re-routed to the proper place in the brain where it can settle back in, comfortably, with all the other memories of one's life. Interestingly, this cannot be done through talk-therapy. It takes a special kind of work to access the part of the brain that holds these hurt memories in order to bring the situation to it's final resting place, within.
There are three main types of trauma: Acute, Chronic, or Complex
Trauma can happen at any age. Childhood trauma generally imprints on the brain at a subconscious level, which can take longer to resolve. But fearful or threatening situations can happen at any phase of life - and they can stick with us. If you've ever had a painful experience or relationship that you just can't shake - it's probably sitting in that "wrong part of your brain" that holds traumatic memory.
There are three main types of trauma: Acute, Chronic, or Complex
- Acute trauma results from a single incident.
- Chronic trauma is repeated and prolonged such as domestic violence or abuse.
- Complex trauma is exposure events, often of an invasive, interpersonal nature. We may call this RELATIONAL TRAUMA.
Trauma can happen at any age. Childhood trauma generally imprints on the brain at a subconscious level, which can take longer to resolve. But fearful or threatening situations can happen at any phase of life - and they can stick with us. If you've ever had a painful experience or relationship that you just can't shake - it's probably sitting in that "wrong part of your brain" that holds traumatic memory.
Some types of trauma:
- Sexual abuse
- Physical abuse
- Domestic violence
- Neglect, deprivation
- Traumatic grief
- Death of a loved one
- Divorce
- Losing one's children in a custody battle, or other circumstance
- Losing a fortune
- Being betrayed
- Being Gaslighted in a way that threatens one's sense of trust in oneself or others
- Being unfairly blamed or shamed
- Victim of crime
- Kidnapping
- Accidents
- Medical injury, illness, or procedures
- Community violence
- School violence
- Natural disasters
- Loss
What Is the Best Treatment for Trauma?
The first rule of trauma treatment is DO NO HARM. In this case, it means that we therapists do everything in our power NOT TO RE-TRAUMATIZE you. I have heard some pretty disturbing stories of therapists (or worse - untrained life coaches and hypnotherapists) who used trauma treatment wrongly, and it caused damage. I've heard of such practitioners using modalities like Exposure Therapy inappropriately, in an attempt to heal trauma. (Exposure Therapy is a good modality and can work well in the right hands.) Exposure therapy is NOT the right treatment for interpersonal trauma that occurred in the context of relationship. Clients have come away feeling terrified of working with their trauma thereafter - and rightly so! The coach unknowingly "did harm". This is why it's so important to seek out trained trauma therapists.
There are multiple forms of treatment used to relieve symptoms of trauma. EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Hypnosis, and Eidetic Imagery, to name a few.
I have found that using a combination of Hypnotherapy, IFS, and Imagery reaches the deepest places of the brain where those traumatic stories are trapped. It is quite gentle and the success rate is very high. Imagery is fascinating to both therapists and clients alike, as it sort-of magically slides past the rational, logical, thinking mind, and takes us straight to the subconscious places that need our help. Your subconscious knows exactly what it needs. If given the chance, your subconscious will lead us straight to the perfect healing.
There are multiple forms of treatment used to relieve symptoms of trauma. EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Hypnosis, and Eidetic Imagery, to name a few.
I have found that using a combination of Hypnotherapy, IFS, and Imagery reaches the deepest places of the brain where those traumatic stories are trapped. It is quite gentle and the success rate is very high. Imagery is fascinating to both therapists and clients alike, as it sort-of magically slides past the rational, logical, thinking mind, and takes us straight to the subconscious places that need our help. Your subconscious knows exactly what it needs. If given the chance, your subconscious will lead us straight to the perfect healing.