What Trauma Therapy Is
Another post explores what trauma therapy isn’t, so today, after a brief recap, let’s clarify what trauma therapy can be.
ICYMI, trauma therapy is not:
A mandatory retelling of your experiences.
Measuring progress in how much you share.
Reliving trauma.
Trauma therapy is:
A collaborative process between you and your therapist that prioritizes safety and choice
Grounded in understanding your body’s responses and finding tools to regulate them.
Focused on your goals, which could be insight, emotional stability, or reconnecting with contentment or joy
How does trauma therapy prioritize safety - what does that mean?
At our west Ottawa centre, we apply Polyvagal Theory in trauma therapy to help you understand your nervous system's response to perceived threats. Essentially - in safe environments, your body may not feel safe. This theory helps recognize that our nervous systems often anticipate danger, even when none exists. Trauma from overwhelming events or repeated distress can keep your system in survival mode, constantly scanning for threats.
In trauma therapy, we prioritize your felt safety by respecting your boundaries. The process may not always be comfortable, but it must be sustainable. If therapy overwhelms your nervous system without adequate support, it hinders your goals of feeling safe and grounded. A metaphor for sustainable therapy is simmering water: too low, and it never heats; too high, and it boils over. The ideal "simmer point" varies for each client and changes session by session.
What does trauma therapy include?
Trauma therapy can include many and any of the approaches that other therapy includes and them some. Those might be:
“Somatic therapy” - somatic just means of the body - like movement, honing in to physical sensations, Brainspotting or EMDR, training your nervous system to relax, learning tools for coping with difficult physical experiences of stress/triggers, and more
Art therapy that helps you express your inner world and make meaning through non-linguistic expressions
Role play, parts work or dramatic approaches
Talk therapy that explores experiences as well as patterns of relating and experiencing your life
There is no one way to do therapy and there’s no one way to do trauma therapy - what’s included will be shaped by you and your therapist!
How do I know if I feel unsafe or not?
Recognizing this chronic feeling of unsafety can be subtle and stress is so normalized in our culture that many people do not even identify themselves as needing trauma therapy. They may characterize their needs as “stress management,” which is perfectly OK. Whether it’s the cumulative effect of stress or traumatizing experiences, your nervous system registers them the same way. In fact, symptoms of persistent stress responses or trauma are, in some ways, incredibly common. Here are some examples:
Avoiding asking for help or voicing needs because you assume you’ll be rejected or punished
Always answering questions with what you think others want to hear to avoid potential conflict
Struggling to relax or “wind down” even in peaceful environments - always putzing about
Frequently not hearing someone speaking to you because your mind is so loud/busy
Perfectionism or over-preparing for situations because you feel a constant need to be in control
Exaggerated responses to things not going to plan
Feeling emotionally or physically drained after seemingly simple interactions
Always assuming that rejection (or what feels like rejection) is your fault
Experiencing sleeplessness or restlessness without understanding why
These patterns are your nervous system’s way of trying to protect you, because they’re signs that your nervous system is operating on the belief something needs to change. Even if your difficult experiences happened in childhood or you’re no longer living or working in the environment that gave rise to your stress response, your nervous system is wired to perceive threat more than safety. Recognizing the signs is the first step toward teaching your body how to feel safe again.
How do I know I’m done trauma therapy - how do I know I’ve achieved my goals?
Therapists inquire about clients' goals to align with their desires and measure progress. Clients with trauma or chronic stress may struggle to see their improvement - slow changes can go unnoticed, especially for those with strong inner critics.
If your therapy goal is to overcome trauma, that’s allowed! Your therapist will help identify symptoms indicating you haven’t yet succeeded. These signs will be personal, but will likely include examples from the following:
Chronic physical sensations or difficulties, like constipation or not really ever feeling your body
Dysfunctional relationship patterns or communication breakdowns, like avoiding conflict or choosing emotionally immature romantic partners
Poor emotion regulation or emotional numbness, like never feeling emotions other than stress/anxiety/worry
When we identify these symptoms in trauma therapy, we help you raise your awareness of them and understand them, but then they also become one end of the spectrum. So if you never feel relaxed in your body and you start to sometimes feel relaxed in your body, that’s a sign of progress! As you and your therapist identify more signs of evolution and change, you’ll discuss what and when the end of therapy will be.
If you would like to book a consultation to explore how therapy can support your trauma healing or to discover which of our trauma therapists may suit your needs best, please email us using the form below.
