Trauma Processing Techniques
Where there is trauma, historical or recent, a single event or prolonged experiences, clients often feel they just can't move on no matter how hard they try. It takes courage to face these traumas and address them and I value and support this courage in trauma therapy. I know that clients are not crazy or broken, though they often feel it. I know that these techniques can make a significant difference to clients lives, enabling them to finally move forwards and regain a sense of being in control again in their lives.
There are a number of evidence-based techniques used for treating the symptoms of Trauma and PTSD. I have outlined below the structured evidenced-based techniques I use to help clients process their trauma and reduce their symptoms of PTSD. Trauma Processing is only started after it is established that a client has the skills to emotionally regulate. As trauma processing inevitably requires facing difficult moments in life, and the activation of memories in order to allow the brain to process them through and finally store them away, good emotional regulation techniques are an essential part of therapy.
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STAIR - Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation - is a 10 week protocol to address current relationship and emotion management problems. It covers Emotional Awareness, Emotion Regulation for the body, thoughts and behaviour and understanding Relationship Patterns & Beliefs, including Assertiveness, Personal rights, Power Balances, Healthy boundaries and Self-Compassion.
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CPT - Cognitive Processing Therapy - is a 12 session protocol which aims to give you an understanding of your traumatic event(s) and the negative emotions or behaviours attached to it. The process involves identifying “automatic thoughts”, known as Stuck Points, that may be maintaining your symptoms. Therapy involves a number of written tasks reflecting on your trauma which help to identify your Stuck Points. These are then explored and challenged through a series of worksheets. Therapy will then focus on the five key areas most affected by trauma - Safety, Trust, Power & Control, Esteem and Intimacy, to further re-evaluate the Stuck Points in each area, and develop alternative, balanced beliefs about yourself and others.
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IRRT - Imagery Rescripting & Reprocessing Therapy – is a 14 session protocol. It is an imagery focused CBT technique used for processing trauma memories. The trauma memory is initially activated and experienced through the eyes of the “traumatised” child, and then challenged, modified, and reprocessed through the eyes of the “empowered” adult today. There are three stages - Imaginal Exposure - sharing the memory of the traumatic event and creating a detailed verbal narrative. Mastery Imagery - introducing yourself into the memory as a competent and capable Adult, successfully confronting and disempowering the perpetrator (back then) while rescuing the Child (back then). Adult-Child/Self-Calming & Self-Nurturing Imagery - as the Adult (today) calming, soothing, and nurturing the traumatized Child (back then). This allows a balanced understanding of the events to be gained enabling the client to move forwards without the burden of the trauma.
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PE - Prolonged Exposure - is a 10 -15 week protocol. PE is focused on reducing the symptoms of PTSD by Imaginal Exposure - repeated recounting of the event(s) and In Vivo exposure - facing and engaging with things you have been avoiding following the event. Recounting the event allows a coherent, complete narrative to be established, reducing PTSD symptoms and reducing the fear. In vivo work enables the client to see they can face their fears and the brain learns they can push through and do things, and return to activities they would like to do.
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Brainspotting engages with the brain’s natural healing abilities by accessing the connection between the visual field, eye position, and the brain’s natural processing capacity. Our eye position is connected to the limbic system that controls our emotional and behavioural responses. A “Brainspot” is a specific eye position that is focused on during therapy. Time is given to focus on this Brainspot in the session. You will be invited to listen to bilateral music through earphones throughout to assist in the processing. Processing continues after each session – for around 48hours. Brainspotting can work alongside talking therapy, but it doesn’t require talking about or verbal exposure to the trauma. (Note: unlike the others above, Brainspotting is not yet regarded as an evidence-based technique for processing trauma)