Be Smart: Know 4 Ways to Prevent Trauma During Therapy

Have you ever seen a therapist for a traumatic event and left feeling re-traumatized? You had hoped that the symptoms would decrease; instead, they stayed the same or even worsened.

One primary way to avoid this is to work with a skilled body-centered trauma therapist. Choose a therapist, who knows how to engage your nervous system with just the right amount of stimulation, so you can move through the body memory without you feeling overwhelmed and out of control. To do this, work with a therapist who guides you through four important concepts.

 

1. Resourcing: This means that at any moment you can turn your attention toward something that puts the brake on when you are feeling strong emotions such as fear or anger. For example, remembering or imagining the details of something pleasant can help your nervous system to relax. You will know you have succeeded when muscle tension subsides, breathing slows and deepens and your body temperature returns to neutral. Without knowing how to engage in this process would be like a mountain climber headed for the Alps without proper clothing or gear.

 

2. Pendulation: You can shift your attention from something pleasant to something stressful. This helps two things to happen. One is that it can reduce physical pain caused by bracing against fear and helplessness. It also can act as reminder to your nervous system that you do indeed know how to come out of the place of feeling stuck or frozen. Eventually, you will experience your body moving all on its own between feeling activated and relaxed.

 

3. Titration: You are aware of the benefits of going slowly. This means that you look at just a short segment of the distressing event rather than trying to rush through a description of all that happened.. This is essential if you are to not feel overwhelmed by the memory. Just as it is easier to digest a meal when you eat one bite at a time, it is easier to notice and tolerate intensity when you take it one step at a time.

 

4. Tell your story out of order: When you tell your story chronologically, it is very easy for your mind to believe the event is happening all over again. Fear and hopelessness return. By moving between details of what happened after and before the event, you can avoid becoming immersed in the experience all over again.

 

You can learn more about effective trauma treatment through my free newsletter Healing After Trauma and the resource page of my website which lists books and videos.

If you are considering working with me, I offer a 30-minute complementary consult. That way you and I will get to see if we are a good fit for one another. I can be reached at 720-635-7943 or send me an email on my contact page.