Choosing a Particular Trauma Relief Therapy
If your life was disrupted by an unexpected experience and you cannot stop the cycles of self-doubt, sorrow or frustration, help is available in many forms. Anxiety, trauma, PTSD and complex trauma can be cured.
Receiving compassionate and effective help after a life shock is very important. However, Choosing which approach can be overwhelming. Asking your therapist to try different modalities over your first month of therapy is a valuable way to find the best modality for you. You can combine modalities that work best for you from the discovery process. Your time isn’t wasted by trying out a variety of tools as you can benefit from all while finding out which ones serve you the very best.
Below is a description of various trauma relief therapies.
IFS
Internal family systems gives a safe and empowering place for the different voices of self to be validated. Often our inner infant, child or teenager conflicts with our inner adult. Other times, two diverse aspects of ourself are in battle with one another. This causes a lot of inner anguish and pain. As the various parts of self are given room to express and be validated, new peace of mind, body, emotions and constructive action naturally follows. The process is guided and very simple with profound results.
AEDP
AEDP helps people to feel compassionately connected to emotions that have been pushed away. Emotions are viewed as valuable aspects of information. A therapist serves as a consistent, caring person who helps clients to identify emotional patterns, hidden emotional coping mechanisms. More importantly, a therapist offers full presence of the heart. Clients feel known and non-judged for their genuine internal emotional maps. This helps clients to learn to love themselves in the face of all their emotions. This allows emotions and thoughts to shift. In turn this allows us to change our lives in ways that feel more comfortable and authentic.
ACT
Act helps people to sort out the difference between feelings and the untrue and debilitating meanings assigned to the feelings. ACT encourages people to embrace and accept feelings as part of real life. Next, people are encouraged to step back from the thoughts they are having when these feelings appear. A close look at the thoughts provides relief as it turns out the thoughts are criticisms and assumptions that are not true. People are helped with practices of presence like the Buddha and to see that thoughts, feelings, and sensations are experiences rather than a definition of the self. From here, there is more spaciousness and comfortability, allowing for choices that express one’s values. Clients are encouraged to take action steps to make all the internal work real in life.
EMDR
EMDR facilitates the digestion of overwhelming feelings that have not processed via dream time and life. You will be instructed to move your eyes from side to side and note the internal experiences you have. Some people feel emotions. Others have memories. There are people who go into imagined realms. There are those who experience physical sensations. Some people go blank. Some laugh and cry. Interestingly, the process works regardless. People who benefit from EMDR find that they feel lighter and more at peace. Cycles of repetitive thought and emotion calm down. New choices, feelings and positive thoughts become available.
CBT
CBT emphasizes that thoughts affect emotions which in turn affect actions. Allowing distorted thoughts to continue, leads to increasingly difficult emotions and consequently, destructive actions. However, positive thinking leads to positive emotions, and in turn to positive and beneficial behaviors. People are helped to shift thoughts, thus feelings and actions.
PTR
The brain is designed to give alerts when danger appears. When the brain becomes locked in loops of perceiving supposed danger that isn’t really dangerous, the physical and emotional loops of painful feeling multiply and amplify. As we are educated on what our brain is doing, i.e. the difference between perceived body damage and real body damage, and given evidence that the body is actually in better condition than perceived, we become ready for the somatic process. This somatic tracking encourages curiosity and witnessing in place of increasing fearful perceptions. As pain is embraced it neutralizes. Next people are helped to discover underlying belief systems and ways of treating self that are connected to the perceived pain so that changes can be made. Finally, clients are helped to reacclimate barometers to good sensations and enjoyable feelings.
HYPNOTHERAPY
Hypnotherapy allows us to relax into the creation of new approaches to life, emotions, thoughts, and beliefs. In a more receptive though totally conscious state, we are guided to change self-defeating mental and emotional habits into patterns that facilitate our wellbeing.
SOMATIC
Often, we freeze, fight, or flee from non-preferred feelings. This causes OCD, PTSD, depression and anxiety. We are not wrong for this. Culture has taught us to be this way. Re-conditioning in a compassionately safe place is valuable. As we are helped to fully embrace our feelings, the feelings dissipate. Peace and joy are naturally found. We feel uplifted and life becomes much happier.
EXPRESSIVE ARTS (Drama, Dance, Art, Vocalization and Writing).
How fun! Creativity can be guided by a therapist to change painful emotional and mental patterns. Life can become more playful and joyous as long time internal struggles, PTSD, anxiety and depression are composted into more enjoyable experiences.
Each person is unique. For some, a variety of modalities will be most beneficial. Others will prosper from one or two. Some therapists will draw on a few modalities in one session. Talk to your therapist. Try out different options. Discover what works best.
Remember, investment into a longer term of therapeutic help will reap lasting rewards. Deep work and commitment pays off.