The recommended way to do trauma treatment is in 3 phases. They have been called by slightly different names over the decades but the goal of the phases never changed. First there is stabilization, then a form of processing and finally a phase of reintegration and adapting to the changes. The phases are not […]
therapy
Unintentionally destabilizing a DID System
There are a lot of individual things that can go wrong in DID therapy. And there are also predictable patterns where a certain type of mistake will lead to a certain type of problem. Of course that won’t fit every system on the planet. But it fits often enough to be more than random. We […]
The Fractionated Abreaction Technique (Kluft)
Fractionated abreaction is a technique that was specifically created to process extreme abuse and memories that are so atrocious that other techniques fail because we get flooded and overwhelmed instantly when we remember what happened. An abreaction is a situation where we remember and re-experience a memory and when that happens accidentally and uncontrollably […]
IRRT for Complex Trauma and Dissociation
IRRT stands for Imagery Rescripting and Reprocessing Therapy. It is a technique for processing trauma memories that mainly uses imagery and self states to resolve situations that are stuck. Instead of blunt exposure we change the story in our head and take care of our younger self to achieve changes in our symptoms. IRRT […]
Cornerstones of the therapeutic relationship
Dr. Karen Treisman writes about the therapeutic relationship: The relationships are the glue and the magic that make the strategies meaningful, purposeful, and therapeutic. This is in line with the sayings ‘Relational trauma requires relational repair’ and ‘Relational repair requires safe hands, thinking minds, and regulated bodies’. Without the relationship to anchor to, the […]
Dealing with trance logic in dissociative disorders
Trance logic describes logical glitches that can exist when people get hypnotized and enter a trance state. In that state of mind we can accept statements as true even though they deeply contradict each other. We simply don’t notice that they can’t possibly be true at the same time. Nothing is questioned or reality-checked, it […]
Reenacting trauma patterns in therapy: neglect
Navigating attachment and dependency in therapy has always been difficult. Developmental trauma just adds a deep sense of desperation to the problem and makes it more complicated. There is a lot written about unhealthy dependency in therapy and how to avoid it. Today I want to shine a light on the effect that chronic […]
PEP- an additional technique for trauma therapy
PEP stands for Process- and Embodiment-focused Psychology. Like EFT it is rooted in Energy Psychology but it has moved away from these roots considerably and rejects the unscientific/new-age aspects. Tapping is still an important part of this technique, but it is complemented by cognitive interventions and is therefore useful for more than just emotional […]
EFT for self-regulation
EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique and belongs into the category of Energy Psychology, the roots are in Traditional Chinese Medicine though. Different acupressure points on the body are tapped with the fingers while speaking sentences that combine the distressing experience and a self-affirmation. Tapping energetic pathways running through the body (meridians) to influence […]
Learning relaxation with biofeedback
Trauma is not a ‘mental’ disorder, the whole body suffers from chronic stress. It sits deeply within our nervous system. Our traumatized body will struggle with relaxation and sometimes we have been tense for so many years that we actually don’t know how to relax and what that even feels like. Biofeedback technology can help […]
Reenacting trauma patterns in therapy: behavioral control
Trauma is often treated with a combination of behavioral therapy and more specific techniques to process the trauma. There are areas where CBT or other therapies that focus on behavior like DBT can interact with our own trauma-related patterns and reinforce abusive lessons we learned as children. These aren’t always obvious reenactments and our Ts […]
Releasing traumatic energy (body work)
A basic exercise in body work focuses on releasing tension or energy that is stuck in the body so that we can let go and regulate in a natural way. I will walk you through the steps as I learned them, using an example from my own therapy that is hopefully not triggering for you. […]