“We must understand and heal the wounds of the past before we can move forward.”
– Oprah Winfrey, Talk Show Host
Trauma-Informed Therapy
Heal the past with therapy for trauma and PTSD.
Is Your Therapist Trauma-Informed?
Trauma Informed Therapy
It is important to choose a therapist that is specifically educated about trauma in order to receive the most benefit from therapy for trauma. Therapy is a big field. There are many different areas of specialization in the field of therapy. Your therapist may be an excellent therapist but that does not mean their expertise is in the area of trauma. Ask your therapist about their knowledge of trauma treatment. What theories do they use to treat trauma? Which expert trauma therapists do they mention? Be alert: are you feeling better after a few sessions? If not, ask why, and how long before you will feel better.
“Ask your therapist about their knowledge of trauma treatment. What theories do they rely on to treat trauma?”
How do you know if your therapist is trauma-informed?
A therapist who is knowledgeable about the modern treatment of trauma will be familiar with well known trauma treatment theorists like Bessel van der Kolk, Janina Fisher, Peter Levine, Stephen Porges, Dana Deb, Diana Fosha, Richard Schwartz, Sue Johnson, and Francine Shapiro at the least. They will be familiar with, and comfortable using one or more of these treatment types: sensorimotor psychotherapy, somatic experiencing therapy, polyvagal theory, accelerated experiential dynamic psychotherapy (AEDP), internal family systems therapy (IFS), emotionally focused therapy (EFT), and eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR). They should be familiar with the neurobiology of trauma and explain to you how trauma affects the brain.
How do you know if your therapist is not trauma-informed?
Is your therapist encouraging you to talk about your trauma again and again in the hope that talking will release the trauma and you will feel better? Is your therapist focusing on increasing your insight about your trauma — your intellectual understanding of what happened? Is your therapist exposing you to traumatic memories repeatedly in hopes that eventually you will not react to the trauma emotionally?
“Is your therapist exposing you to traumatic memories repeatedly in hopes that eventually you will not react to the trauma emotionally?”
Is your therapist primarily relying on classical psychoanalysis, psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), cognitive processing therapy (CPT), or humanistic therapy to treat your trauma? Then STOP! These therapies may have their place in the treatment of other problems, but they are ineffective for the treatment of trauma and often make you feel worse. Ask your therapist to use trauma-informed therapies or go to a therapist who is more knowledgeable about the modern treatment of trauma.
Learn about trauma & PTSD
Jessica’s Story: A trauma therapy experience
Jessica’s shares what it’s like to suffer from trauma, experience of therapy, and how therapy helped.
What type of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) do you have?
Learn the important differences between PTSD, Complex Trauma, Relational Trauma, and Childhood Trauma. Each type requires a different type of therapy.
Is your therapist trauma-informed?
If your therapist is not up to date on modern trauma treatment your therapy may not only not help, it may even make you worse. Is your therapist trauma-informed? How to tell.
Was your childhood traumatic? Free trauma test.
Ten common childhood events that can cause trauma for years afterward.
