Trauma Treatment
As I deepened my work with and understanding of Brené Brown’s work on shame I realized that the number of those affected by trauma was greater than I had ever imagined. Over the course of the last two decades or so there has been a tremendous growth of research and literature about trauma, its pervasiveness, and its lasting effects. Trauma is an event that overwhelms the central nervous system altering the way we process and recall memories. Trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on the mind, brain, and body (Bessel Van Der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score). Trauma can be a discrete event but it can also result from growing up in a home with adults who were not attuned to the child.
I began my exploration of trauma treatment in a trauma consultation group at The Chicago Center for Integration and Healing. After participating in that group for about a year, I began an 18-month fellowship in trauma treatment also at The Chicago Center for Integration and Healing. Finally, during the fellowship period I also completed the Level 1 training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy addresses trauma through the body, emotions, and thoughts.
My Approach to Healing Trauma
These trainings and experiences guide my trauma-informed practice, which explores “What happened to you?” not “What is wrong with you?” It assumes that it is more likely, rather than less likely, that someone has experienced some sort of trauma in their life. My trauma-informed practice recognizes trauma symptoms and promotes healing and integration to avoid re-traumatization.
My initial goal when working with someone who has experienced trauma is to provide safety and stabilization. From there we will move forward to processing of trauma, and finally integration. I make use of sensorimotor methods as an adjunct to my relational-dynamic approach.
To Come Home to Yourself
May all that is unforgiven in you
Be released.
May your fears yield
Their deepest tranquilities.
May all that is unlived in you
Blossom into a future
Graced with love.
~ John O’Donohue