Mental Health Response Sometimes Make Things Worse. Time for a Paradigm Shift Like others, I read social media posts, magazines, and websites on trauma, personal growth, self-care and more. From all sides I am bombarded with  techniques and tools on how to be happy, feel good, fulfil my potential, become resilient (see blog) and successful and more. Truthfully, rather than being inspired and uplifted, I often feel discouraged and upset when I read these pieces. Why? I tried a

A long quest to make the pain of trauma go away is part of the story for many trauma survivors.  I know this story well because it’s also my story. Part of why I’m a trauma therapist is that I am myself a survivor of  trauma (both personal and collective). In early adulthood I sought professional help to deal with the trauma symptoms that often held me in a grip I couldn’t escape. Many years of therapy didn’t help in the ways I was expecting.  I tried various approaches and m

Clients are often surprised when I tell them that we won’t be actively working to bring their trauma history to the surface in therapy.  It’s not that we wouldn’t ever want to do that - when the time is right, trauma processing* in a safe, supportive environment has a role to play in the journey of trauma integration. But research has found that telling the trauma story is ineffective in bringing relief from symptom of trauma and sometimes can be harmful (retraumatizing).  Ca

For therapists working with clients with complex or developmental trauma, advances of the last decade in understandings of attachment theory and early childhood development have important implications. Guided by these insights, a therapist can develop a strategy of treatment that more accurately addresses the symptoms and underlying needs of a client. Without them, a lot of time, effort, and resources can be wasted. From Attachment to Regulation Theory An important advance

One of the pillars of effective trauma therapy is psychoeducation.  Many studies and reports now confirm that survivors benefit from a clear, complete understanding about trauma and how it affects them biologically, emotionally, cognitively and spiritually.  One study (Phipps et al., 2007), found that psychoeducation alone assisted survivors to better understand their stress symptoms and contributed to a decrease in their stress symptoms. What then should be included in the p