What are the Techniques in Trauma-based Therapy?

Trauma leaves invisible scars that mold our life experience. The good news is that there are some therapeutic techniques to help you overcome trauma and reclaim your mental health and well-being. In this guide, we explore some of the techniques in trauma-based therapy that therapists use to guide patients on a journey to move past the trauma in their lives.

Understanding Trauma

Trauma is an emotional response to stressful events that overwhelm your coping abilities. Trauma could result from abuse, natural disasters, accidents, or witnessing violence. It cuts across all ages and backgrounds and leaves long-lasting effects on your mental, emotional, and physical health.

The Goal of Trauma-based Therapy

Trauma-based therapy aims to help the patient reprocess their experiences and adopt better means of coping with the stress they cause. This therapy is geared to minimize the emotional and psychological impact of traumatic events to enhance overall functioning and improve quality of life.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

One of the most common therapy techniques used as a treatment for trauma involves cognitive behavioral therapy. CBT allows for the recognition and alteration of negative thinking and acting on these tendencies.

Gradually, these cognitive distortions can be corrected, leading to more adaptive modes of thinking and behavior about the traumatic experience. The following are common features of CBT:

• Cognitive Restructuring – Seeks to unearth and eliminate irrational thoughts connected to trauma.
• Exposure Therapy – A gradual exposure to the individual’s trauma-related memories in the safe reduction of fear and anxiety.
• SIT (Stress Inoculation Training) – Stress coping skills training used to deal with and override anxious responses to traumatic memories.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Another effective trauma therapy is the application of an EMDR procedure. Developed by Francine Shapiro, EMDR uses bilateral stimulation, usually with eye movement. Here’s how EMDR works.

• Preparation – This process identifies negative emotions and thoughts. The therapist describes what the individual can expect from the therapy.
• Desensitization – The bilateral stimulation is applied when a patient is focusing on the traumatic memory; rewiring their interpretation of the experience.
• Retraining/Installation – EMDR decreases the intensity of traumatic memories and facilitates emotional well-being.

Somatic Experiencing

Trauma affects not only the mind but also the body. This School of Somatic Psychology pioneered this type of trauma therapy. Here’s how it works.

• Physical Awareness – Making the client aware of their bodily sensations and how stress manifests in their body.
• Pendulation – The body is moved back and forth through states of increased stress and relief of accumulated tension. This technique addresses the physical aspect of the trauma, helping patients feel more grounded and in control.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

TF-CBT is an intervention developed specifically for children and adolescents with trauma symptoms. It incorporates components of traditional CBT with desensitivity training to reduce the impact of trauma. There is good evidence that TF-CBT is highly effective in reducing trauma-related symptoms in young people.

• Psychoeducation – The education of the child and their family about trauma.
• Parental Skills – Developing strategies to help the parents support their child’s recovery.
• Relaxation Techniques – Training in the use and management of stress techniques.
• Affective Expression and Regulation – This teaches children to express their feelings and how to manage them.
• Trauma Narrative – Helping the children construct a narrative about what happened to them. The purpose of this strategy is to help them get over the experience and make meaningful sense out of it.

Narrative Therapy

Narrative therapy is predicated on the belief that individuals make up stories about their lives and experiences.

• Externalization – Externalize the patient from the problem to help them understand that they don’t need to constantly relive their traumatic experiences.
• Re-authoring – Encouraging individuals to rewrite their stories in a way that emphasizes their strengths and resilience.
• Unique Outcomes – Learning from specific times when the patient could offset or oppose the interfering effects of the trauma.

Mindfulness Therapies

Using mindfulness-based techniques like stress reduction and cognitive therapy to self-manage the trauma. These strategies involve the following.

• Mindfulness Meditation – Training individuals to pay attention to the present moment and to increase awareness of the influence of traumatic thoughts and feelings without bearing judgment.
• Body Scans – Leading people in systematic attention to different parts of the body, releasing tension and strengthening awareness of their physiology.
• Deep Breathing Techniques – Fosters relaxation and reduces anxiousness.

Get the Help You Need

Trauma-based therapy comprises many techniques designed to facilitate working through and transcending the trauma in people’s lives. Should you or your loved ones become a victim of a traumatic experience, seek professional help. You don’t need to go through it alone.

Blue Sky Counseling – Mental Health Counseling Omaha, NE

I, Carly Spring, M.S., LIMHP, LADC, CPC, offer my specialized expertise to assist in the healing process to anyone who may be experiencing and suffering from a vast spectrum of mental health issues. Such mental health issues include behavioral problems, anxiety, depression, grief, loss, trauma, addiction issues, and life transitions. I believe strongly in applying a holistic perspective addressing your whole person not just the bits and pieces of you. Contact us with any questions or to talk with a mental health counselor in Omaha today.