Trauma Informed Psychotherapy
Psychological trauma is understood as any life experience that is felt to be too overwhelming and difficult to process and integrate on one’s own. Often those who are exposed to emotionally or physically abusive settings, environmentally stressful settings, societal oppression, or military combat can develop serious post-traumatic psychological symptoms.
Though trauma was studied closely at the founding of modern psychology (early 1900s) within many clinical settings the full implications of the role of trauma in mental health can be overlooked. Depression, anxiety, and even psychosis are treated routinely with medication or behavioral strategies to cope with symptoms, however the underlying traumatic factors that may be driving these disorders may receive little attention.
Beginning with Judith Herman’s groundbreaking research on sexual trauma and her influential Trauma and Recovery (1992), the field of trauma psychology has undergone significant development. Contributions from Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score, 2014), Joy DeGruy (Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, 2005), Resmaa Menakem (My Grandmother’s Hands, 2017), and Gabor Maté (The Myth of Normal, 2022) have expanded our understanding of trauma to include its bodily, developmental, intergenerational, and sociocultural dimensions.
Together with insights from psychoanalysis concerning early childhood development and relational trauma, this work has helped shape trauma-informed approaches to psychotherapy that recognize the enduring effects of traumatic stress, whether physical, emotional, developmental, social, or environmental.
Trauma informed therapeutic modalities (such as EMDR) are rapidly advancing and can help to alleviate post-traumatic distress at the source. Psychological trauma recovery consists of the gradual process of building safety, stability, understanding, resiliency, and renewed forward momentum.
Read more: Post Traumatic Stress Disorders Specialty
The first principle of recovery is empowerment of the survivor. She must be the author and arbiter of her own recovery. Others may offer advice, support, assistance, affection, and care, but not cure.
(Judith Herman)