TRAUMA INFORMED THERAPY

The Transformation

Brain stimulation goes a long way in reducing bothersome symptoms. For example, clients wanting to address symptoms of concussion or seeking to resolve migraine episodes do well with brain stimulation alone.  However, many clients in my practice present with histories of complex emotional and relational trauma. Because brain stimulation has the effect of increasing flexibility, plasticity and creating uncommon openness to change, clients can now better address long standing issues that have not been resolved with previous therapy. 

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Most commonly I use Internal Family Systems designed to address the reverberating effects of trauma. The basic assumption of this model is that we are an organism characterized by multiplicity. We are of two or three or five minds on many issues in our lives. We hate or love the perfectionistic part in our lives; we want to get rid of the bothersome critic that carries on harsh little commentaries on what a messed up person we are; and let's not get started on the part that compels us to drink, or drug or eat or cheat - who does that? We hate that part especially.  If this is familiar to you then you have a family of polarized parts within your system that are at odds and create tension, disharmony, and unhappiness. 

Here are the basic assumptions of the model:

1. We all have parts and a Self. 

2. All parts are valuable, and our protective parts all have good intent, although it may not appear that way at first glance. There are no “bad” parts, and a goal of this therapy is not to eliminate parts, but instead to help them find their non-extreme role. 

3. As we develop, our parts form relationships with one another much the way a family does, and we can see all kinds of complex relationships within our systems. Parts may be polarized with each other (different and opposite opinions/agendas), or supportive, or operate as part of a cluster. 

4. As we work with our own systems we will re-organize and change rapidly, sometimes in ways that we only become aware of later. Changes may occur “behind the scenes”. 

5. Parts can get stuck in extreme roles or carrying extreme beliefs and feelings, and can be freed up to choose something else, if they believed it would be safe to do so. 

6. Changes can be made in the internal or external worlds and both will be influenced by the other, however changes in our internal worlds do not necessarily require us to make changes in our external worlds/relationships. They just give us more options and choices. 

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What this therapy is not about...

Advice giving: if advice giving were effective, your mother-in-law, or your borther-in-law or whomever is the advice giver in your family would have solved all your problems already. 

Telling your story: the storyteller really wants to do all the therapeutic work - we will ask it to step aside.

Crying - lots of crying: parts that carry significant amount of pain can titrate the amount of pain they will reveal. They can step back and let you be present without overwheliming you.