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Anyone Been To An Intensive Trauma Retreat?

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Kaydee75

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I was recently a victim of a home invasion & my office of victims services has referred me to an Intensive Trauma Retreat out near Buffalo NY. Basically, you go for one on one therapy for 8 hours a day somewhere between 4 & 10 days (as needed). The woman I would be working with does allot of somatic types of treatmen (Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, EMDR, Ego State/Parts Work & Structural Dissociation), I'm not familure with these methods, but I do have a long history of trauma & CBT hasn't done much for me.

I'm wondering have any of you gone to one of these retreats or have you worked with a therapist who uses any of those methods? I'm specifically intrested in your experiences with things like Sensorimotor & other "body/mind" interventions.

Do you all know, does the therapist actually touch you & if so in what ways? I understand I can ask them to stop but IDK what to expect & I'm uncomfortable to ask the therapist because I don't want her to use it in our work as something I "need to get over" if you know what I mean.

Anyway, anything any of you can offer would be super helpful.
 
I have done EMDR and some parts work with my T. I'm not familiar with those other terms.

I haven't been to a retreat and I don't know anything about them. Do you have a T that you normally work with?
 
My trauma therapist does Sensory Experiencing with touch... but just not with me. In the first couple of months, she'd ask if she could put her hand on my back or pat my hand. Ahhh, nope. She pushed the issue, I dissociated. She later asked if she could sit next to me on the couch; yeah big no-way there too. Once session she asked if I'd like to try pushing off her hands, pushing off her feet... yep, still no way Jose. One time she scooted her chair super close to me after I asked her not to and I ended up checking-outta my brain for three hours in her office -- I was not thrilled (she was cool with it but I still don't remember what happened that day). She patted me on my shoulder once as I handed over my session fee and I jumped 2 feet straight up... in the waiting room, in front of other clients. Ugh! I think she got the message at that point. She hasn't asked me since.

I understand the whole idea about the healing power of touch in trauma. If they ask you at the Intensive (and any good trauma therapist WILL ask you first), speak up for yourself and tell them your limits. Unfortunately my limits are I can't handle touch at all. My kid is the only one who I'll allow to touch me (and some days, that's even a crap shoot).

Don't be like me :-)
 
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