What Is A Trauma Therapist?

[mamachick]

Seems that my post was deleted. I certainly did not mean to offend anyone.

 

[anthony]

No, there was no post of yours in this thread deleted.

 

[Sunrise]

As usual, your wisdom shines through Anthony. I am glad you you see that the capability is senior to the qualification as the quals often do not deliver what is needed in this field.

- I would like to see more of people indicating in their profile what region or city they are from. It is in instructive to see how different things are managed in different parts of the world.

 

[leira]

Great post. I did one month with a non trauma therapist, and although he is a great psychologist, he sure wasn't right for this area. I've been with a social worker with extensive training and experience in trauma, and it is like night and day. He accidentally retraumatized me, she is deft and careful with pacing and her experience plays a huge part in how well her treatment goes. Funny thing she has, according to her, a majority of male clients, but her style suits me well, too. Because that is the other factor -- trauma training is a must, and then it's all about personality interplay after that, right?

And just like you don't expect to like and get along with 100% of the people you meet, it's not bad if there is not a personality fit. Keep searching until you find it, because it makes Such a difference!

 

[anthony]

I've been with a social worker with extensive training and experience in trauma

That sounds like a good mix... both knowledge and experience... experience makes so much difference IMO.

 

[Sterre]

I think your words are very true Anthony! Especcialy the part about avoiding and not standing up , or confronting the client.

My psychiatrist is a very loving and warm woman, and she really wants the best for me, she is understanding and warm but she is not confrontational or guiding the therapuetic proces.
It's just not her style. We discussed this many times now, and she just says that it isnt her therapeutic style to do so.

I have found myself to have become more sick and feeling more powerless than I have felt, because of her soft and warm approach. Her main focus is on me aknowledging the trauma's i've been true and me aknowledging that I am harmed and damaged because of it.
She is full of understanding towards my pain.
But now after 6 years I know about my pain, and I know about my troubles, and I feel more powerless than I've ever felt.

I told het that I'm under the impression that this therapy has made me worse and made my symptoms worse, but she wont aknowledge it, and it complicates the therapy.
She doesnt take me serouisly when I tell het that I feel worse after 6 years and that the gain of the therapy is minor.
Her response is that it has to do with me not taking enough medication, and my pessimistic look on life and on myself.

I really like her, and feel depended of her, but I dont believe that her approach is helpfull anymore.

The problem is that the T's i've met before where even worse, and I just dont know where to find a Trauma specialist in the netherlands.

 

[anthony]

You need someone who's going to put foot to bum and tell you how it is, not what you may want to hear, but what they think you need to hear in order to get you motivated and healing.

It is difficult, and cultural aspects definitely play a part in that.

Australian culture is less talk, more do... so culture plays a part in healing.

 

[Sterre]

Yes, I agree! Altough I dont know if in this case it has anything to do with cultural differences.
Cant I just follow therapy in Australia then? Combined with a flyingticket...ahhhhh that would be nice!
*dreams on*

 

[anthony]

Culture is quite significant with PTSD... as stated, Australia is less talk, more do. America is more talk, less do. The actual equilibrium is an equal combination of both, being talk and do. Both cultures have flaws with trauma therapy.

The therapy model is flawed in some part, because the industry has adopted a sit in a room approach to try and solve a persons problems that exist in the actual world, not within the office. You have to take a person out of the room and into the problem area to get a real assessment and apply the real world techniques that can help a person. It can't all be achieved in an office, especially as a majority stop therapy when they walk out of the room, instead of putting everything they learn into constant action.

Therapy is a constant daily process that involves identification of every negative you experience. Then looking at what you can do differently to change that negative into a positive. Then the action stage, changing your cognitive and / or physical approach to that negative, changing it into an instinctive positive, whether thought or action.

People are lazy... it human nature, and therapists know it. I used to walk out of therapy and do nothing they said, because when I tried it caused more distress than they warned me off. If they did it with me, and talked me through it, then I would have picked it up faster. Because I am a can do personality, I eventually decided for myself to take action and improve... thus life progressively got better over the years, providing I still managed myself within known boundaries that I discovered along the way. I can go outside my own boundaries for brief periods, but extended periods knock me down... though recovery is quick because I expect the down due to knowing I am outside my normal manageable boundaries.

Even today... self therapy day to day. That is living with PTSD... you have to get highly motivated to control it, yet participate within life is part of controlling PTSD.

 

[Kb3]

Personally I prefer a gentler approach which still yields significant results, and I have found that in Somatic Experiencing.

My therapist is great and I can tell her anything, and that is because I feel safe and know that I won't be retraumatized during a session by talking in circles about what happened to me, only to leave the session triggered because we ran out of time.

After we get a sense of the direction that the session is going to take, we don't really spend all that much time speaking. We take one aspect, connect it with my "felt sense"' and release the traumatic energy through appropriate movement and carefully chosen words. An example would be me using my arm to push my attacker away and saying something like "leave me alone or go away", or just getting up and walking away.

I have talked until I have been blue in the face with a multi approach therapist who did EMDR, hypnotherapy and CBT with me and all it did was lock in maladapted thought processes, and possibly implant false memories. Dealing with my trauma on a strictly cognitive basis got me nowhere, and it's fair to say that I came out of therapy with her crazier than I went in.

The therapist was not adequately trained in trauma therapy and was probably better suited to someone who was having adjustment issues. Unfortunately rather than being honest about being out of her depth, she decided to just keep trying and it ended up costing me a lot of frustration and money. As an aside, I met with her socially about a year after I terminated therapy and she actually told me that she had never believed my story, but the important thing was that I had believed it! No wonder we never got anywhere!

I guess that due to the nature of my trauma bodywork trauma therapy is more effective for me too, and I feel very lucky to have discovered it and found someone with whom I click.

 

[Srain]

I believe you answered your own question really...

HA! I just saw this again after all this time, thanks to Eat, and sure enough....so right :tup:

 

[Trina]

It's taken me a long time to really grasp that I have PTSD. After reading the page at the top, and the rest of this thread, I'm seeing why all those years I spent in treatment with standard therapists had such limited results. Looks like time for a change. It's nice to know that there's some hope. Thanks, Anthony & everyone.