Is It Necessary To Have A Trauma T?

[NatBird]

Reading the replies, I think we are missing something here. Everyone is stating that one mus...

I think that's a great point @lostforgottensoul

I've just started working with The Grief Recovery Handbook and it's helping me to see that all trauma is a loss of some kind. To this extent I imagine a general therapist would have a reasonable amount of experience with and that may 'qualify' them.

My sense is that the concern about a t specialist or not is about the person being familar/experienced in dealing with some of the more extreme and debilitating symptoms of loss/trauma that a general therapist may not have come across or worked with so much.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

I think that's a great point @lost.

Just a heads up, if you tag use the whole user name as "lost" is also a member so you tagged them, not me. I am commonly saying something like "That's a great point Nat" but without the @ symbol as you end up tagging the wrong member.

Just thought id give you a friendly head's up. Sorry to take the thread off topic. Back on trauma T or not.

To this extent I imagine a general therapist would have a reasonable amount of experience with and that may 'qualify' them.

Possibly. Just depends on their experience so a ton of questions in the beginning would be what id do. I didnt ask a ton of questions but my therapist is often using past patients (no names or specifics) to make his point on something.

I know he has 8 degrees 2 being theology degrees because i called and asked due to my family but asking is about the same. He also spoke again today about his continued training talking about places with open wifi networks to talk to me about how normal people meet others.

My point is, he talks a lot about his previous patients or situations he's worked with before or his continious training or something so i know what his experience is.

 

[NatBird]

Thanks for the heads up.

New here - working things out and maybe a bit too excited about possibility of community:)

 

[NatBird]

Just a heads up, if you tag use the whole user name as "lost" is also a member so you tagged...

That sound great - he sounds open and practical!

I've met a lot of T's that just want to bring things up but offer no way forward.

Wishing you well with the process.

 

[EveHarrington]

I honestly dont know if my therapist is specifically listed as a trauma therapist, I didnt lo...

You're separating out the listing online from their actual training/experience. I don't think anyone is arguing about a label. A trauma therapist is a trauma therapist BECAUSE of their training and experience regardless of a label. I think you're going out on a tangential argument here where in "theory" a label of "trauma therapist" isn't a reflection of ones training/experience.

 

[Dana1010]

I would differentiate between trauma and PTSD here. A lot of therapists will hear trauma and think ,"Ok, some unpleasant event that happened in the past." In fact what we need is someone who understands it as a condition that exists in the present. Unfortunately, I'm finding therapists who understand this to be very hard to find.

I said to my last therapist, I wonder if any of my brothers and sisters now have PTSD too. She looked at me without blinking and said, "They do." What? Clearly they underwent "traumatic" experiences in childhood, but she can't diagnose them with PTSD just based on my accounts of our upbringing. Does she know what PTSD is? Does she think everyone who had a bad experience automatically has PTSD? This is the muddling of terms I'm talking about.

So no, I don't want a "trauma" therapist, I want a PTSD therapist and one who knows the difference. So you can remain composed when I describe in detail the worst things that ever happened to me, you can push me when I need it, you ask all the right questions -- that's a great start. But do you know why I'm having involuntary convulsions and how to make them stop? Do you know why I feel like I'm being watched and criticized all day and how to quiet the voices, so I can get some work done? Do you know why I feel addicted to the memories and how to get through the withdrawal?

 

[lostforgottensoul]

I think you're going out on a tangential argument here where in "theory" a label of "trauma therapist" isn't a reflection of ones training/experience.

Just my opinion.

Question though. If someone didnt have a therapist (if im remembering right, I dont believe the OP does) then how would one find a "trauma therapist" without the label? They would go to therapy and ask or call and ask. That was my point.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

But do you know why I'm having involuntary convulsions and how to make them stop? Do you know why I feel like I'm being watched and criticized all day and how to quiet the voices, so I can get some work done? Do you know why I feel addicted to the memories and how to get through the withdrawal?

My therapist does. I get your point but not sure, could be wrong, that theres a specific PTSD therapist so you would want one experienced with PTSD. That would come with questions as well.

One very experienced with your issues and struggles and needs of therapies.

 

[Panda Bear]

You can find ones that carry a certification specific towards trauma. CCTP is one organization. Certified Clinical Trauam Professionals

And you could ask there experience with PTSD/trauma

 

[Dana1010]

My therapist does.

I don't want to hijack your thread, so could you maybe PM me and tell me if you know why my PTSD is causing convulsions and how to make them stop? None of the therapists I've seen can explain it. Thanks.

 

[joeylittle]

When looking at credentials, you can look for a few things:

• Certification in: EMDR, and where they did the training (people serious about treating trauma and PTSD usually sought good training), or Somatic Experiencing (SE)
• Additional training/certification in DBT, EFT, Brainspotting, IFS, ACT, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, Trauma-Focused CBT...big list, but more relevant than, say, a specialized list of marriage/relationship modalities.
• They list PTSD as a diagnosis they treat.
• They state that they have training/experience with crisis intervention (it's just very useful, and odd for a trauma-focused therapist to not also have a background here).

By reading their bio, you can usually get a sense of what they are passionate about, re: the work they do. If someone cares about treating trauma, they will probably talk about it. If they care about trauma work but have no certification in EMDR or SE - be suspicious, but ask. Even if they do not use those modalities, currently - a trauma-focused therapist will most likely have certified in one of them. It's not a guarantee that the therapist will be competent, but as a pre-screening tool it's not bad.

I don't know many therapists in private practice who list much more than "individual, family, couples" and maybe "addiction", "eating disorders", "depression" on the landing page for their website or in their Yelp ad or whatever. And the psychology today listings (US) are quite broad.

But, even just narrowing by EMDR or SE - that's a more focused list.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

But, even just narrowing by EMDR or SE - that's a more focused list.

My therapist is EMDR & SE certified but doesnt list it anywhere on his professional pages. Never asked him why.

The comments on that page by patients and past patients is what id look for, in my opinion. Actually thats how i do everything from buying off amazon to downloading an app on my phone. I want to know what people's experiences are or have been. My therapist's pages have comments, all 5 star, about treating trauma, EMDR etc. but I wouldnt of known it if I didnt read those.

I didnt research for my therapist, I was referred to that office but just noticed that when I googled and found all of his professional pages so wanted to add that on.