Stabilization Document

[angel2write]

I'm not quite sure where to post this, so I'll post it here and hope some kind soul will move it where it belongs.

I went looking for information on how to stabilize a trauma survivor, and stumbled across this paper. "The Work of Stabilization in Trauma Treatment," by Janina Fisher, Ph.D

It was apparently a paper presented at a lecture series to talk to therapists about how to work with people like us to get us stabilized enough to start working on the traumas without flying to pieces.

I didn't find it particularly difficult to read. It's written in normal English (not medicalese) and I've been reading and re-reading it for several days now and finding it very, very helpful. So I wanted to share it with you guys.

To quote her:

"The use of psychoeducation [educating the patient about PTSD and how it works] has two purposes at this stage of treatment:

(1) it teaches the patient about the symptoms: how to recognize them, how to anticipate them, what they mean, how to manage them; and
(2) it decreases the patient's shame, confusion, and sense of being crazy, especially if we offer the psychoeducational input in empathetic and empowering language.

 

[safenow]

Thank you so much for sharing that document. I found it to be wonderful. I especially like this part:

"A trauma survivor can have a meaningful, productive life without ever remembering or processing the trauma, but she cannot have such a life without doing the work of stabilization. The message for the patient is a simple one: no recovery from trauma is possible without attending to issues of safety, care for the self, reparative connections to other human beings, and a renewed faith in the universe. The therapist's job is not just to be a witness to this process but to teach the patient how."

It's exciting that this person gets it. Again, thank you so much for sharing.

safenow

 

[angel2write]

Yeah, that's a good one. I liked this one, too:

"One of the tragedies of childhood abuse is that the minute details of ordinary life and ordinary relationships comprise the biggest source of triggers of PTSD symptoms because it was in the context of such ordinary events that the child was repeatedly traumatized. (I often make the analogy to patients that going through a typical day for them is like a return trip to Vietnam for a veteran.)"

Thinking about this has made me less ashamed when I over-react to ordinary life things. I kind of freaked out last night because I hit a particularly unpleasant memory while making biscuits for dinner. Normally, on top of the trigger, I would also feel ashamed for not being able to even cook for my family without acting like a freak. But I thought about this quote and found that I could be ok with it... which helped me calm down and finish dinner.

 

[safenow]

Thinking about this has made me less ashamed when I over-react to ordinary life things.

Thank you for sharing that great quote. I'm so glad you had it to help. We all need all the help we can get, don't you agree?

 

[saffy]

HI Angel

Thanks for sharing this. It makes perfect sense.

"We want to teach the patient about trauma and PTSD in ways that celebrate and mphasize that, if she had the ability as a small child to survive these terrible experiences, then she has all the resources she needs to recover from the symptoms of those experiences. We want to convey to her that all of these symptoms make perfect sense as a response to traumatic experiences. Each represents either a deeply encoded memory or an attempt to solve a challenge or danger she faced as a child. Each was an ingenious solution to an overwhelming environment, and they worked, or she would not be sitting with you now. This approach not only de-shames the survivor; it is also empowering because it draws the picture of someone who is smart, creative, resourceful, and more in control of her destiny than she feels."

I quoted this part because it does ring a bell for me.

I now I fought my way through a lot of things, I know I also dived in to drugs to help hid a lot of things. It took me a long time to realise that I was only being protective of my needs rather than destructive, defensive, argumentative and disobedient. That what they did was try to break me as a person and reject me through their own guilt and malice.

I find myself having to learn what to do instead of being destructive, defensive and argumentative and repeating such patterns. :)

Maybe you could also share it on the therapy threads. There has been a lot of discussion on what therapy is for. This will help I think :)

Best wishes
Saffy :)

 

[maddog]

I love Janina Fisher's papers, they're all excellent and, as you say, easy to read, logical, practical and written by someone who really "gets" trauma therapy and its realities. Her website has many of them linked.

Maddog

 

[angel2write]

Cool! I didn't know there were more. I'll have to look up her website.