Trauma Therapy

Trauma-focused therapy provides care for individuals who have experienced trauma. There are multiple forms of trauma therapy, and they all help to understand the individuals' past and help them process their emotions and memories. 

Trauma therapy also helps people develop healthy coping skills to replace negative coping mechanisms.

In this article, we’ll define trauma and trauma-focused therapy, and discuss why trauma therapy is so effective in treating a number of mental and behavioral health conditions.

In this guide, we’ll talk about everything you need to know about trauma therapy, including:

• What it is
• It’s three phases
• The benefits of it
• Who can benefit from it

What is Trauma Therapy?‍

Trauma-focused therapy is a treatment for those who have lived through traumatic events. There are different approaches to trauma therapy such as forward-facing trauma therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Each approach has the same goal—to help people process trauma. 

Trauma therapy helps those who’ve shown lasting negative effects of a traumatic experience, but it can also help anyone who hasn’t developed issues. If a person has just recently experienced a traumatic event, they can get trauma therapy to process those feelings and memories before they become an issue.

At Sequoia Behavioral Health, we understand that trauma can be a root cause of many mental health and behavioral disorders. That’s why we use trauma-focused care at the heart of all of our programming. Learn more about what we treat and how trauma therapy can help. 

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Principles of Trauma Therapy

Most forms of trauma therapy have six guiding principles. These exist to provide successful treatment in a safe environment. 

• Safety: A mentally, emotionally, and physically safe environment is important for comfort and openness 
• Peer Support: Small group therapy lets clients encourage each other during treatment 
• Empowerment & Choice: The client focuses on reframing their memories and surrounding emotions in order to change their reactions to the trauma
• Trustworthiness & Transparency: The therapist should ensure that all treatment procedures are explained in detail to the client
• Collaboration & Mutuality: In small group activities and individual counseling, everyone involved works together to ensure everyone reaches their goals and is held accountable
• Cultural, Historical & Gender Issues: The therapeutic procedure will bring people from different genders, historical, and cultural backgrounds together to share struggles and relate to each other

Each of these pillars is meant to emphasize to the client that they aren’t alone and they are safe. Even if treating PTSD isn’t the focus of someone’s therapy, feeling comfortable enough to be vulnerable is absolutely vital. 

The Three Phases of Trauma Treatment

Trauma therapy generally has three sequential stages:

• Safety and stabilization
• Processing and remembrance
• Connection and integration 

Each stage prepares the client for the next one. Whether a client is ready to move on to the next phase is up to them and their counselor.

‍Safety and Stabilization

‍In this beginning stage, the client and therapist work together to implement the best coping mechanisms for emotional regulation and create a safe place. This phase is foundational for trauma treatment, as it provides a calming solution to overwhelming emotions. Different strategies work better for different people. While going through this process, the client will try different stabilization techniques and determine what works best for them.

‍Processing and Remembrance 

‍When trauma creates distress for long periods of time, it means that a person’s brain hasn’t stored those memories away properly. They exist in a way that causes intense emotions and panic-like symptoms like flashbacks. Processing means working to file those memories away correctly. Each type of trauma therapy will do this differently. For example, EMDR simulates rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Normally, our brains file away and process memories during this stage of sleep. By using this biological function intentionally, clients can process traumatic memories.

‍Connection and Integration

‍The final phase of the trauma therapy process is connection and integration. In this stage, the client practices the strategies and techniques that they learned in trauma therapy. Now, they have the tools they need to apply these healthy coping techniques. 

Benefits of Trauma Therapy‍

One of the best things about trauma therapy is that it can help anyone no matter how long the trauma occurred or how severe their symptoms are. Even if trauma isn’t the reason to seek treatment, it’s possible to experience benefits from trauma therapy. 

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Create Healthy Coping Skills

As you go through trauma therapy, you'll develop healthy coping skills. Some examples of healthy coping skills include:

• Journaling
• Breathing exercises 
• Mindfulness Exercises
• Meditation 
• Talking with friends and family
• Spending time in nature

Developing healthy coping skills not only works alongside a healthy lifestyle, but it also prevents living past traumatic events.

Mindfulness is helpful for everyone, whether they’ve had trauma or not. Read our guides on mindfulness exercises: Mindfulness Movement Exercises, Mindfulness Breathing Exercises

Identify Triggers

Another important benefit that comes from trauma-focused therapy is the ability to identify what triggers flashbacks. Knowing what these triggers are help you avoid them and cope with them. 

A trigger is anything that sparks a traumatic flashback. Trauma counselors work closely with their clients to find what language, places, or people can act as triggers, then create a plan for the client to live without fears of flashbacks.

Improve Affect Regulation

Affect regulation is a psychological skill that allows a person to have an appropriate response to intense emotions linked to trauma.

Affect regulation helps people stay within the window of tolerance, which is the level of stress and anxiety that they can handle before they “get stuck” in dysregulated emotions. The skill of affect regulation brings stability to people who have suffered from traumatic experiences. 

One theory about dysregulation after trauma is The Polyvagal Theory Ladder. 

Who Benefits From Trauma Therapy?

‍People whose lives have been affected by trauma benefit from trauma therapy. Symptoms don’t have to be debilitating or meet certain criteria. However, there are signs that inform whether or not trauma therapy is a good option for you.

Signs You Need Trauma Therapy

Trauma confuses. It can make it hard to know exactly what you’re experiencing. Everyone will experience trauma differently, but many experience the following symptoms.

• Flashbacks and nightmares
• Consistent feelings of anxiety and depression
• Physical symptoms such as tense muscles, and feeling on edge
• Behavior changes
• Developing negative coping mechanisms

Each of these signs is a symptom caused by trauma. If you experienced a traumatic event and these symptoms have appeared, you make a good candidate for trauma therapy. 

Trauma Therapy at Sequoia

Healing trauma offers freedom that many people may not have thought possible. Sequoia Behavioral Health offers an evidence-based trauma-focused therapy program to treat a wide variety of mental and behavioral health concerns.

Located in Mesa AZ, We offer inpatient and several different methods of outpatient treatment. Call us to get started on your wellness journey.