Trauma Therapy
Trauma Affects How We Live Our Lives
In recent years, trauma has emerged as an important topic in the realm of mental well-being and emotional resilience. Defined as a deeply distressing or disturbing experience that overwhelms our capacity to cope, trauma can come in various forms and can have deep effects on our lives, relationships, and mental well-being.
Some of us may have experienced acute trauma, which occurs from a single distressing event, such as an accident, natural disaster, or assault. Chronic trauma involves repeated exposure to stressful events, such as ongoing abuse or neglect. For some, prolonged exposure to multiple traumatic events from an early age, such as childhood abuse, domestic violence, or severe neglect, may lead to complex trauma.
As highly adaptable beings, many of us have learnt to cope with trauma by avoiding triggers that cause us distress or disruptions to our lives. However, there is often a trade-off to that, as we may find ourselves living in “survival mode”. Overtime, we may notice that we aren’t able to experience the full spectrum of human emotions in a free, unrestrained way.
For some, the impact of trauma may show itself in different ways:
Physical ailments: Experiencing frequent headaches, fatigue, or gastrointestinal issues. Physical ailments may also occur when and after we face a highly stressful event, which may mirror effects of past trauma that we have suppressed.
Mental health difficulties: People who have experienced trauma may suffer from symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, or addiction.
Emotional well-being: Trauma can affect emotions - how we relate to emotions and our feelings. This can lead to mood swings, irritability, and difficulties regulating emotions.
Interpersonal relationships: Trauma, particularly interpersonal trauma, will inadvertently affect how we relate to others. It can affect trust, communication or intimacy in relationships, causing social withdrawal or conflict.
Thankfully, there are many types of treatment for trauma available today. There is no one-size-fits-all trauma therapy treatment, as trauma therapy is often contingent on many factors: our readiness to confront and work on the trauma, the therapist-client fit and trust in the process, among others. If you or someone you know may be experiencing difficulties and have questions about trauma and types of treatment, feel free to reach out to us here to find out more about the options available to you.
What is EMDR and AF-EMDR?
EMDR as a method to facilitate trauma processing
You may have read about EMDR in recent years as a therapy for the treatment of trauma. Celebrities such as Sandra Bullock and Prince Harry have spoken about the positive effects EMDR has had on their journeys of healing. Known as Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), it involves eye movements or other kinds of bilateral stimulation that facilitates the processing and releasing of distressing experiences trapped in our minds and bodies.
EMDR has been used to help many individuals suffering from the traumatic effects of war, assault, disasters, and childhood abuse, with a significant amount of research conducted over the years to measure and evaluate its effectiveness as a trauma therapy. Read more about trauma in our blog article here.
AF-EMDR: Rebuild trust and safety in relationships
Research has shown that people who were deprived of close and emotionally safe relationships in their early childhood years may experience difficulties trusting or communicating with others in later years. If this resonates with you, coming for traditional EMDR therapy may be challenging as the very premise of therapy involves putting your trust in the counsellor or any helping professional.
This is why Dr. Laurel Parnell founded Attachment-Focused EMDR (AF-EMDR), an evolution from traditional EMDR. It extends the use of conventional EMDR by including an attachment-repair focus to all phases of traditional EMDR protocols. Simply put, it places emotional safety in the therapeutic relationship at its core.
Therapists trained in AF-EMDR are sensitive to your needs and recognise that your trust in them is the foundation for healing from your trauma. It is also considered a gentler approach than the traditional one, as it involves taking the time to build up your inner resources (otherwise known as internal strengths and positive qualities you have and can tap on for coping) before starting the processing work.
Here at Stillness for the Heart, we have counsellors trained in AF-EMDR and other trauma-specific therapies. We also conduct training courses to help professionals who are keen to learn about AF-EMDR. Contact us to find out more.
