Types of Trauma Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This is a type of therapy that helps people to identify, understand and change negative thinking patterns, unhealthy behaviors and feelings connected to traumatic memories. This type of therapy is often used in the first stages of trauma recovery, as it helps individuals to develop better coping skills and handle their traumatic symptoms more effectively. It also teaches practical strategies for managing stress and reducing avoidance behaviors. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) can reduce distress associated with painful traumatic experiences by helping you to identify and change distressing thoughts and beliefs you experience around the trauma. Safety, trust, power, control, esteem, and intimacy are the primary areas of focus. CPT educates clients about their trauma symptoms to inform and empower them throughout the trauma treatment process.
Exposure Therapy. Exposure therapy, including Prolonged Exposure (PE) is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy designed to help people confront the anxious feelings associated with their trauma by exposing them gradually to the object, memory or situation they have been avoiding due to its associated fear or anxiety. Exposure therapy has been proved effective in reducing PTSD symptoms, including panic attacks and phobias linked to traumatic events.
Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR). EMDR is an increasingly popular modality that involves a therapist guiding the person through different types of physical and mental activity while recalling their past traumatic experience(s). The goal here is to create an altered state that allows the individual's brain to reprocess those experiences while reducing their associated trauma related symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares or intrusive thoughts.
Support Groups. Groups offer an environment in which individuals who have faced similar traumas can connect with each other on an emotional level and share experiences, insights and coping strategies for navigating life after trauma - something known as ‘survivorship’ support. Participating in such a group can offer catharsis for survivors – enabling them to feel comforted knowing they aren't alone in going through their journey towards recovery from their trauma
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). DBT is another form of therapy designed specifically for those who struggle with PTSD or severe mood swings due to previous traumas. As part of this approach therapists aim at teaching people how to understand, manage and tolerate strong emotions while learning to self regulate and increase interpersonal effectiveness and mindfulness skills - eventually allowing them to find hope again despite tremendous suffering experienced before due traumatizing event(s).
Art/Music/Play Therapies. Engaging with forms of art such as painting or music therapies can greatly benefit those who've faced traumas allowing them discharge emotionally charged material or express difficult emotions they were unable previously put into words - all this while being supported by therapist helping them work through it all at their own pace safely.. Last but not least, we also have play therapies that similarly allow children affected by trauma catch up on social-emotional development lost due to painful past experiences.
Somatic Experiencing (SE). Somatic Experiencing is another method used more extensively amongst professionals looking into deeper psychological healing processes affected by intense traumatizing events. In simplest terms SE focuses on harnessing the body's power by working directly with stimulating body systems responsible for controlling “fight-or-flight” reactions i.e., the autonomic nervous system regulating our heart rate etc, alongside consciously releasing stress stored unconsciously inside the body & nervous system.
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