Trauma and PTSD
I work specifically with trauma and PTSD using the Tri-phasic model. While my integrative approach still applies as always, I approach the treatment of trauma and PTSD from this neurobiologically informed approach. I consider the legacy of trauma responses as the brain’s attempt at adapting to extreme, harmful or dangerous events rather than evidence of pathology. Often this adaptation serves a vital survival function during trauma event(s). However, such reactive and often unconscious adaptations are a hindrance in every day living.
Common trauma-related diagnoses include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), Bipolar Disorder, Narcissistic Personality Disorder and dissociative disorders (DID, DDNOS). Notice that such diagnoses are termed “disorders”. Unfortunately, this terminology promotes the pathological idea that there is ‘something wrong’ with the individual. My alternative view, is that individuals have had to adapt in a particular way in order to survive trauma and that this adaptation leaves a painful and maladaptive legacy.
I have an interest in how the neurotypical individual is compelled to adapt to neurotypical norms and how this can evidence trauma-like adaptations. In the next section, I summarise the three key stages of the tri-phasic model:
Stage 1 – working on safety, emotional regulation & stabilisation
The first stage is about stabilising symptoms. These symptoms might include reliving trauma through flashbacks and nightmares. Focus is also on developing resilience to everyday triggers. The intension is to get symptoms to level out a bit and decrease in duration. This process includes developing ways to help with the regulation of emotional overwhelm and working with dissociation.
Stage 2 – Memory processing and conceptualisation
There are different approaches to trauma and PTSD processing. Examples include, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), Image Re-scripting and Reprocessing Therapy (IRRT), Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Emotion Freedom Techniques (EFT). The best approach would be the one that works for you. The intention with this stage is to integrate the different parts of the mind that had to separate in order to survive.
Stage 3 – Meaning and Growth from trauma and PTSD
The third phase is much more about looking forward to the future. There is an established boundary between past experiences and the ‘here and now’. Past, present and future are distinct. Each have a separate narrative. What now of the future?
