Trauma Therapy

Prolonged Exposure (PE)

In PE, the patient confronts the trauma head on, which stems from the idea that the adverse effects of trauma come from avoidance. Usually, it consists of 10-15 sessions lasting 90 minutes. During the first three sessions, the patient tells the story, and the therapist explains the process rationale and the homework to be done after each session. The therapist also teaches breathing techniques and prepares the patient for exposure. 

After, the sessions consist of the process of recalling traumatic memories with a discussion afterward. Identifying the experience happens via in vivo exposure, in which the patient engages in activities and behaviors they avoid because of trauma. An imaginal exposure in which the patient revisits the event by describing it in detail to the therapist. Both exposure methods aim to show the patient their potential to cope with the traumatic experience.

Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR therapy’s creator, Dr. Francine Shapiro, found that people’s eye movements changed according to different types of thoughts. She then concluded that specific eye movements could reduce the severity of trauma-related thoughts. 

During EMDR, the patient follows with their eyes the therapist’s hand movements inducing eye movements that will help the brain reprocess traumatic thoughts. The therapy has 8 phases. Phases 1 and 2 work as a preparation for the therapeutic process. Phases 3 through 8 are the processes that will repeat in each section. 

• Phase 1: The patient tells their trauma story. 
• Phase 2: The therapist teaches wellness and stress reduction techniques to help the patient endure the emotions that will surface during the therapeutic process. 
• Phase 3: Patient and therapist agree on a target memory. 
• Phase 4: The patient concentrates on the chosen memory while following the therapist’s hand movements with their eyes. This process continues until the patient reports a positive change in the target memory. 
• Phase 5: The therapist works with the patient toward concretizing the change. 
• Phase 6: The patient concentrates on figuring out if there are any residual negative emotions towards the memory. 
• Phase 7: This phase closes the session, and if there are any negative thoughts, the therapist reminds the patient of the tools learned in phase 3 to ensure stability until the next session. 
• Phase 8: The next session begins with this phase which evaluates the patient's well-being after the previous session. Then, the process goes back to phase 3.

Trauma Group Therapy (TGT)

TGT usually gathers up to 20 people with a specific shared trauma–such as sexual abuse survivors or domestic violence survivors– with a therapist facilitating. It can be very healing as it builds a support system. After a traumatic event, it can be tough to trust someone. Interacting with people who have lived through similar experiences can potentially be more manageable, alleviating the isolation trauma can instigate in someone’s life. It breaks down stigmas by normalizing the experience.

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (PP)

PP is a long-term therapy in which the unconscious is at the heart of it. The therapist directs attention to how the trauma unconsciously affects existing mental functions. It embraces both past and present. 

As therapy progresses, unconscious processes make themselves apparent. The patient and therapist stay attentive to catch it. The patient and therapist build a strong connection with open communication. It focuses more on understanding the trauma's dynamics instead of problem-solving.

Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

A TF-CBT therapist educates patients about common reactions to trauma and its effects on their lives. It also teaches coping skills such as feelings identification and how to process negative thoughts and behaviors into positive ones. The therapist works through traumatic memories to recondition the patient's responses to their triggers.

For example, we can challenge the statement “my life is ruined forever” and change it into “my life doesn’t feel right at the moment.” Acknowledging the impermanence of how you feel presently can inspire hope. The more you do it, catching the negative thoughts becomes a habit, and, with time, you’ll transform the way you think. 

TF-CBT is a popular treatment for children and teens, and usually, a non-offender caretaker is part of the process using aspects of family therapy. That allows the caretaker to become a better aid to the child/teen.