Trauma Therapy

[startingnew]

Hi Everyone

Ive started doing trauma therapy and am finding it rather hard and it brings up alot of memeories/emotions half of which i didnt know i had.

im wondering what others experiences are/have been? good, bad and the ugly please. im after different perspectives and hoping a few might be able to relate to my own experience as well.

thank you

[White_Rose]

Hello Sez

Thanks for the compliment. I know you said you had little idea of trauma therapy but what you have described above is trauma therapy.

but sometimes she'd lean forward, interrupt, and ask me to wait and think about what I'd said in a different light; this was her brilliance at work. And you also said

It happened on many occasions which helped me realise I wasn't as damaged and hopeless as I thought I was. I'd 'gained' something of value, and this in turn gave me value as a person.

Life changing concepts. Keep up the good work.

Mary

[PamelaR]

Hi Starts

Just noted your new thread. Excellent thread. Before answering your questions, I'll give you a little b'ground:

Since I became aware of my rape trauma - I've seen 5 psych. The first one helped me through the initial trauma stage - i.e. finding out about what happened (because I'd never remembered). Our sessions were geared towards, getting me to relax (basically dealing with my heightened anxiety levels) by using hypnotherapy. After I was relaxed, she'd then get me to tell her what I could remember. Between each session I found my memory was coming back more and more. This was really during my breakdown. She took a break to care for sick parent, so had to find a new one.

The next person I saw was brilliant - having gone through all my trauma stuff, I was now able to focus on finding tools to help me manage my various behaviours and symptoms. So our sessions were me telling her what had happened during the week/fortnight and what I wasn't happy about. She'd give me ideas about how my brain and body was responding to specific situations. Then ways/tools for managing my brain and body. She retired. Ugh. But referred me to another person.

Went once to the new person - she moved to the other side of the city. Too far away.

Went without seeing anyone for a couple of years, then last year after retiring I thought I was going down hill.

Next psych. - lets just said I'd done enough personality profiling at work. Knew more about my personality that she'd ever be able to tell me.

Current psych - Is a man. I find is he very good. Has not pushed, has not made me go into lengthy discussions about my trauma. I think he sees I've dealt with this okay. We're working on my triggers - mostly from my mother. Again, we don't really talk much about what she did, it's more about 'me'. How I respond to situations, then link it to why I might respond in such ways. He is basically the catalyst for getting me to work through my own issues between sessions. Very, very empowering.

So to answer you qns:

Do you mind me asking if your therapist allowed you to go slowly or was yours rather fast paced? Every therapist has let me go at my own pace.
Did you find after a few sessions it become just alittle easier? The first 2 years were very very painful. Much easier now.
Did your therapist allow you talk about how you were coping in between sessions? Generally that's what we discussed. Especially if they had opened up something at the last session.

🤗🐝🦋

[startingnew]

Hi everyone
sorry for the delays!




Hi Mary,
thank you for sharing part of your story with me/us. That sounds like a rather difficult time and having needed cancer treatment (no where near as extensive as yours though) can empathise with you there. Are you doing better now? I am glad you are still living ❤️


wow, I wouldnt have worked well with an angry psych and im glad he got caught out before he had too many other victims! speaking of being weary of psychs- i went to a psych but when i describe the methods she has with medicare to other psychs and my gp they agree it sounds rather strange so in a way im glad i didnt continue on with her- she made me rather uncomfortable anyway in the way she approached things despite me trying to work it out with her


So quite a lot of your therapy was based on learning how to cope, and the effects it had on you before approaching the details of your trauma? Is that right or have I miss interpreted that?


Your psych you have now sounds really good and patient with you. I struggle a greatdeal with trust too but with limited sessions with the mhcp and financial hardships I decided to just go with it and hope for the best!


Are you still in the process of going through your trauma/s? Were you asked to share your story in its entirety or were you asked slowly to tell bits and pieces at a time and go through each part that way?
I ask as my psych want the full story then break it down which im finding really difficult to do esp when I dont talk about how im coping between each session- she just tells me to keep up with the self care, and if in danger ring a helpline or go to hospital.


How do you personally cope between sessions? What helps you to stay more balanced rather than loosing it?

thank you again!

[startingnew]

Hi Sez,
im wondering if you done trauma therapy without realising it? Did you ever speak to your psych about your trauma/s and in detail? I know youve been through a lot, I really value your input here.
Like you I took on a lot of those protective instincts, mostly because of my traumas- both good and bad. I can be rather over protective too.


Yes your right finding the right psych can seem impossible cant it! This one is my 5th psych but im ok with that ill stick with her and keep moving forward with it all.

It happened on many occasions which helped me realise I wasn't as damaged and hopeless as I thought I was. I'd 'gained' something of value, and this in turn gave me value as a person – I love this part too- its rather powerful!

Thank you!

[startingnew]

Hi Pammy
thank you for sharing though im sorry you had to go through that too.


You said: “our sessions were geared towards getting me to relax, after I was relaxed shes then get me to tell her what I could remember” was this for each session that you attended? Or did you work on controlling your anxiety in your sessions before progressing to trauma work?
Like you im finding I am remembering things piece by piece some of them are really hard to handle , others kinda allow me to see it as a piece of the puzzle.
Your second psych sounded great! Pity she retired!
I find it interesting that you told your trauma before managing your symptoms and behaviours, ive spent basically the last year trying and learning to manage these first but I guess everyone works differently hey.
With the current psych I have she was going to work on my triggers first but thought me telling my story first would be more beneficial.
Thank you for answering those questions, it helps give me some persepctive too. While I know its not an overnight fix it does help to hear how others got through it and to hear some successes too and to know im not alone in this dreadful trauma therapy methods. And also that my reactions ie- remembering more between sesisons, finding it really hard and painful etc.


did you find you struggled to cope between sesisons esp during the painful parts? What helped you to personally cope with it all?


Thank you!

[startingnew]

just bumping here up

[PamelaR]

Hello Starts

Ahh, I had a very late night in fact and slept most of the day. Have been catching up on posts and threads. Haven't forgotten you lovely wings.

Maybe I didn't explain myself right. I have difficulties remembering the details, but will try to explain -

Before I started my therapy sessions with my psych she sent me on the course (which she ran) on managing/coping with anxiety. I think it's really important that you are able to manage your symptoms, that's why she had me do the course first (it was about 2 hrs every week for 2 months). That was before starting any therapy.

Once we did start therapy, the beginning of the session was - relaxation. She used hypnotherapy to help be get to a very relaxed state. If I was able to reach that level, she would then begin questions about the flashbacks I'd been having. E.g. what were they, how did I feel etc. If I couldn't reach that level, she was okay with us just - getting me to relax, to chill, to zone out.

It was very geared to 'my pace'. There was no pushing and it was extremely important that I was able to manage my symptoms before looking at my trauma.

Hope this helps Starts.

Let me know if it doesn't and we can see what else I need to explain.

You are awesome by the way!!

Pammy ❤️

[startingnew]

now im the one being slow, sorry Pammy but also theres no time limit for your responses. Bb is forever getting new responses in so like to bump up some thread every now and then 🙂

thank you for explaining all of that- your psych really does sound rather good esp sending you to a program first rather than using all your sessions up on managing symptoms. you seem to have done well with that method of things.

my therapy sesisons atm arent geared to my pace but i seem to adjsut well with any pace so i guess abit faster than id like wont hurt too much. my psych thinks after the 10 sesisons (only 5 more to go) i wont need anymore therapy. she thinks i wouldve covered my story but then and learnt how to work through the rest myself.

yes it does helpand im sure its helping our readers too.

im curious to know if you (and everyone) had this sort of method placed upon them- at my last session she asked me to pick a specific emotion and went for guilt. she aske dme to elaborate abit and started from the start of the day, asked all the details including the weather everything and when i got to a certain spot like a scene but was still life like a photo. she asked me to keep that in my head, dont let it go keep picturing like i was there again and then work through the anxiety by breathing through it while still keeping the picture there. she said it was a method of desensitising. her aim is to keep working through the emotions but also add details to each memory to keep being desentisited- not sure how to fit that into another 5 sessions!

has anyone had that sort of experience at all? or possibly something similar?

[PamelaR]

Hi Starts

Re your question on desensitising a specific emotion.

Sounds very familiar, I think I did something like that during my initial visits after remembering my trauma and going to the anxiety management classes. For me, I thought it was not only desensitising, but also helping me to bring up the image so it could be seen for what it was. It was very hard in the beginning, because the 'images' were just that - photos with no obvious story to go with them.

So in hindsight, the methodology was to bring my emotions to the trauma so I could start to deal with it.

Obviously, if your psych thinks you are going well - then I think you must be. Have faith in her and yourself. It's just that everything is so 'AWFUL', time will heal. She's obviously confident that you can work on your own - that's good to hear. Good on you Starts.

[startingnew]

thanks Pammy

im having second thoughts on this form of therapy, not because its hard but because my psych really doesnt seem to 'get me' she would rather use put downs and intimidation methods like cutting me off when talking or getting angry when i have an opinion on something. shes been trying to get rid of me im sure since the first session, shes had the bad opinion since the start.

the reason she thinks im doing well is because im not allowed to talk bout how im feeling.(yes shes said that) she doesnt think ill benefit from it. she has the high expecation that i dont need her support she is more there to learn the desentising strategies so when the 10 sessions are up i can leave.

thank you for sharing your experience as well, it does help. just feeling mixed emotions regarding therapy atm.