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

[IreneM]

Hi PamelaR

My story is very similar to yours. I, too, have seen quite a few therapists. My mental health issues have been combined, lately, with the trauma of living on life-support of different kinds.

When I first got Kidney Failure I also had a major Depression breakdown to the point of not being able to think for myself or anything. Quite scary! The Psychiatrist that I was under put me onto an anti-depressant which brought my means of being able to reason for myself back again. But he was a bit too firm and strict in relation to things that were causing me trouble.

A few years later I had another major incident where I had no strength to do anything. I asked to go to Emergency, and the Dr (good one for a change) asked if I would like to see a mental specialist and I said 'yes'. Nothing happened for a while until I got a phone call asking me to book an appointment. The person man I saw was terrific, and very understanding. After talking briefly about my problems I said I needed an answer to why I was the way I was. He diagnosed me with PTSD. Once I knew that I was able to learn more about me.

Then I had to be mentally assessed to have a kidney transplant, the psychiatrist was concerned that the PTSD would return, He was right! I told the Kidney team and got a referral to a Psychologist who works with Renal patients. She was the one who offered me Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Under her, my story is very much like yours.

The Trauma Therapy is interesting in comparison. I wouldn't mind learning about the different types of therapy.

Like you, the CBT was difficult at first. Stage one is Awareness. Becoming conscious of what (in the past) is causing you to behave or react the way that you do to what is happening around you (at present). Stage two is Strategy to work out how you could change the way that you respond to different situations that are difficult. Stage three is to Rethink strategy if something doesn't work. CBT is constant hard work, sometimes a therapist is not necessary if you can just remember those three principles. Therapist is much more helpful in Stage One.

Thank you for bringing up the point on: "looking at things in a different light". This counselling skill is called Reframing. I was doing really well there for awhile and started doing a course on Health Science to help others and am just completing the unit Counselling Skills. Made me rethink how I talk to people.

[IreneM]

Sadly starts

There are good and bad therapists everywhere. I was given bad advice once and I am still paying the price for it.

Because I am doing Counselling I can speak from a Therapist as well as patient perspective.

From a Therapist perspective ... no one should be using words that put you down or devalue your thoughts or feelings. Your feelings and thoughts equally should be acknowledged. There may well be different principles for different types of therapy. Each type of therapy has it's own focus, as this forum is bringing out. So if your thoughts and feelings are not being acknowledged I would try and change therapists. Regardless of which type of therapy you are doing, you cannot go too many sessions without being able to say something about how you are being affected and whether you are coping or not.

From a patient perspective, we all need to have our thoughts and feelings valued and respected. However for us to look at things from a different viewpoint or change our way of thinking or attitude, they sometimes need to be firm with us. Change is difficult for everyone. Our Therapists are supposed to walk with us and understand us during this journey of change. Different techniques work for different people - we are all different. Just because something works for one person, it may not always be what will work for you.

So be flexible and try to think positive.

[startingnew]

Hi Irene Thank you! also i see you are new so welcome aboard 🙂

thank you for what youve written. ive seen this is my 5th therapist in just a yr. ts rather frustrating trying to find someone that i click with. one therapist actually turned me off counselling for a while. she was my second therapist and she had said- 'if you dont talk about your issues then i wont help you and you can find someone else' this was the very first session and the topic of disccussion wasnt an easy one (sexual abuse) and id never spoken about it ever before. i shut my mouth pretty quickly and left after that session. stopped going.

the rest have been sort of ok but i didnfind they were really listening and when i pulled them up on it or asked to work on something they turned away and got quite defensive. i thought i had a good one this time but im not sure, ive meantioned alot about her and her ways- also she doesnt let me talk about how im coping. she thinks its a waste of time (i spoke to her about it ) so each session is almost like being thrown into the deep end with coping myself between the 2 sessions. i only have 5 sesisons left so will jsut have to suck it up and go with it and just get through what i can and keep practicing on the outside. (my trauma im talking about now isnt SA its something else, i decided i dont want to talk about that one yet (or at all) )

i knew trauma therapy was going to be hard, i didnt really know what to expect though so i guess it could be anything. im glad others have contributed here as i like to hear everyones perspectives, experiences, what helped them through it etc.

thank you again and also well done for becoming a therapist.

[startingnew]

Oh i forgot to ask Irene have you done any truama therapy yourself? And your experience if your willing to share

[IreneM]

HI Starts

No. I have not experienced Trauma Therapy specifically.

But your post has made me keen to learn more about it. Every Health Practitioner has to know basic Counselling Skills, which is what I have just completed. As for the different types of therapy and their purposes, this is more Psychological Care. Different kettle of fish to Natural Therapy.

I once got help from a Dietitian, and an Exercise Physiologist. Both of these were so good and turned my life around to a large extent that I decided to pursue becoming a practitioner myself. I may decide to learn Counselling instead of Natural Therapy.

But I must overcome my own problems more before I can be there for others!

[startingnew]

Hi Irene

im really glad this is helping you, your more tha welcome to ask some questions yourself.

im hoping some other may contribute their experinces too however im sure many are reading and is something comes up they feel they can answer they will 🙂

im so glad you have had some good supports, it makes a huge difference! being here has made a huge difference to my life, i was basically saved quite a few times when ive wanted to end it. if i had of reached out before i did make an attempt its possible i may not have done it- but thats my issue

are you working at becoming a therapist yourself or another health professional? do you have your own thread we can support you on as well?

[IreneM]

No StartingNew. It's only been CBT.

I agree with you that some therapists particularly on the first session will give you guidelines and if you don't abide by them, they will not help you because the bottom line is that only YOU can help you.

Your question made me look it up. Basicly Trauma Therapy is a complete range of therapies to help you recover from trauma. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is all about discovering yourself, accepting what your issues are today, talking about ways to overcome those issues (mine was not being able to cope with people), putting those strategies into practice, and reviewing those strategies and ways to overcome those issues with your therapist.

To be able to have CBT as part of Trauma Therapy you need to already have acknowledged and accepted what the traumatic things or events are that have caused you to be how you are.

So CBT is stage two or three of Trauma Therapy. You should have already have acknowledged your problem and what it is that is causing you to still feel traumatic today.

Light at the end of the tunnel of discovery - if you work hard enough eventually you can slowly come off your anti-depressant under medical advice. It teaches you to think positive.

I hated myself for years, now I appreciate who I am, and the good things about myself, without being selfish. I use it to help others. I do have a role to play with others it was just about finding that niche. One thing that assisted was the use of apps to encourage positive thinking, and doing online personality tests every year or so.

Now I am out there testing the waters in different areas to find which field of work is best for me by doing voluntary work. Keep an eye open for my story which will be published soon. 🙂

[startingnew]

Hi Irene

Its nice to hear from you again and to hear that your writing a book! thats pretty exciting! Thank you for explaining what happened in your therapy sessions and how you progressed. its good to know. ill eventually start trauma work but im not sure yet. im starting to reconsider for the fact that it is in the past and id rather move forward without having to go backwards first.

[IreneM]

Hi startingnew

First of all you are so positive, you should give yourself a big pat on the back for that!

There are a few things that I'd like to share to assist should you have Trauma Therapy:

1. Always go into it with a view to learning about yourself and eventually changing for the better. No therapy will work if you do not put in the effort. It is hard yakka at first this first stage can be very overwhelming, but once you have learnt to accept yourself both good and bad. This helps you to accept others with their good and bad traits.

2. It is also easy to deny the negatives about yourself, as a result you go backwards if you don't want to change or turn away from doing thigs that are hurtful to others and yourself. You need to accept that as part of who you are and this is usually changeable with effort. Persistence will one day pay!

3. Learning about yourself can be a difficult journey. One thing that helped me cope is by doing regular online personality tests, as my circumstances and manners change. Try to initially focus on the good parts about you, and when you're ready be prepared to change your strategy to coping with whatever it is that is hurting you, especially with other people. "Do not Take to heart what other people say." Those who like to good aspects of you will be drawn to your company and will soon become your true friends.

[IreneM]

HI Just Sara,

To clarify for you, you are having Trauma Therapy.

CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is one of several different types of therapeutic counselling aimed at helping people who experience a range of traumatic circumstances.

I am on my way to becoming a therapist myself and have just completed the CBT basics. It helped me heaps.

Irene.