Having complex post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD affects our every day lives. We want to feel better within ourselves and within our relationships. Therapy is a really good place to start.
So we know that we have PTSD, and we know that we need therapy, but now what?
When looking for a trauma therapist, it’s important to ask about their specialties, techniques and tools. Below I’ve compiled the top three therapy techniques that will help resolve PTSD symptoms in every day life.
1. IFS (Internal family systems) – This is one of my personal favorites both personally and professionally and it’s a rather new trauma technique. IFS views us as complex and multifaceted beings and therefore our healing happens while working with different parts of ourselves. This is why IFS work is also called parts work. For example, there might be a younger part that comes up whenever we are having an argument with her romantic partner that is afraid of abandonment. In IFS we take the time to build a relationship with his part and begin to heal it.
2. EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) – Emdr is one of the oldest therapy techniques used to treat PTSD and trauma. The basis of this therapy is to re-process memories in the past that developed or beliefs about ourselves and others. By targeting then reprocessing Past memories we are able to resolve not only the trauma in our bodies but also how those traumas have affected our relationships with others.
3. Mindfulness – Mindfulness is such a good tool to heal PTSD and trauma because disassociation tends to be really strong and trauma survivors. Mindfulness reverses this pattern and begins to increase awareness of our minds and emotions while helping us remain non-judgmental. Self compassion is one of the most important parts of mindfulness and one of the most important parts of healing in general.
All of the therapy techniques above to help resolve trauma symptoms have one thing in common… they are all holistic. This means that they take the mind, emotions and body into account when thinking about the healing process. And because we are not fragmented people, our healing needs to encompass our whole being.
If you have any more questions about PTSD and CPTSD please reach out via the Metta Holistic Therapy get in touch page or email me directly at reneeminxtherapy@gmail.com
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