As practitioners, we know how important it is to build trust with clients. But when a patient has a trauma history, trust may not come easy – and rightfully so. So, how can we go about building healthy trust in the therapeutic relationship with these clients? In the video below, Janina Fisher, PhD, shares how […]
[Infographic] Shame vs. Guilt – A Client Handout
You’ve probably heard clients use guilt and shame interchangeably to describe their feelings. But as practitioners, we know that shame and guilt are two very different emotions, each with its own purpose and path to healing. That’s why we created this free infographic designed to help clients understand the key differences between these two emotions […]
A Simple Metaphor to De-Shame a Client’s Trauma Response, with Ron Siegel, PsyD
After a traumatic event, a client might feel deeply ashamed by how they responded to the situation. Perhaps they froze and now blame themselves for not fighting back. Or, maybe they ran away, but now regret not standing up for themselves. As clinicians, we’re able to recognize that these reactions happen at the level of […]
[Infographic] – Four Key Ways Collapse/Submit Can Present in a Client
Like many of the emerging defense responses to trauma, the collapse/submit response can be difficult to recognize. So to give you a clearer idea of what this trauma response can look like, we created this free infographic that highlights four key ways it might present in a client. To put this infographic together, we gathered […]
Is Your Patient “Feeling” Unworthy? What May Be the Underlying Cause, with Janina Fisher, PhD
Trauma can leave a patient with a deep sense of unworthiness. On top of that, your client might even blame themselves for feeling this way. But as we know, there’s always a purpose behind a patient’s response to trauma. And sometimes, the challenge is getting your patient to see the wisdom behind their response – […]
[Infographic] – Three Warning Signs of Structural Dissociation
Working with structural dissociation can be critical in the treatment of severe or prolonged trauma . . . . . . but it’s often difficult to detect. According to Janina Fisher, PhD, structural dissociation is commonly underdiagnosed, or it’s misdiagnosed as a personality disorder. And when left undetected, it could lead to ineffective treatments that […]
A Three-Step Approach to Treating Trauma-Related Dissociation, with Thema Bryant, PhD
Dissociation can be tricky to spot. On top of that, it can look awfully similar to freeze or shutdown. And to complicate things further, a patient might dissociate when they’re in either one of those trauma responses. But being able to detect when a client is dissociating is critical for providing effective treatment. So in […]
What’s Happening in the Nervous System of Patients Who “Please and Appease” (or Fawn) in Response to Trauma? With Stephen Porges, PhD
You’ve probably heard of fight, flight, and even the freeze response to trauma. But there are some newer defense responses – ones that experts have only recently begun to name and understand – that are critical to our clinical work. One of those defense responses is “please and appease.” You may have also heard expert […]
[Infographic] – How the Nervous System Responds to Trauma
It can often be difficult for trauma survivors to understand how or why they reacted a certain way during a traumatic experience. Instead of seeing their trauma response as the result of a split-second, unconscious decision made by their nervous system, your client may blame themself for not reacting differently. This can be especially true […]
Understanding Trauma Triggers, with Stephen Porges, PhD
In the aftermath of trauma, some clients struggle to feel a sense of connection to their bodies. And when clients can’t properly interpret the sensations or messages that the body is sending to the brain, it can be very difficult for them to get a handle on their triggers. So in the video below, Stephen […]