Traumatic memories can linger long after the trauma is over, leaving clients with the feeling that the threat is still present.
So in the video below, Ray Rodriguez, LCSW-R shares how he worked with one client whose traumatic memory was being triggered by current events.
He’ll walk you through the exercise he used to help her gain a sense of control over the memory so that she could begin to process it during their sessions.
Have a look.
First, by creating a healthy distance from it. Then we can see the traumatic memory, the traumatic activation, but you now have control in the here and now how much you want to lean into that.
One way we did that was through the use of the imagination. “Oh, we can put that traumatic memory,” because it’s very charged for her, “in a box. And so imagine a box where you can put this traumatic memory into and that traumatic memory is going to be stored in this box, in this container, and it’s going to be safe there. And notice what happens in your body now, as we know now that that traumatic memory is stored safely in that box.”
And the client reported feeling better, “Oh yeah, that feels better. I can see it, but it’s there.”
Then we began in subsequent sessions to lean more into that traumatic memory. “So what’s one little thing from that traumatic memory that’s in that box that we can work on today?” We can take that small sliver of that traumatic memory and we can begin to move through the activation of it in the present moment. And so once we show that small sliver, we notice what her experience was in her body. For that particular client, it was an experience of being in school and her not having mastery over English and feeling very lost in an English-speaking school. And her feeling very small, feeling like she was frozen. And what was happening in the moment, in our session, was that there was tension, that she was like constricting in her body. And we noticed that together, how that memory of that moment in school was generating a present moment activation. And so, we challenged that experience.
“So what if we help your body, right now, expand a little bit? Find more grounding in the chair. If we rolled your shoulders up and back and notice what happens as you remember this memory.”
“Oh, it feels better. I have a little more clarity about it. It doesn’t feel as challenging or activating.”
And so we moved through that memory in a similar fashion, moving into the activation, with enough sense in the present moment of feeling grounded, of feeling resourced. And that supported her processing of this one sliver that had been very activating for her now, and that was coming for her in the present moment too.
To get more strategies for working with traumatic memories, have a look at this short course featuring Bessel van der Kolk, MD; Peter Levine, PhD; Pat Ogden, PhD; and other masters in the field of trauma.
Now we’d like to hear from you. How do you help clients process traumatic memories? How might you integrate Raymond’s approach into your work? Please let us know in the comments below.
If you found this helpful, here are a few more resources you might be interested in:
Working with Traumatic Memory That’s Held in the Body, with Peter Levine, PhD
Working with Memory to Reframe a Traumatic Experience, with Peter Levine, PhD
That suggestion is very good to be in a present moment!
And to see the event with less charge
Thanks! 👌😊
Very useful to be reminded of the importance of resourcing and titrating traumatic memories. Thanks for your continual resourcing of me as a therapist working with trauma.
Thank You very much :)) I feel, like understanding the feeling of being different culture, better, and feeling more respect to it. I believe, that’s a helpful excercise too. I got many young clients with not easy expierience, so I will surely try it 🙂
Yes, of course. Blending cultures is often not easy, specifically these days, and regardless of what they tell you it should be. There were times in history that it was easier, and for some it’s easier than for others, it’s often a matter of degree, like a lot of other things in life. Compartmentalizing our feelings can be very useful for understanding and knowing when to acknowledge them and when not to. But in regards to being invited or not to another country/ culture/ society with their own norms and values, and clearly different from other countries cultures and societies, norms and values or there wouldn’t be such a big influx in these United States. Right. So one must remember a Country that is consistently and haphazardly impaled by mass migration like most everything else show signs of fragmentation, individually and on a whole. So one must remember that the difficulties we encounter most often are not personal, though it may feel that way, and one must remember always to have gratitude for the journey as you hope and strive to have a better life.
My goodness; THIS blog post, as well as Lynn Lyons blog on Generational Trauma and the necessity of perfectionism, have both been assets to me as I work alongside youth and young-adult refugees and first-generation children of modern-day immigrants! It would be amazing to have a collection of resources that speak to the unique experiences of immigrants, (often front-line service and domestic workers) who may experience the traumas of the constant fear of deportation and the need to be ‘perfectly subservient’ to survive… couple this with the challenges of their traditional upbringings and beliefs clashing so dramatically with their first-generation American children; who have instead grown up in the forced-inclusivity and lifestyle-acceptance culture that has grown so intensely over the last few years… Although I have found some solace and insight by searching for resources geared toward “Preacher’s Kids (PK) Syndrome” and the need to rebel against restrictiveness in order to better assimilate, THIS resource, as one of an updated Immigrant/Refugee targeted grouping of topics/resources, would be a set of sessions well-worth ordering! (This topic came into intense focus in Orlando FL following the Pulse Nightclub shooting, when the LGBTQ+ and Latino cultures each had to be considered independently, and collectively, while planning public vigils and anniversary events after the tragedy)…
You speak to what so many immigrants are experiencing. THANK YOU.
A gentle effective way to deal with trauma in manageable small pieces . Thank You
As one approaches trauma, some small pieces cascade to larger fragments.. the impact of a situation can trigger a fault-line or ripple through any assortment of tangential situations which can be terminal to fluidity, flow or progress forward..
A great way of gently approaching trauma affect.
Thank you for sharing your work with us. Right now with many wearing masks there are more people with certain phobias or PSTD that are being triggered. Many people associate medical masks with trauma I.e loss of a loved one in a medical environment or their own traumatizing medical experiences. Then some associate peoples wearing less medical appearing masks as threats for instance a plea ily set upon by masked home invaders.
Everyone’s trauma is being triggered and most dont even know it. The big picture that needs to be considered with this issue of trauma and triggering as society has been conditioned to perceived others as a threat ( * a mask is perceived by brain as threat in itself ) .
The corporate media (amplifying fear and running the covid19 psyop) is not conducive to feelings of safety that are needed to properly pay attention to and then dissolve trauma. Meditation and mindfulness are essential ways of working with the ongoing daily triggering. Definitely using breath and stillness of mind to move into the parasympathetic system is an essential practice . But to stop the re-triggering that comes from the media (and what I feel is anti-social and harmful behavioral modifications “covid19 culture” )we would really need to become aware of what is wrong action, that what we see now comes from fear.
A paradym shift from fear to love is needed.
This is so true and seeing gradual changes but not happening soon enough. At least but is happening. We just need to recognitive and monitor personal fears. these webcasts help was all use the information to help others in their fears by recognizing possibilities of others awareness.
In a native American culture we did a group for observing a skull in the middle of the group’s circle of exposure. We spoke of what we saw in the middle from our perspective. This was so pertinent to how we view others in our life. It was a great way to experience and honor diversity from a lifetime of seeing the world through different lenses of all our clients, each one different. It is so rewarding and an honor of what we do for a living.
We professionals have been lucky to see this in our work. It helps us grow more understanding of the many challenges so many have experienced to make up their world view. Even though these past few years have been hard, I would not have wanted to be a different profession as it has been very grounding for me as it solidified a world of observations and hope for our future.
Daniel Siegels nine domains has helped me for these past years as a way to see the world view more fully as to how it is built. Thanks to everyone on this forum has helped contribute to our profession.
Thank you. A very clear presentation of this process.