Unpopular truth: trauma therapy needs more than talking

It’s actually even more dramatic than that. Talk therapy can work with trauma symptoms, but it won’t resolve the underlying traumatic memory.

To understand why this is, we first need to be clear on a few facts.

1.Talk therapy is an umbrella term used to describe a series of different approaches (CBT, REBT, DBT, ACT, psychoanalysis, etc.) that are based in the assumption that talking about something is needed in order to process and heal.

2.Talk therapy works primarily by activating the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) which is responsible for logic, spatial recognition, problem solving, and consequential reasoning. This is why it focuses on reasoning, observing, and thinking through problems.

3.Traumatic memories directly impact the midbrain which is responsible for everything to do with survival: risk sensing, emotion, reaction (fight, flight, freeze, appease). The midbrain’s mission is to end pain quickly and increase relief as quickly as possible, and if it is heavily activated, it will shut down the PFC which has the side effect of stopping or slowing speech.

4.The midbrain is activated by connection with emotions, body, and movement. So approaches such as BSP, EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, Neurofeedback, Equine Therapy, and many others that emphasize a holistic approach (connecting with the body) tend to be more effective at activating the midbrain.

In order to effectively treat trauma, a therapist MUST address the trauma where it lives; the midbrain. You can think and logic all you want, but you are just going to activate the PFC. This split between logic and emotion is why someone with trauma can logically KNOW they are safe, but still not FEEL safe.

Don’t get me wrong, talk therapy builds the therapeutic relationship brilliantly and it provides fantastic tools that can be used to knock you out of the beginning of a panic attack or flashback. This said though, talk-based approaches don’t have a great track record for coping with trauma symptoms when you’re in the middle of them (see point 3). If you want more than just staving off symptoms and you want to heal their cause(s), you gotta use a more holistic approach.

Want my recommendation on how to do trauma therapy correctly? Start with talk therapy. Learn the techniques, build the relationship with your therapist, and practice. When you and your therapist are confident you know what you need to know, THEN get into healing that trauma with a technique like BSP (my favorite). The danger of starting off with trauma work or getting into it too quickly is that doing so increases the risk of re-traumatizing you or worsening trauma symptoms. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to work with clients to undo damage that other therapists caused from jumping in with EMDR too early in treatment.

If you can’t get into therapy just yet, connect with your body however you can. If this means practicing meditations and breathing, that’s a great place to start. This said, try getting into some form of enjoyable movement and practice noticing sensations and how they change as you adjust, bend, jump, throw, and stretch.

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