Trauma Therapy & Life Crisis

People that have been struck by shock / trauma or find themselves in a deep crisis, experience often symptoms such as

• Low self esteem
• Bodily symptoms, such as constant pain or headaches without physical explanation
• Not feeling anything and feeling numb
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Loss of memory
• Difficulty to remember or to concentrate
• Emotions that cannot be controlled
• A sense of being separated or being in a tunnel/bubble
• A sense of being different or unnormal
• Invasive thoughts
• Dependency problems quite often accompany people with traumatic experiences

Traumatic experiences, whether they have been single shock events or psychological, physical and sexual abuse over a longer period, usually show themselves as unconscious patterns that are imprinted in the body and nervous system as as physical or psychological symptoms that affect daily life.

It is possible that you go through life with a sense of ‘unreal’ or ‘dreamlike’, when you are together with others as if you are seeing and experiencing everthing through a veil or telescope.

When you have experienced trauma it is common to have low self esteem and that you try to ‘keep up appearance’ to get through each day.

A tense nervous system can be the root cause for many psychosomatic diseases, where no physical reason can be found. This can be anything from headaches to aches and pains in the whole body or parts of the body, to disrupted sleep patterns.

Trauma Therapy and Therapy in Crisis Situations

It requires a deep understanding, how difficult it can be to talk about that, which is happening to you and it requires an attentiv and caring therapist to approach the difficult.

Mindful attention, slowly moving forward, carefulness and finding meaning – these are the pillars of my therapeutic approach, which also include methods from Somatic Experiencing®, which I specifically use to work with crisis and trauma.

Mindful Attention

I have practised mindfulness and meditation for more than 25 years and this is more and more my natural way of being present with others.

That means that it is easy for me to be present with that which arises and all the feelings and emotions that come with that.

At times silence will fill the room because there is to much chaos or distrust. Nevertheless, I will also be present in this space.

I am here. I will not leave you. I am with you all the way.

Slowly But Steadily Moving Forward

The only way really to relax a tense nervous system is to work slowly.

Working too fast just re-activates the trauma and then the nervous system tightens even more.

Trauma has a trauma vortex which means that you might feel the need to tell everything and talk very fast and mechanical. But this is counter productive.

The story needs to be worked through very slowly, so there is time and space to breathe and relax and digest.

Carefulness

Creative tools, like drawing, painting, working with stories/myths and exploration of physical sensations and personal resources (such as body, phantasies, supportive people, animals etc.) makes it possible to talk about the difficult experiences in a caring and attentive way.

Sometimes working with medtiation and mindfulness helps the process gently along.

It is not the talk about the traumatic experience that fills most of the session, but the resources that are available to ensure that the nervous systems stays in a relaxed mode to digest the experienced.

If there is too much restlessness. I will work and include gentle moves. Sometime I will suggest ‘Walk-and-Talk’ when I think this might be appropriate.

Finding Meaning

It can seem very difficult, almost impossible, to find meaning in that which has happened and when the present moment feels empty of any meaning, it can feel like mockery.

But once you start to integrate part of your trauma, it is highly likely that you will come in contact with parts of you and your life that you have neglected are closed down.

Unconsciously and unknowingly – to protect yourself!

You might realise that you live a life that excludes contact to others and you realise that you are longing to meet others and be part of a group.

It is therefore important to find meaning in that which has happend and in the new life that is about to emerge.

Often that requires a lot of energy to find new ways and to let go of old patterns and support on this path might be needed.

But survival can become meaning and can allow you to come into deeper contact with yourself, your new life and others.

Walk-and-Talk

You might find it easier and more safe to be outside – for some to sit opposite one person that is present with full attention and is interested in all feelings and emotions can be quite challenging.

I have good experience and feedback from therapy while walking and being outside in nature. For some it is easier to talk while moving and being able to gaze over the horizon or feeling protected when standing close to a tree.

Nature has its own way to help us heal.

I was completely exhausted after our session and for the first time in a long time felt restful in my body.

So Thanks a Million for this!

I am currently in grieving and I feel helped by Gerit. I had daily panick attacks and now there are almost none.

I am more aware of how I suppressed emotions, which now emerge.

Gerit is a big support – to move on, even though this is the most difficult of times.

Your mindful attention and presence in the room has made it possible for me to talk about that, which has been painful and filled so much in my life.

Thank you!