Trauma therapy, in simple words, means looking within your trauma and emotionally coping with the responses the traumatic event has caused you with the help of a trauma-informed therapist.

Trauma therapy is done to reduce the impact of the trauma on the person or ideally, eliminate it from the very root cause of it by asking yourself the difficult questions and recalling your triggers again to see what caused you this with the help of a trauma therapist.

Letting go of your trauma is an emotional and triggering journey that has its own share of ups and downs. There will be times when you will feel like giving it all up and there will be times when you might learn something new from your trauma. In order to get to the other side, it is important to choose the right therapist and the right type of therapy.

Let’s see what types of trauma therapy there are:

1. Cognitive behavior therapy

   Cognitive behaviour therapy was developed for the treatment of depression and anxiety. But later on, it was also used to treat trauma, burnout, chronic stress, and PTSD. In this type of therapy, the therapist helps you question your traumatic thoughts, which tend to show up in your behaviour.

   With this therapy, the maladaptive behavior is questioned and changed consciously with constant practice.

2. Prolonged exposure therapy

   This type of therapy is usually used to treat PTSD. However, trauma survivors who have been in a war or have recurrent thoughts about their trauma avoid triggers that remind them of that fear.

   So in prolonged exposure therapy, the person is exposed to the fear that has led to this state. It isn’t done straight away but in gradual steps by exposing the least feared object and then gradually moving upwards. To maintain a steady state of mind while doing this, therapist’s also do some grounding techniques and relaxation exercises so the client feels at peace.

3. Cognitive processing therapy

   Cognitive processing therapy is a form of CBT developed treatment that runs for over a span of 12 sessions, wherein the psychotherapist educates the client on how trauma affects the body during and after the event. Along with this, the therapist also helps the client process those emotions and thoughts, helping them to look beyond them and work on those thoughts and feelings in a healthy manner.

4. Trauma-focused CBT

   This type of therapy also came out of CBT and was earlier made to treat children and adolescents. Later on, this therapy was expanded to adults and families.

   In this type of therapy, trauma-informed therapists take up sessions individually or in groups, wherein the client(s) are psychoeducated about trauma and how one can regulate and manage their emotions better. Certain coping techniques are taught, and the client(s) are asked to share and process their emotions in a healthy manner.

5. Narrative exposure therapy

   This type of therapy is usually used for people who have been through complex traumatic events. Herein, an empathetic therapist helps the client write a chronological story of their life, which includes both traumatic and positive life events.

   While doing this, the client will be asked to notice their thoughts and feelings and how they are making them feel in the present moment. When this is all done, the therapist presents the client with a documented autobiography.

6. Eye moment desensitization and reprocessing

   In this type of therapy, the therapist uses bilateral stimulation to help the client recall the traumatic event and release emotions that have been blocked due to the trauma.

The techniques used in trauma therapy depend on the type of therapy the therapist has chosen and on the given case. Some of the trauma therapy techniques are:

1. Imaginal exposure

   In this technique, you imagine the trauma and express it out loud in front of the therapist by being as raw as possible. The therapist takes note of the trauma, how it made you feel and how it affects you in the current moment.

2. Written account

   In this, your therapist asks you to write a proper description of the trauma you have experienced. This helps the therapist understand the inner conflicts of your trauma and how it made you feel.

3. Cognitive restructuring

   In this technique, the therapist helps you restructure your current thoughts and notions by questioning your negative thoughts and feelings and understanding the root cause of them.

4. Group therapy

   Taking group therapy can be extremely helpful, as talking to other trauma survivors who have been on their own journey of survival and not asking for help can give you a boost on how they have come out and helped themselves and you can too.

5. Inner child work

   People who have experienced trauma in their childhood usually have a wounded inner child who requires inner healing and work. With this technique, people with this type of trauma can build strategies to work on themselves and understand the needs and wants of their inner child properly.

While trauma therapy takes its time and is a difficult step to take, it has great benefits that can be hard to ignore. The benefits of trauma counseling are:

1. Improves coping skills

   Taking trauma counseling helps you look within yourself and face your obstacles head-on which improves your coping skills and allows you to adopt healthy strategies that help you face things instead of running away from them. For example: journal your feelings instead of suppressing them.

2. Builds resilience

   When you have been through so much and you take a step to work on yourself and understand your traumatic feelings, it builds resilience and makes you stronger to face things head-on.

3. Inner healing

   When you decide to take trauma therapy, you begin a journey of inner healing, which helps you connect with your inner self and get closer to becoming your real self.

4. Reduces avoidance

   When you start taking trauma therapy, it helps you face things and makes you stronger rather than avoid them or suppress them until they harm you from the inside.

5. Helps you meet your real self

   When you take trauma counseling, it helps you look beyond your trauma and your negative thought patterns and helps you heal your inner self, which in turn helps you meet your real self.