PTSD is a serious mental health condition. This changes how someone feels and impacts their whole life after the trauma. This is where trauma counseling techniques come into play.
Trauma counseling techniques provide a safe space and expert guidance to help people work through their experiences. They aim to reduce symptoms and help people start rebuilding their lives.
Healing from trauma is a very challenging endeavor. Those who want to help people recover from PTSD need certain trauma-informed care and expertise that can only be obtained from years of schooling. In this post, we will cover the educational path, certification processes, and popular trauma counseling techniques.
Understanding Trauma
Trauma is how people feel after terrible events like accidents, losing someone, disasters, or violence. Right after, they might feel shocked or refuse to believe it happened. Immediate symptoms include:
- Disorientation
- Denial
- Numbness
- Trouble recalling details
Later on, they might have unexpected emotions, such as:
- Anxiety
- Avoiding certain people or places
- Difficulty concentrating
- Feelings of guilt or sadness
- Flashbacks
- Mood swings
- Physical symptoms like fatigue or muscle tension
- Sleep problems
Trauma can make it hard to move on and might lead to various mental health issues such as anxiety disorders or depression.
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- 5 Types of Trauma that Counselors Can Help Heal
- What is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)?
- Specializing in Substance Abuse Counseling
- Grief Counseling: Guiding Through Loss
What is Trauma Counseling?
The benefits of trauma counseling are vast. For one, it addresses the persistent negative states that remain even after the threat is gone. Ultimately, it helps patients heal and regain control of their lives.
There are three key principles of trauma-informed care:
1. Safety: Patients must feel physically, emotionally, and psychologically safe in healthcare settings.
2. Trustworthiness and transparency: Counselors must be transparent and build trust with patients who have experienced trauma, as they may fear harm from strangers.
3. Empowerment and collaboration: Providers should treat patients as active partners in their care, encouraging their involvement and decision-making to support healing and avoid re-traumatization.
Techniques Used in Trauma Counseling
A trauma counselor is a professional who has had the training and credentials to help patients overcome traumatic stress so that, ultimately, they can live better, more peaceful, and more fulfilled lives. Throughout the treatment program, a trauma counselor or therapist is expected to do the following:
- Helps you understand yourself and the specific situation from where your trauma stems from.
- Diagnose your trauma by analyzing the symptoms.
- Designs and provides long-term solutions through trauma counseling and therapy sessions.
The following are the basic trauma counseling techniques:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for trauma is one of the most used trauma counseling techniques. Also called Trauma-focused CBT, this type of trauma therapy helps people fix wrong beliefs, learn healthy coping methods, and express their emotions properly. It is popularly used for treating children and adolescents. Parents and caregivers may also become part of the process if needed.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
The EMDR therapy for trauma uses eye movements to help patients process and heal from traumatic memories. Instead of talking a lot, EMDR helps the brain reprocess these memories to reduce nightmares, flashbacks, and triggers, especially for single-event traumas.
24 studies from the NCBI indicated that EMDR:
- Can relieve emotional distress after adverse experiences.
- May be quicker and more effective than trauma-focused CBT.
- Might also help with somatic symptoms like pain or muscle tension.
Somatic Experiencing
Traumatic memories can cause both emotional and physical pain. Somatic therapy helps release these feelings, improving mental health and reducing chronic pain by increasing body awareness and staying grounded in the present.
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Mindfulness and relaxation techniques
A trauma-informed approach to mindfulness adjusts traditional meditation by adding techniques to help people stay grounded, calm, and balanced. This helps those with trauma manage their symptoms and feel more secure in their bodies. This approach could involve:
- physical activity
- use of sensory tools
- listening to music
Narrative therapy
Narrative therapy is a modern way/approach to coping with trauma. This trauma counseling for PTSD technique helps clients understand and reshape their experiences. It’s useful for those with mental health issues or trauma, as it allows them to reframe their stories, challenge negative self-beliefs, and view themselves and their situations more positively.
The Healing Process in Trauma Counseling
The trauma recovery process takes time. It typically happens in four stages:
1. Building trust between counselor and client
2. Creating a safe space for discussing trauma
3. Gradual exposure to traumatic memories
4. Developing coping strategies and resilience
This process helps reverse problematic beliefs. Consequently, patients see their traumatic experience from a different light and develop a new perspective about it. They experience reduced trauma-related emotions, primarily social isolation, depression, shame, and guilt. Instead, they open themselves up to the ideas of understanding and acceptance, which are important elements to help them start recovering and, ultimately, healing.
For the healing process to truly give the ideal results, the healing counseling professional and the patient must both demonstrate a strong commitment from start to finish.
Beyond all, self-care remains important. Counselors can only do so much for patients. Mindfulness in self-care helps survivors build resilience and improve emotional wellbeing.
Who Can Benefit from Trauma Counseling?
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing found that 70% of adults in the US have experienced at least one traumatic event. Given these staggering statistics, it’s clear that trauma counseling can benefit a vast number of people, especially those who:
- Have witnessed or experienced different forms of abuse or violence
- Survived life-threatening events such as accidents or natural disasters
- Military veterans and first responders
- Are suffering from PTSD
Yet, trauma counseling is not only for those who experienced major trauma. They’re also for people who have gone through less obvious but still upsetting experiences.
Top 5 Degree Programs for Trauma Counseling
Master of Science or MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a focus on Trauma
These types of degrees often focus on the following topics:
- Interpersonal Violence
- Counseling Theories
- Culturally Responsive Strategies
- Childhood Trauma Impacts
- Crisis Intervention Practices
They’re designed to help students examine the causes and effects of trauma across the lifespan.
Master of Social Work (MSW) with a Trauma Specialization
MSW in Trauma enhances social workers’ self-evaluation and service quality, leading to better client and system outcomes. They instill core TIC values, ensuring safety, trust, and cultural sensitivity. Graduates can pursue roles such as
Master of Arts (MA) in Counseling Psychology with a Trauma Concentration
This advanced degree program teaches graduates to understand the effects of trauma on the person and the community. It uses proven methods to treat trauma and apply trauma-informed counseling skills ethically in various settings.
Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Counseling with a Trauma-Informed Care Track
Master’s programs in trauma-informed teaching focus on effective responses to student trauma, resilience in the classroom, and self-care. They prepare you to lead schools and communities with trauma-informed and resilience-building practices.
Doctorate in Psychology (PsyD) with a Focus on Trauma and Crisis Intervention
This terminal degree program blends research-based grief response with clinical practice to provide a comprehensive approach to trauma and crisis intervention. It prepares graduates for mental health, research, and education careers, focusing on inner healing and crisis management.
Conclusion
Regardless of whether the feeling/fear is mild or major, it’s important to build solid support systems in trauma healing. If you’re suffering from trauma, it’s very important to seek professional help to learn healthy and effective ways of coping. While some try to manage trauma on their own, professional help provides the necessary tools and support to improve their recovery.