Activities for Healing Trauma
Living with unresolved trauma can be overwhelming, scary, frustrating, and exhausting. When someone reaches out to start counseling, they are tired of feeling this way and more than ready for relief, but healing trauma takes time. Since many are eager and ready to heal, it is valuable to look at what they can do between counseling sessions to support their healing.
One of the most important aspects of healing trauma is finding a trauma-informed counselor with training in an evidence-based approach for treating trauma. Additionally, it is equally important to trust and feel comfortable with the counselor.
Counseling usually takes place during a one-hour session one time per week. But with 168 hours in a week, other things can be done outside of counseling to facilitate growth and healing
Yoga:
Trauma impacts and is carried in our body, so part of healing trauma is focused on bodywork. Yoga has multiple benefits for the mind and body. Many times when we experience trauma we learn to escape our body or emotions and/or not be present to survive. Acknowledging and feeling body sensations is a vital part of healing trauma. Yoga is a gentle way to start to learn to be present in our own bodies and noticing physical sensations. Additionally, yoga is calming and helps us reach the parasympathetic system (PSNS). The PSNS is the opposite of our sympathetic system (fight, flight, freeze, or collapse). Check out our blog on the Autonomic Nervous System to learn more https://www.coopercounselingcenter.com/blog/autonomicnervoussystem
Meditation:
Medication is a great skill to help manage stress and prompt relaxation. The habit of medication is used to practice keeping the mind focused and redirecting thoughts. Difficulty focusing as well as racing and intrusive thoughts are common symptoms of trauma. There are many forms of meditation, so it can be helpful to try different approaches, apps, and styles. HeadSpace and Calm are two great apps to use on your phone. YouTube also offers a plethora of meditation options.
Reading:
There are many books written about trauma that can be helpful in understanding your own emotions, behavioral patterns, and trauma response. Below are a few recommendations:
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk
The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis
Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma by Peter Levine
Breathwork:
Breathwork refers to intentional breathing exercises that help us regulate our breathing, emotions, and mood. Breathwork helps us become regulated in two ways. 1. It requires us to be present which can help manage and work through trauma symptoms 2. Regulates the autonomic nervous system and to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Check out our blog below to learn more about the power of breathwork. https://www.coopercounselingcenter.com/blog/breathwork
Homework:
Counseling is most successful when skills and strategies discussed in the session are used in day-to-day life. At Cooper Counseling Center, we discuss ways to cope with trauma responses, identify behavioral/thinking patterns, and help overcome all the ways trauma has impacted a client’s life. It is valuable to implement these skills, strategies, and ideas outside of the session to allow for continued growth and healing between sessions.