Research shows us that trauma is stored in the body. But how does this happen, and why? Here, trauma expert Janina Fisher weighs in using the case example of her depressed client Ben, and explains why knowing how trauma functions can help us understand our own stress reactions to the covid-19 pandemic.
As Fisher mentions, it’s especially important for therapists to validate their clients’ losses right now, especially the absence of physical contact with friends, family members, and coworkers.
She also offers a strategy for helping them manage. In her recent Networker article, “Nine Simple Interventions for Depression,” Fisher breaks down concrete, proven interventions—all easily worked into video sessions.
Janina Fisher
Janina Fisher, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and a former instructor, Harvard Medical School. An international expert on the treatment of trauma, she is an Executive Board member of the Trauma Research Foundation and a Patron of the John Bowlby Centre. Dr. Fisher is the author of Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Self-Alienation (2017), Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma: a Workbook for Survivors and Therapists (2021), The Living Legacy Instructional Flip Chart (2022), and Embracing Our Fragmented Selves: a Workbook for Trauma Survivors and Therapists, as well as numerous peer-reviewed journal articles. Her treatment model, Trauma-Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST), is now being taught around the world. More information can be found on her website: www.janinafisher.com.
