Trauma-Informed Care
Trauma-informed practice challenges us to more deeply explore and understand how traumatic experiences reshape clients' bodies and minds. Effective trauma work extends beyond talk therapy, encompassing body-based interventions, creative expression, and careful attention to safety and pacing. Recognizing blocks to processing and knowing when to push or hold back are essential skills for helping clients move from survival to genuine healing. These articles explore trauma treatment approaches, post-traumatic growth, humor in trauma work, and other essential topics. Learn from Bessel van der Kolk, Janina Fisher, Gabor Maté, Frank Anderson, and others.
Healing doesn’t always start with crying. Sometimes it begins with a snort-laugh in a quiet office. Read more
A renowned trauma expert tracks the historical contours of our culture's ambivalent relationship with trauma—and shares his hopes for the field. Read more
What does it mean to forgive, anyway? And do trauma survivors really need to forgive their abusers in order to heal? Read more
How do you navigate toxic positivity, and other forms of spiritual bypass, when it’s a block to processing trauma? Read more
From his Symposium workshop, Bessel van der Kolk singles out the one question therapists should be asking their traumatized clients. Read more
Learn more about leading trauma expert Frank Anderson and how he's taking his insight and expertise to new places. Read more
A pioneer in somatic trauma treatment reminds us that humans have recovered from trauma for thousands of years without our favorite therapy approaches. Read more
Janina Fisher reflects on the beginning of her career and how differently we've viewed trauma in psychotherapy through the years. Read more
When it comes to designating best practices for treating trauma, where does the research stand? And where is the field going? Read more
I work at a school for elementary- and middle-school kids in New York City. Counseling children and families affected by homelessness is a rapidly expanding... Read more
In this time of uncertainty and turmoil, it’s crucial to recognize that suffering and trauma are not the same thing. Read more
What can we do to do to address the overwhelming anxiety in our lives right now? What can we do to be kinder to ourselves, to be in a better position to effect... Read more
It’s important to honor all of your client’s inner parts in therapy. But accessing them to fully engage in healing work isn’t always easy. Here, trauma... Read more
According to physician and author Gabor Maté, too many healthcare professionals take a biological, individualized approach to treating mental health issues... Read more
Imagine the helplessness of being unable to distinguish painful past experiences from present ones. According to Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps... Read more
Has anything changed in the way we classify trauma? Does anything need to change in terms of how we treat it? According to therapist Mary Jo Barrett, yes... Read more
How do you help clients access resourceful states when they’re feeling hopeless and helpless? In this short video, trauma specialist Courtney Armstrong... Read more
Therapists know that words can heal. But what if the words were in iambic pentameter and delivered from a stage? Veteran and professional actor Stephan Wolfert... Read more
For many traumatized clients, even beginning to explore a traumatic event can be an act of bravery. According to therapist and trauma expert Janina Fisher, in... Read more
Stephen Wolfert’s De-Cruit program is giving vets a chance to heal the trauma of war in creative ways. Read more
By Lauren Dockett - As trauma specialist Mary Jo Barrett explains, Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony has been empowering for many survivors of sexual... Read more
Often we hear things from clients like “My relationship ending was so traumatic for me,” or “When my uncle passed away, I was totally traumatized.”... Read more
Using drugs like MDMA (aka Ecstasy) may be the new frontier of trauma treatment. Read more
It’s not always easy to tell trauma survivors in the midst of deep suffering that one day they’ll find meaning in what happened to them. But according to... Read more
With traumatized adolescent clients, it’s emotion that gradually changes emotion—not rational explanation or interpretation, not snazzy techniques or... Read more
How an understanding of the brain can inform our trauma interventions. Read more
Think all traumatized clients are shut-down and energy-sapped? Think again. In this clip from her Networker Symposium Keynote, "Creating a Corrective Emotional... Read more
In the early days of the trauma field, clients were seen as one-dimensional bundles of dysfunction and pain, who needed to relive their trauma before progress... Read more
To create deep change, we need to help people mine the sources of intense pleasure in their lives, wherever they may find them. Read more
When a client has been sexually abused, it can be difficult to find the balance between creating safety and challenging old patterns. Read more
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