The 3 Phases of Trauma Treatment

Dr. Mike Dadson identifies:

Dr. Mike Dadson warns:

• When treating trauma with prolonged exposure therapy without titration, feelings of empowerment and control can reactivate for the person and cause them to re-live the traumatic experience in the moment. That means that a person can be again overwhelmed or distressed and there isn’t really any kind of movement forward, though healing or comfort, but a re-experiencing. This has been referred to as traumatization. I have many clients who have experienced traumatization and the counter therapeutic results can be greater degrees of avoidance and prolonged time in phase one. Re-experiencing trauma in treatment, is not always unexpected, nor is it particularly welcomed.
• Part of the suffering with PTSD is that a person can have a reoccurrence experience of the trauma, again, and again and again. When this happens, it wears on the on the body, the soul and on the mind.
• When prolonged exposure therapy takes these factors above into account, prolonged exposure therapy can be very helpful. However, if a therapist doesn’t take these factors it into account, a person can experience their trauma again, and again, and again. When this happens and if there isn’t a resolution, a counter therapeutic effect happens. More avoidance is created and the distressing can be so great that a person ultimately drops out of and avoids therapy, due to its painful effect. If it is too much too fast, the system is overwhelmed and they cannot engage nor continue to engage in therapy in that form.

Much research strongly supports the need for the therapist to have an awareness, and an acknowledgement of the phases and what phase they are working in during different times of the therapeutic process. “The skilled, experienced, and attuned therapist will take great care to walk alongside a person at their own pace through their painful memories”, concludes Dr. Michael Dadson.

Dr. Mike Dadson accentuates:

The goal of the therapist is to contain and to regulate so that the person can move towards a traumatic experience without having the feelings of being out of control, overpowered or powerless. It is important for a person to have a sense of their agencies on board, to move forward, or move away at their own pace. It is imperative that the therapist stays attuned with the person so that they can titrate their themselves towards the experience.

• Trauma therapies, are circling and moving towards centre of distress in a client We go towards the trauma and then steering away, and then circling and coming back and then steering away. Titrating our way towards the greatest distress but regulating the overwhelming emotions that can be activated. Then when the time is right going through the trauma once then steering away again. Then ultimately as we build on the felt feelings of relief and progress, we stay a little closer a little longer till finally we can sit with this trauma and go into it deeper. We safely process the trauma by finding any unfinished grief and loss. We resolve the defensive reactions and calm the nervous system. Then we are through it.
• We know there is growth and healing when the defensive responses are replaced with a deep feeling of relief and renewed creativity, meaning, purpose and self-compassion. These are indictors that the person has gone through the trauma in a way that leaves them feeling relief, comfort and new life. Spending &me staying with this new way of experiencing the event helps consolidate the changes and deepens new cognitive and emotional patterns. I’ve gone through it in a way that has left me feeling relief, comfort and new life.

Dr. Michael Dadson -Trauma Therapy Approaches