Treating Trauma

The answer to your question is in the body of your message: The technique works best with those motivated most, either by courage or by desparation, two descriptive terms that are often the same, I have noticed this side of Paradise. The first, and most immediate need, is to give comfort. And giving comfort is an art, not a techique.

The technique you refer to is as old as the hills (and depending on the hill, that can be quite old), it's called taking the sting out of the bite. It may have been given a fancy name when it moved to Academia, but it's origins are quite pedestrian. And you are right when you observe that it cannot be applied to everyone without knowing the "client" first. In other words, to whom did the trauma happen. And what happened? It's what the person does with the fear that is most important in the long run. Nobody can change what happened, but you can change your attitude; and that is where a good therapist is worth his weight in gold.

As a personal note, when I was in therapy, my therapist had me make a list of all the mean things someone could say about me and then go off to a private spot and repeat the list I made as loud, and as often, as I could. The end result, for me, was that the sting of the words lost their power. The problem underlying those words was not solved, but the power of the words was: That was the goal of the exercise. Of course, later I realized that some of the words I had written on my List were quite accurate. So, contrary to psychobabble, not all criticsms are wrong, alas.

Anyway, back to your question. Techniques are fine if they work, as long as the goal is to help a person find a rock to stand on until the storm is over. Techniques are temporary measures, not solutions. The goal of any of these techniques is to help a person get to a place where they can sort out what happened and decide what they want to do about.

I hope these thoughts help you in your search for ways to help people who have been deeply hurt and need help.

Replies:

Re:Treating Trauma, by Anonymous, 01/18/03 Re:Treating Trauma, by Anonymous, 01/18/03 Re:Treating Trauma, by Anonymous, 01/18/03

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