Trauma can come from a variety of experiences including: natural or manmade disasters; interpersonal relationships from an early development age with care givers who are meant to keep us safe.

One specialist describes trauma as

“Any experience of fear or pain that doesn’t have the support it needs to be digested and integrated into the flow of our developing brains.” (Badenoch, 2018:23)

Whilst human beings often have a high capacity to survive and adapt, in trauma a person’s healthy strategies for coping are overwhelmed. The nervous system can become dysregulated, which might manifest as a response to a seemingly non-threatening current situation with anger, panic, or shutting down. An individual’s identity and beliefs can be profoundly altered, shame can be debilitating, and the ability to engage in intimate relationships significantly impaired. Severe trauma, especially that arising in childhood, can result in ‘Structural dissociation’, where the self divides into different parts as a coping mechanism for emotional or physical experiences that could otherwise be devastating.

When beginning a therapeutic trauma work with people, I offer a ground rule that, in trauma work, “Slower is faster”. Early in the journey I will be supporting people to build trust, resources and the beginnings of compassion to self, as until these are more embedded, re-sharing trauma memories can be dysregulating.

My passion for working with people bringing complex trauma and structural dissociation, including Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), grew initially from my own experience. In my journey, I learned how recovery is possible when supported by ‘trauma informed’ therapists. Since then, I regularly update my learning through supervision and relevant trainings, including: Polyvagal Theory;Sensorimotor Psychotherapy; Internal Family Systems; and the one year ‘Diploma in Contemporary Trauma Practice’ through Relational Change. Importantly, I also commit to supporting my own mental health.

Influential trauma practitioners I draw from include:

• Jo Watson ‘Drop the Disorder: Challenging the Culture of Psychiatric Diagnosis’

• Janina Fisher ‘Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors’

• Pat Ogden and Janina Fisher ‘Sensorimotor Psychotherapy’

• Ogden, Minto and Pain ‘Trauma and the Body’

• Bessel van der Kolk ‘The Body Keeps the Score’

• Peter Levine ‘In an Unspoken Voice’

• Babette Rothschild ‘The Body Remembers’

• Judith Herman ‘Trauma and Recovery’

• James Kepner ‘Healing Tasks’

• Miriam Taylor ‘Trauma Therapy and Clinical Practice’ and ‘Deepening Trauma Practice’

• Arielle Schwartz ‘The Polyvagal Theory Workbook for Trauma’

• Edith Eger ‘The Choice’ and ‘The Gift’

“We have to believe that we are more than the sum of our symptoms. When we settle for anything less, we limit our recovery, because we allow ourselves to be defined by what happened to us: the over-sensitisation of our neurobiology and the fragmentation of our sense of self. Recovery means that we connect the dots between all the different parts of ourselves: the different experiences, emotions, outlooks; the desires, and hopes and fears; and we become the person that we truly are, the whole that is greater than the sum of all its parts. I had to believe that I was more than a collection of symptoms, and forge forwards into the entirety of my being.” Carolyn Spring (Extract from her book "Recovery Is My Revenge")

“If you’ve experienced trauma, you may struggle with irritability, feel disconnected from yourself and others, or be vigilant of your surroundings…you may have physical symptoms such as fatigue, chronic pain, or nausea…[It is therefore important to learn] soothing practices to help you rewire your nervous system and achieve a natural state of calm…learn skills to help you build resilience, feel safer and more connected…[to] find gentle, body-based activities to ease your symptoms without revisiting the traumatic or frightening experiences.” Arielle Schwartz (‘The Polyvagal Theory Workbook for Trauma’)

“When we heal, we embrace our real and possible selves”…“There is no one-size-fits-all template for healing, but there are steps that can be learned and practiced, steps that each individual can weave together in his or her own way, steps in the dance of freedom.” (Edith Eger, The Choice, P 295 & 314)