 Trauma, whether experienced as a child, teenager or adult, can often affect you so strongly it distorts your life for years, impacting on your self confidence, your relationships, your physical health and your financial situation. It is easy to believe that the effects of trauma are now ‘just how I am’ but this is rarely true, and with caring and effective help you can process the experiences well enough to let the hurt go and generate new, healthier and happier ways of being. In mental health terms, trauma can be described in this way: Trauma is the lasting emotional response that often results from experiencing a distressing event that overwhelms a person's ability to cope. It can be caused by a single event or a series of events that are experienced as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening. Trauma can have lasting negative effects on a person's functioning and well-being. The Trauma Continuum: When working with trauma I consider the model of the ‘trauma continuum.’ This model recognises that multiple aspects must be taken into consideration to respond appropriately to trauma. These are: Severity: The continuum acknowledges that trauma exists on a spectrum of severity, ranging from mild, consciously processed experiences to severe, deeply impactful events. Intensity: The intensity of the trauma experience is a key factor in determining its impact and the individual's response. Social Support and Attachment: The level of social support and secure attachment an individual has can influence their ability to process and recover from trauma. Processing: The way individuals process trauma can vary, with some being able to consciously process milder experiences while more severe trauma may require the use of defence mechanisms. Impact: The impact of trauma can be both psychological and physical, and can affect various aspects of a person's life, including relationships, emotional regulation, and overall well-being. Treatment and Recovery: Recognising the trauma continuum allows for tailored interventions and support that address the specific needs of individuals at different points on the spectrum. Psychosis and Dissociation: Psychosis and dissociation can be understood as part of a continuum of trauma responses, where prolonged exposure to trauma overwhelms coping mechanisms. Intergenerational Trauma: The concept of a trauma continuum also extends to the impact of trauma experienced by previous generations, which can have lasting effects on individuals and communities. However, whatever the depth or strength of the elements listed above, the client will always feel their trauma as intense and personal, and the effects as singular to them. All too common types of trauma include childhood abuse (sexual, physical, emotional and neglect), teenage experiences with which the person was unable to cope; physical trauma such as a car crash, a physical fight or assault, a heart attack or injury and relationship abuse such as domestic violence, mental and emotional abuse and controlling behaviour. Post Traumatic Stress (from serving in a war, for example) and cPTS (complex PTS) where a person has experienced a series of traumatic experiences over a longer period, also fall under the heading of Trauma, and although challenging, can be helped with therapy. Sadly many people who have suffered trauma go on experiencing the pain and associated effects for years, compounding the problem. This is how we can get to the stage of believing a statement such as: “Since it happened I’ve been a different person...I used to be...happier, more positive, more capable, more able to cope, but now that just isn’t me” Fortunately, this type of situation is one where Hypnotherapy and its close relative Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) can be of great help. Hypnotherapy allows the therapist to guide the client into a receptive state of being. This may be relaxation, but doesn’t need to be. As long as the client is able to listen to the words spoken by the hypnotherapist it can have considerable effect. The hypnotist may use certain words, phrases, voice tones and physical gestures to communicate with the subconscious (or unconscious) mind as well as the conscious mind. This can lead to an understanding of the situation and eventually a guided resolution, with the hurtful emotions being processed safely, and unlocked from the mind of the client. Once the processing is complete, the old traumatic behaviours and beliefs fall away and can be replaced with more empowering actions, thoughts and values. There is sometimes a fear from the client that they can’t be hypnotised. Often this is down to a misunderstanding of what hypnosis actually feels like. This can stem from watching stage hypnosis where it appears the hypnotist ‘takes over’ the mind of the subject and they become a powerless puppet. In therapy this doesn’t happen, and in fact, there are many people who know it doesn’t happen on stage either, but that is another story. I never worry about a client not being ‘hypnotisable’ as there are other ways to get to the same end. Using NLP techniques we can sit, wide awake, open eyed and go through easy steps that let us safely allow elements of the issue to be exposed and dealt with, small pieces at first, then larger, until everything is released. The fact is, the client does the healing. The therapist is there to facilitate it - asking a certain question, staying quiet when the answer seems hard to find, guiding the client into a slightly new perspective in order that they can ‘try it on’ or ‘try it out’ – and then the client finds the way that they will heal the best, going into their internal world and discovering their own effective way. Some somatic activity can also be helpful, such as breathing or stretching exercises. Where there are other physical issues involved I always recommend getting checked over by a GP beforehand to discount a purely physical reason which may account for any symptoms. Although some counselling (in the form of CBT – Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) is available on the NHS, it is very over subscribed and in my opinion (based on discussions with clients, friends and colleagues) not always effective. I offer CBT in my practice and will use the appropriate parts in tandem with Hypnosis/NLP for the best outcome.  What can you expect in therapy? Well everyone is different but typically we will begin by exploring your story, what has happened, how it is affecting you, which elements are the most troubling and what you would like to be experiencing instead; working to release and process the issues you are carrying can sometimes be upsetting in the short term but like a bad tooth, some short term pain to get it removed is better than the long term pain as it gets worse; it is quite common when going through the process to feel a little destabilised as these elements of your trauma may have begun to feel like parts of your identity- when they are gone, who are you now? It usually doesn’t take long to begin to feel the relief as you rebuild your inner world in better shape, feeling freer, lighter, more in control and more capable overall.
If you are affected by the issues discussed here please remember that I offer a free initial consultation by means of a 15-20 minute phone call which will allow you to ask any questions you may have, to get an idea of how many sessions we may be looking at and for each of us to get a feeling about whether we are right to work together. There is no obligation to book at the end of the call. Please be aware there will be no therapy offered within the call time, just the opportunity to ask questions, explain your concerns and discuss a way forward. Please take a look at my website for further information. Thanks. www.pauleagle.co.uk Paul Eagle. Integrated Psychotherapy. Halesworth, Suffolk, UK and Online.
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