Therapy for Trauma to Facilitate Healing and Self-Understanding
Our Belief
Trauma responses reflect a person’s survival instincts. Rather than pathology, these trauma responses signal the mechanisms naturally developed under traumatic circumstances to survive using the resources and information available at the time.
We believe the foundation of trauma work is in restoring safety, starting with a therapeutic relationship.
When a person experiences trauma, their sense of safety in the world is significantly destabilised. As such, there needs to be a sense of physical, emotional, and relational safety restored to support meaningful processing. Healing may not happen from engaging in techniques alone, but from being seen, believed, and respected in a therapeutic relationship.
At The Connection Ground, we provide a safe space for you to heal from trauma and live well with relevant resources and support in place.
Our approach to trauma begins with getting to know you as an individual
Some of us have developed coping mechanisms that were helpful for us at a point in time, but stopped serving us well later in life, as our circumstances have changed. There may have been a time when these coping mechanisms were useful or perhaps even necessary for survival, such as becoming aggressive or closing ourselves off from people who once threatened our physical or emotional safety.
Your coping mechanisms show how you have adapted to an impactful life event and have been programmed to engage in protective reflexes of your own to reduce the possibility of experiencing a similar impact in the future. While this keeps you safe, you may find it hard to relax, even in environments where no threat may be present. You may also keep a distance from people who may not be harmful or may genuinely care about you. A person who has experienced relational trauma may find it hard to build trust and closeness in other interpersonal relationships.
When Might Therapy for Trauma Be Helpful?
Psychological therapy for trauma may be helpful if you often experience:
Flashbacks or nightmares relating to the traumatic event(s)
Hypervigilance or anxiety/panic attacks
Avoidance due to fear or discomfort
Emotional numbness
Detachment or dissociation
Strong feelings of shame or guilt
Difficulties regulating emotions leading to heightened reactions
Persistent difficulties in relationships
Trauma occurs when an event exceeds an individual’s capacity to cope, and the effects of trauma following an impactful event can materialise in the same way, where the person continues to feel traumatised in the background and face challenges with coping in their present life.
Recovery from trauma does not mean forgetting about what happened, but first understanding what the individual may have internalised from the trauma. In therapy, we make meaning from a person’s experiences and work together to find ways to integrate new and more balanced information into the present that could be more helpful. This will support a person with restoring a sense of safety and self-confidence to move forward and live well.
Our Therapeutic Approach
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an evidence-based, trauma-informed therapy that understands trauma symptoms as the result of different parts of the self trying to cope with overwhelming experiences. Rather than pathologising these responses, IFS helps clients build a compassionate relationship with their internal world and gently heal wounded parts at a pace that feels safe.
IFS therapy for trauma works with protective responses such as avoidance, hypervigilance, numbness, or self-criticism, as well as strengthens access to the core Self, associated with inner resources such as calm, clarity, curiosity, compassion, creativity, connectedness, courage, and confidence.
Schema Therapy
Schema Therapy is an integrative, evidence-based approach for trauma and long-standing emotional patterns that develop from early life experiences. These schemas can shape how individuals see themselves, others, and the world, often leading to repeated distress in relationships and daily life.
Schema therapy for trauma identifies and works with deeply ingrained patterns linked to unmet emotional needs, helps clients understand how past experiences influence current coping styles and reactions, and supports the development of healthier emotional regulation, self-compassion, and relational boundaries.
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF- CBT)
This is an evidence-based therapy that:
Delves into the cognitive, behavioural, physical, and affective aspects of a person’s experiencing, and how to move forward in consolidation of these areas
Acknowledges and deepens the understanding of trauma and its impact
Collaborates on finding meaning from the event in a way that is clarifying and comprehensive while also healing in the process
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is a substantiated treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that draws on bilateral stimulation to facilitate processing of a traumatic event they experienced.
The aim of EMDR is to strengthen their internal resources as well as reduce the intensity of the client’s memory of their past trauma, including thoughts and feelings relating to the event, to become a more neutral memory of the past.
The Therapy Process
Trauma is not solely defined by what happened, but by how the individual has experienced intense feelings from the event as it happened, and after it. Two persons can experience different internal and external changes from the same event. As such, we may ask questions about how you coped during a traumatic period, how you are coping now, and how the effects of trauma may still be present in your daily life (such as on your level of functioning, or interpersonal relationships).
We will also initiate a conversation on your desired outcomes from engaging with trauma work so we can collaborate on designing a therapeutic plan that supports you with meeting your goals every step of the way. Over the course of therapy, we will explore and harness your strengths and discuss other new resources we can co-develop, drawing on a combination of evidence-based practices and your experience and self-knowledge.
A trauma survivor can live a full and productive life without ever processing the trauma, but it is harder to have such a life without first attaining a level of stability. As such, in prioritising our clients’ safety and wellness, we believe in equipping clients with the ability to ground and re-centre oneself, so they can restore a sense of calm within themselves when encountering a trigger. The subsequent phases in therapy would involve reprocessing and reappraisal of the traumatic event(s), although it is possible for a person to manage their trauma symptoms and meet their therapeutic goals without going into the details of their trauma in therapy.
The final part of therapy when working with trauma usually includes consolidating strategies and insights gathered over the course of therapy, to maximise a person’s potential to live well and look after themselves in the event of setbacks after therapy.
Inclusive & Affirming Therapy for Trauma
We recognise that trauma and a person’s experience of trauma can exist within broader social, cultural, and systemic contexts. Therapy at The Connection Ground is:
Affirming of LGBTQIA+ identities and relationships
Inclusive of polycule and consensually non-monogamous structures
Sensitive to cultural background, family expectations, and minority stress
Trauma-informed and non-pathologising
The goal is not to erase the feelings or minimise impactful experiences that have happened, but to support individuals in understanding the layers behind the traumatic event(s) and deepen an understanding of the difficult thoughts and feelings associated with trauma. This will facilitate moving through the trauma in a way that is helpful, honours the individual’s true experiences, and plan for actions that align with their authentic self.
Moving Forward Together
There is no “right” or “wrong” way to manage the impact of your trauma. You are doing what you can, with the resources that you have. You are the only person who has lived through the life you have, and are the expert on which strategies may work better for you, and which may require further tailoring to meet your needs.
Having a therapeutic relationship grounded in care and competence can highlight areas or blindspots that may warrant helpful exploration that can deepen the therapeutic process and facilitate healing. Therapy with us would embody consistency and openness, where we will welcome your input to guide us with facilitating therapy that supports you with what you need, every step of the way.
If you are considering therapy to address traumatic events you have experienced, please reach out to us for an initial discussion. This will be an opportunity to see if the therapy we offer feels like a good fit.