It’s not uncommon for people to avoid discussing topics that are painful, terrifying, or even humiliating. There is often a perceived risk of breaking down as a result of discussing traumatic experiences and never being able to pick yourself back up. Many women believe that they shouldn’t discuss it for fear of being judged or because no one else will understand what they’ve gone through. So why is it important to learn how to talk about trauma and therapy?
Why Talk About Trauma
Trauma is never a neat, organized situation. It isn’t something that you can quickly clean up or overcome. It’s chaotic, and those who have struggled with trauma might find that from time to time, they actually want to talk about it, but they don’t know how.
This means women, in particular, are less likely to start just when they need to the most.
What makes this worse is that not talking about trauma disrupts the natural healing process, and that leads to ongoing mental health troubles like PTSD and the risk of addiction. At its core, PTSD causes those same people to avoid anything that might remind them of their trauma, including talking about it in therapy.
Learning How to Talk About Trauma in Therapy
Many women hesitate because they know that talking about trauma in therapy runs a serious risk; the way people respond can play a role in how you are able to move forward or if you are able to move forward at all.
If you are met with things like denial, criticism, or blame, that can disrupt your ability to heal, a frightening prospect.
However, the opposite is true: the healing process requires that you talk through the trauma and that you do so with other people.
When you learn how to talk about trauma in therapy, you open yourself up to responses of belief and support and the potential to heal.
Learning how to talk about trauma in therapy can offer several benefits:
Supporting
The first is that you get support no matter the type of trauma you’ve been through. Today, we know that over half of Americans have experienced at least one trauma, which means that you are certainly not alone in what you’ve experienced. However, talking to a friend or a sibling, even a spouse, may not give you the type of support you need because those people, though well-intentioned, are uncomfortable with your discomfort, and they don’t know what to say, so they revert to things like platitudes.
A therapist, however, offers support in a more structured and significant way. A therapist isn’t there to blame you or try to explain something away. A therapist understands that sometimes it’s a dangerous world, and bad things happen not because you did something wrong, you were in the wrong place, or you weren’t a good enough person, but because the world is dangerous.
Talking about your trauma in therapy with a therapist or a group setting actually creates a sense of belonging and overcomes the stigma and shame traditionally associated with trauma. You can find validation by seeing other people discuss what they’ve been through, empathizing with them, or even talking to them about your situation.
Processing
The second is an opportunity to process your trauma. Again, trauma is never organized. It’s a mess of unspeakable and unexplainable things. However, learning how to talk about trauma in therapy gives you a chance to start processing that mess that you might be dealing with internally and to realize that while your life before your trauma was very likely a different life than after your trauma, you are more than that event.
How to Talk About Trauma in Therapy with Casa Serena
When you reach out to Casa Serena Treatment Programs For Women, you can start your recovery at our PTSD treatment center for women. We have provided the local community with residential and outpatient levels of care for over 65 years.
As a trauma-informed organization, we know that women don’t abuse drugs for no reason but rather that at the heart of every addict is an unmet need or an unresolved trauma. Just minutes from the beach, our women-supporting-women programs include:
- Family therapy
- Mental wellness programs
- Career counseling
- DBT immersion
- Body-Mind balance program
- Garden therapy
- Tai Chi
In all that we offer, we approach care from the standpoint of avoiding re-traumatization, helping avoid potential triggers. Our goal is to keep all of our clients safe, loved, seen, and heard. We love our clients until they learn to love themselves no matter the trauma of the past.
Ready to start your program? Call (805) 966-1260.