Trauma Integration & EMDR
Trauma results from exposure to an incident or series of events that is emotionally disturbing or life-threatening. Events that may be traumatic include:
Experiencing or observing physical, sexual and emotional abuse;
Childhood neglect;
Having a family member with a mental health or substance use disorder;
Experiencing or witnessing violence in the community or while in the military;
Natural or human-made disasters and forced displacement;
Sudden, unexplained separation from a loved one;
War or terrorism; and
Poverty, discrimination and historical trauma.
Trauma overwhelms a person’s coping capacity and has long-term effects on functioning and well-being. Normal, protective responses to threats (‘fight, flight, freeze, fawn’) are activated by the perception of a threat. A person who has experienced trauma may continue to experience this defensive response, even in situations that are not threatening.
Not all children or adults who are exposed to potentially traumatic events experience long-term health problems. This may be due to protective factors which help shield individuals from the lasting effects of trauma - like parental knowledge of child development; healthy parent-child attachment; social connections; and social and emotional competence.
How can trauma be healed?
Trauma, and recovery from it, is unique to each person. The treatment that works for one person may not help another at all, because everyone has different responses during their recovery. It is important to seek out a therapist who specializes in trauma, who does a comprehensive intake assessment and creates a treatment plan tailored to you.
At Spirit, we offer a trauma-informed approach to your healing as well as more specific trauma treatments through two of our Registered Counselling Therapists, Maxine Roberts and Anita Sablone. Maxine is a Certified Trauma Integration Clinician (CTIC) through ATTCH (www.attch.org) and Anita Sablone is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Both approaches are effective in treating trauma, with EMDR currently being the gold standard approach for trauma and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
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What is EMDR?
It is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal. EMDR is a powerful therapeutic technique that shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma. EMDR helps people process trauma on an emotional level, and has helped sufferers of PTSD heal faster than through traditional therapy, often in as few as six to twelve sessions.
EMDR uses bilateral (both sides of the body) stimuli to tap into the biological mechanisms the brain uses during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. The theory is that using REM while recalling the disturbing thoughts or memories of the trauma helps the brain process it naturally, allowing the mind to heal. For more info: www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/
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What does it mean to be a Certified EMDR Therapist?
Once a therapist has completed an EMDR Training, they are considered an EMDR-trained clinician. EMDR Certification, however, requires additional levels of continuing education and consultation in EMDR and is a separate, voluntary process.
To become a Certified EMDR therapist, a therapist must complete a Basic EMDR program, engage in 20 hours of one-on-one or small group supervision with an EMDR Consultant and attest to practicing EMDR for two years (i.e., at least 50 EMDR sessions with at least 25 clients). They must also complete additional EMDR specific training and submit letters of recommendation to support their application. After this process has been completed, a therapist is considered a Certified EMDR Therapist.
Anita Sablone, owner of Spirit and a Registered Counselling Therapist, is nearing completion of her full Certification as an EMDR Therapist (expected mid 2023).
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What about children and trauma?
Trauma at any age affects a person’s health, both mentally and physically. Children, however, are especially vulnerable to the effects of trauma. Before age five, positive experiences can lead to healthy brain development, while negative experiences can promote unhealthy development. Prolonged trauma can actually decrease the volume of areas of the brain responsible for cognitive functions such as short-term memory, emotional regulation and higher cognitive functions - affecting well-being and functioning at home and school, and with friends.
Left untreated, children with trauma exposure often develop coping mechanisms to help alleviate the hurt they feel as a result of the trauma. Sometimes, these strategies evolve into unhealthy behaviours like poor eating habits, overeating, or tobacco, drug and/or alcohol abuse. When it goes untreated, these coping mechanisms can contribute to anxiety, social isolation or chronic diseases.
Children can also benefit from EMDR as well. Please refer to the page EMDR for Children & Teens for more information.