Trauma Treatment

Sightseeing can be a tool in a person’s recovery journey. Sightseeing can help by offering a refreshing change of environment and reducing stress. Exploring new places can provide a healthy distraction from cravings and enhance mental health. The physical activity involved in going from one attraction to another also promotes overall health, while the new experiences can boost mood and self-esteem.

Sightseeing also fosters mindfulness and a sense of accomplishment, helping individuals build positive routines and social connections, all supporting long-term sobriety.

Museum visits can also aid recovery by offering a stimulating and serene environment that fosters mindfulness and distraction from cravings. Engaging with art and exhibits can enhance emotional well-being and cognitive focus. 

Visiting museums’ cultural and educational aspects can provide a sense of purpose and enrichment.

Additionally, museum tours’ social interaction and structured activity can build supportive connections and offer a healthy diversion from addictive behaviours.

Golf can help with addiction recovery by providing patients with non-stretching physical activity. This can manage stress and promote relaxation without straining the body.

The focus and concentration required in golf can improve mental clarity and self-control.

Furthermore, golf is played on outdoor courses and spending time outdoors and engaging in a social sport can enhance a person’s mood, build a support network, and foster a sense of accomplishment.

Considering that individuals who struggle with trauma often feel alone and isolated, Group Therapy, a widely accepted intervention for several decades, is beneficial for them as another treatment option. Group therapy provides a nurturing and accepting atmosphere where individuals can safely share or talk about their trauma experiences and validate them. The most important benefit of this intervention is that it lets these individuals know that they are not alone in their trauma journey.

One of the gold standard psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR). It works by recalling and reprocessing traumatic memories while engaging in various bilateral stimulations to reduce the impact or distress associated with them. EMDR therapy sessions are delivered through the following eight distinct phases:

• History-Taking and Treatment Planning: This initial phase starts with a discussion between the individual and the therapist about past trauma and present symptoms. The gathered details will be used to construct a treatment plan and identify treatment goals.
• Preparation: The process of EMDR is discussed during this phase. The therapist also teaches the individual some mindfulness and relaxation techniques to manage distress that may come up during and between sessions.
• Assessment: This is the stage where the individual is assisted by the therapist to recognise the images, feelings, beliefs, and sensations associated with the traumatic memories.
• Desensitisation: During this phase, the therapist begins bilateral stimulation, such as eye movement or tapping, while the individual is simultaneously recalling the traumatic memories. This procedure allows both hemispheres of the brain to communicate with each other and facilitates the processing of disturbing memories.
• Installation: Once the memories are safely processed, the negative beliefs associated with trauma are replaced with positive ones. At this point, the bilateral stimulation is repeated to strengthen the new belief.
• Body Scan: It revolves around recognising the physical tension associated with the traumatic event by scanning the body from head to toe. Any discomfort felt is processed during this phase.
• Closure: At this point, the therapist ensures that the individual is grounded and in a state of calmness before leaving the therapy sessions.
• Reevaluation: Before beginning the succeeding sessions, the therapist re-evaluates the progress made in the previous sessions. If there are remaining traumatic memories that need to be processed and reprocessed, additional treatment will be provided.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is another evidence-based type of therapy that can be used to effectively treat trauma and related conditions. It is a type of CBT that incorporates mindfulness principles and puts a strong emphasis on acceptance and change. Like CBT, this intervention has a strong educational component designed to teach individuals various coping skills. DBT helps individuals with trauma manage intense emotions and impulsive behaviours through the following core four modules:

• Mindfulness: Individuals with trauma often think either in the past, where they feel guilt and regret or in the future, where they feel constantly anxious about threats and dangers. Mindfulness helps them to stay in the present moment and be aware of their thoughts, emotions, behaviours, and sensations.
• Distress Tolerance: When individuals who are traumatised are in distress, they often resort to destructive behaviours such as self-harm, substance use, or self-isolation. This module can be helpful to teach them skills to calm down and manage distress. The therapist may introduce the TIPP strategy, which stands for the acronyms for temperature (T), intense exercise (I), paced breathing (P), and progressive relaxation (P).
• Emotion Regulation: This module focuses on providing skills that allow individuals with trauma to recognise and label their emotions without judging them. They will also learn how these emotions influence their behaviour. Lifestyle strategies that impact mood are also taught, particularly the PLEASE skill, which stands for physical illness treatment (PL), balanced eating (E), avoiding mood-altering substances (A), sleep (S), and exercise (E).
• Interpersonal Effectiveness: This module teaches skills for empowering individuals to set healthy boundaries, work on conflict, make choices, and build healthy relationships. This intervention is beneficial, considering that individuals with trauma often have low self-esteem and poor connections with others.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a talk therapy that has been considered for many years as one of the cornerstone therapies for individuals with trauma. It is a highly structured and goal-driven psychotherapeutic treatment that helps individuals identify and change disturbing thought patterns that affect emotions and behaviours. CBT provides a framework for individuals with trauma to understand the interconnection among their ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. This process allows them to challenge the invasive thoughts of fear and guilt associated with the traumatic event and develop a healthier way of thinking.

In addition, CBT also incorporates many techniques to facilitate behavioural change. It allows individuals with trauma to reduce avoidance behaviours as a reaction to anything that resembles their traumatic experiences. Most of the techniques being used by the CBT therapists to help individuals deal with their trauma include:

• Psychoeducation: The initial session of CBT focuses on educating the individual about the normal reactions to traumatic experiences to help them reduce the guilt and feelings associated with what happened.
• Journaling: Tracking the individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours associated with trauma is essential to determining a cognitive distortion pattern. This process also has a cathartic effect, which allows them to release suppressed emotions stored in the body.
• Cognitive Restructuring: After identifying distorted thoughts, cognitive restructuring begins. The therapist, in collaboration with the individual, challenges those thoughts and replaces them with more positive and healthy ones.
• Exposure Therapy: Individuals with trauma typically avoid disturbing memories associated with the event. The goal of the exposure technique is to help them gradually confront the traumatic experience to recondition their response to triggers and ease distress.
• Coping Skills: Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), and guided imagery are taught as coping mechanisms to deal with stress.