While families have traditionally been seen as sources of support and nurturance, they can also pass down deep-rooted wounds from generation to generation. Known as intergenerational trauma, this phenomenon casts a long shadow over family dynamics and shapes how individuals perceive and engage with the world.
Mindfulness Exercises for Anxiety, Depression and Trauma
Studies show that mindful activities scattered throughout one’s day can have an even deeper impact on healing and self-growth than a regular sitting meditation practice. This is because, once a mindful approach is embedded into our regular activities, it is more likely to become our go-to approach to life. We can take meditation off the cushion, so to speak, and into our daily lives. We can start to incorporate mindfulness into our days by learning ways to reach stillness other than traditional meditation. Here are some other ways to achieve a mindful state in your day to day life…
What Is Trauma? How Can I Cope With My Own Trauma?
Trauma itself is highly personal. What one person views as trauma, another might not (and vice versa) or you might have had a similar experience as someone else, but each of you were affected differently. What we know for certain is that while trauma affects all of us differently, experiencing something that is stressful, frightening, or distressing leaves us all with a deep long-lasting wound. So, what can you do to cope with trauma? You might be wondering.
Finding Empowerment After Trauma
Trauma impacts each of us differently, but, on the whole, we often all experience a shift afterwards. We feel helpless, fearful, sad, and maybe even numb. These post-trauma responses make us feel isolated and withdrawn from the world around us and we often feel so disconnected from our old self. We feel like we have lost integral parts of ourselves forever. But, you don’t have to lose yourself or experience the ripple effects of trauma forever. There are ways to empower yourself after trauma!
EMDR Therapy
Oftentimes, challenging or traumatic moments that we have gone through will overwhelm our system which inhibits our brain’s ability to properly process that memory. Ultimately, there is a disconnect between what we actually experienced in that moment and what our brain stored which causes a ‘trauma’ wound. The brain becomes wounded and that wound, has not had the space it needs to heal.
The Number 1 Trauma Treatment: EMDR Explained
Lucky us! Scott Giacomucci, MSS, LSW, CTTS, CET III, trauma specialist, psychodramatist and all around amazing therapist has shared his insights and explained that complicated title: Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, also known as EMDR. The following is a handout Scott put together for his clients to help explain what EMDR is and how it's done:
EMDR: Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
Often, when something traumatic happens, it seems to get locked in the nervous system with the original picture, sounds, thoughts, feelings, etc. Since the experience is locked there, it continues to be triggered whenever a reminder comes up. It can be the basis for a lot of discomfort and sometimes a lot of negative emotions, such as fear and helplessness that we can’t seem to control. These are really the emotions connected with the old experience that are being triggered.
What is EMDR?
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a late-stage, trauma resolution method. Developed in the late 1980's, EMDR currently has more scientific research as a treatment for trauma than any other non-pharmaceutical intervention. Based on empirical evidence as well as thousands of client and clinician testimonials, EMDR has proven an efficacious and rapid method of reprocessing traumatic material.
EMDR appears to assist in processing of traumatic information, resulting in enhanced integration - and a more adaptive perspective of the traumatic material. The utilization of EMDR has been shown to be effective with a variety of conditions including generalized and specific anxieties, panic attacks, PTSD symptoms (such as intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and flashbacks), dissociative disorders, mood disorders and other traumatic experiences. Theoretically, EMDR is about integration - bilateral hemispheric (right/left brain) integration; triune brain (brain stem, limbic system and cerebral cortex) integration; and mind/body integration, but practically, it’s about convincing the mind and body that the traumatic event is, indeed over. EMDR helps to put the past in the past, where it belongs, instead of staying stuck in it (feeling like it is happened all over again in the present-with the same thoughts, emotions and body sensations- that accompanied the event in the past).
The eye movements (or other bilateral stimulation) we use in EMDR seem to unlock the nervous system and allow your brain to process the experience. That may be what is happening in REM, or dream, sleep: The eye movements may be involved in processing the unconscious material. The important thing to remember is that it is your own brain that will be doing the healing and you are the one in charge.
How is EMDR Done? (Parnell, 2006)
- Establishment of Safety and Resources - Safety within the therapeutic relationship and safety within each individual EMDR session. During each EMDR session, your therapist will begin by activating your own internal resources. (S)he will guide you in an imaginal, multisensory imagery exercise designed to activate images, emotions and body sensations of safety, protection, nurture and comfort. Once these images have been activated, the actual trauma reprocessing will begin.
- Activating the Traumatic Memory Network - The therapist will ask a series of questions regarding the traumatic memory. The purpose of these questions (or script) is to activate the entire traumatic memory network.
- Adding Alternating Bilateral Stimulation - Once the entire traumatic memory is activated, the therapist will add alternating bilateral stimulation using:
a) buzzing in your hands by turning on the Theratapper
b) alternating auditory tones via headphones or ear buds
c) moving his/her hands back and forth, so you may visually track the movement
- Reestablishment of Safety - regardless of whether the traumatic material was completely processed or not, the session will end at a pre-set time. Before you leave, you will be stable, embodied, oriented and calm. Depending on you and your therapist’s preferences, this may be accomplished in a variety of ways including, but not limited to re-activating your own internal resources, breathing exercises, prolonged muscle relaxation, etc.
Looking to continue EMDR therapy?
-You might begin by asking your IOP/PHP counselor for a recommended outpatient counselor who is skilled in EMDR.
-At the EMDR International Association website (EMDRIA.org) you can navigate to the “Find a Therapist” tab and search for a certified EMDR therapist in your community.
The current treatment guidelines of the American Psychiatric Association and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies designate EMDR as an effective treatment for post traumatic stress. EMDR was also found effective by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, the United Kingdom Department of Health, the Israeli National Council for Mental Health, and many other international health and governmental agencies.
(Giacomucci 2017)(References: EMDRIA; Linda Curran; Laurel Parnell)
Scott Giacomucci, MSS, LSW, CTTS, CET III is a certified trauma treatment specialist and licensed social worker in Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College where he received his Masters in Social Service (MSS) with a concentration in clinical social work. He facilitates trauma treatment services at Mirmont Treatment Center serving a variety of populations including young adults and emergency responders (veterans, police, fire, etc..) in both individual therapy and group sessions. Scott has a gentle, non-judgmental treatment approach that honors the inherent worth of each individual. He utilizes a blend of treatment modalities including both traditional talk therapy and experiential therapy which have been research-proven as the treatment of choice for treating trauma.
To learn more about Scott Giacomucci and the work he does, you can visit his website at: http://sgiacomucci.com/
Any comments or questions? We'd love to hear from you! Please comment below. For confidential questions, email TiffanySpilove@yahoo.com. If you need help finding an EMDR therapist, please call 610-314-8402, I'd be happy to help.
100% Accurate Trauma & PTSD Symptom Assessment by Expert Scott Giacomucci, MSS, LSW, CTTS, CET III
Scott Giacomucci, MSS, LSW, CTTS, CET III
A colleague and friend of mine, Scott Giacomucci, MSS, LSW, CTTS, CET III has been up to some pretty amazing things in the world of trauma, psychodrama and PTSD healing. He was kind enough to share some information he put together for his clients with us. The following is a handout on Trauma and PTSD. Let us know what you think and if you have any questions in the comment section below:
Trauma and PTSD
by Scott Giacomucci, MSS, LSW, CTTS, CET III
Client: "What's wrong with me?"
Therapist: "Well, given your symptoms, I think you have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."
Client: "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? What are you talking about? Trauma? It doesn't make sense. What trauma did I have? I wasn't in a war or survive a holocaust or anything. I didn't even really get hurt."
This is a typical response following an assessment and diagnosis of this poorly understood disorder. It seems appropriate that this diagnosis - like many other serious medical diagnoses - would be initially met with denial to temporarily protect the person from the reality of his/her own vulnerability. However, in order to effectively treat the condition, the diagnosis eventually needs to be accepted, and in order to accept the diagnosis, one needs to understand it. To this end, I offer the following answers to the two most frequently asked questions: What is trauma? and How bad does it have to be to be traumatic?
What Is Trauma?
According to one of the foremost experts in healing trauma, Dr. Peter Levine,
“Trauma is a basic rupture - loss of connection to ourselves, our families, and the world. The loss, although enormous, is difficult to appreciate because it happens gradually. We adjust to these slight changes, sometimes without taking notice of them at all…although the source of tremendous distress and dysfunction, it (trauma) is not an ailment or a disease, but the by-product of an instinctively instigated, altered state of consciousness. We enter this altered state let us call it "survival mode” when we perceive that our lives are being threatened. If we are overwhelmed by the threat and are unable to successfully defend ourselves, we can become stuck in survival mode. This highly aroused state is designed solely to enable short-term defensive actions; but left untreated over time, it begins to form the symptoms of trauma. These symptoms can invade every aspect of our lives.”
One of the most effective ways to evaluate if you have been traumatized is to answer these simple questions about a significant incident: when you remember the incident, is the memory exactly the same every time? Is the memory unusually fragmented or difficult to recall?
If an answer is yes, then the memory is likely a traumatic one. By no means does one traumatic memory constitute a diagnosis of PTSD; however it does indicate that the traumatic event has been dysfunctionally stored; remains inadequately processed; and continues to cause you distress.
What is a PTSD Diagnosis?
A diagnosis of PTSD is different from most mental-health diagnoses in that it is the only diagnosis that explore and places emphasis on “what happened to you”. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition) offers 4 criteria for a PTSD diagnosis.
1. The first criterion relates to the actual trauma:
Directly experiencing the traumatic event(s)
Witnessing, in person, the event(s) as it occurred to others
Learning that the traumatic event(s) occurred to a close family member or friend
Experiencing repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of the traumatic event(s); this does not apply to exposure through media such as television, movies, or pictures
2. The second criterion involves the persistent re-experiencing of the event in 1 of several ways:
- Thoughts or perception
- Images
- Dreams
- Illusions or hallucinations
- Dissociative flashback episodes
- Psychological distress or reactivity to cues that symbolize some aspect of the event
3. The third criterion involves avoidance of stimuli that are associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness, as determined by the presence of 1 or both of the following:
- Avoidance of thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the event
- Avoidance of people, places, or activities that may trigger recollections of the event
4. The fourth criterion is 2 or more of the following symptoms of negative alterations in cognitions and mood associated with the traumatic event(s):
- Inability to remember an important aspect of the event(s)
- Persistent and exaggerated negative beliefs about oneself, others, or the world
- Persistent, distorted cognitions about the cause or consequences of the event(s)
- Persistent negative emotional state
- Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities
- Feelings of detachment or estrangement from others
- Persistent inability to experience positive emotions
5. The fifth criterion is marked alterations in arousal and reactivity, as evidenced by 2 or more of the following:
- Irritable behavior and angry outbursts
- Reckless or self-destructive behavior
- Hypervigilance
- Exaggerated startle response
- Concentration problems
- Sleep disturbance
6. The duration of symptoms is more than 1 month
7. The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in functioning
8. The disturbance is not attributable to physiological effects of a substance or medical condition
According to Levine,
“The symptoms of trauma may be continually present or they may come and go. They may even surface after being hidden for decades. Usually, symptoms do not occur individually, but in clusters grow increasingly complex over time. Unfortunately, they become less and less connected with the original traumatic experience, making it increasingly difficult to trace the symptoms to their cause, and easier to deny the importance of the traumatic event in one's life. However, if we pay attention to these symptoms, for what they are -internal wake up calls - we can address and begin to heal our trauma.”
Although there are pervasive misconceptions about trauma, PTSD is neither rare nor unusual. But unlike seeking treatment for symptoms related to diabetes or glaucoma, seeking treatment for the symptoms of PTSD is somehow interpreted as a weakness. Although this couldn’t be further from the truth, you may believe it. Maybe even said something like it; Real men don’t ask for help; Trauma couldn't possibly affect a well balanced person, there must be something wrong with me; or the all time favorite, It wasn’t really that bad; I should just get over it.
Don’t you think that if that were an option, you would have done just that?
(reference: DSM5 & Linda Curran)
Scott Giacomucci, MSS, LSW, CTTS, CET III is a certified trauma treatment specialist and licensed social worker in Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College where he received his Masters in Social Service (MSS) with a concentration in clinical social work. He facilitates trauma treatment services at Mirmont Treatment Center serving a variety of populations including young adults and emergency responders (veterans, police, fire, etc..) in both individual therapy and group sessions. Scott has a gentle, non-judgmental treatment approach that honors the inherent worth of each individual. He utilizes a blend of treatment modalities including both traditional talk therapy and experiential therapy which have been research-proven as the treatment of choice for treating trauma.
To learn more about Scott Giacomucci and the work he does, you can visit his website at: http://sgiacomucci.com/