Caring for someone with PTSD can sometimes lead to secondary trauma. And researchers at the University of Utah wondered just how bad that secondary trauma could be. While completing her graduate studies, Catherine Caska Wallace, PhD and her research team studied two groups of male veterans, along with their female partners. In 32 couples, the […]
How to Help Clients Build Resilience after Trauma
How can we foster resilience in clients who have experienced trauma? A person’s response to trauma is often to lock away the parts that were wounded by their experience. But that can leave them feeling protective and fragile – and fearful about being triggered again. In the video below, Richard Schwartz, PhD shows how working […]
Two Simple Techniques That Can Help Trauma Patients Feel Safe
One of trauma’s most insidious effects is how radically and completely it can take away someone’s sense of safety. That’s why it’s crucial to create a safe space when working with patients who have experienced trauma. But that’s only part of the equation. According to Peter Levine, PhD, there’s a very important follow-up step – […]
Could Yoga Hold the Key to Healing a Patient’s Trauma?
Approximately 10 million women in America have been physically assaulted at some time in their life. Yes, that’s a sobering statistic. But the far-reaching effects of violence against women are even darker. Over a third of these survivors experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with increased rates of depression, obesity and heart disease. So how do we […]
Polyvagal Theory in Action – How Heart Rate Figures Into Trauma Treatments
How can the body become a resource for a patient who’s experienced trauma? Polyvagal Theory helps us answer this question by explaining how people process their environment and how the body regulates itself in the face of stress and trauma. Watch the video below as Stephen Porges, PhD shares one way to apply Polyvagal Theory […]