The nature of trauma therapy is more directive than traditional talking therapy. As most trauma survivors experience overwhelming emotions and sensations when revisiting trauma memories.
A more directive approach allows for:
- Safety and Structure: Trauma survivors may experience overwhelming emotions and sensations when revisiting traumatic memories. Directiveness in therapy provides a sense of safety and structure, helping clients feel more secure in navigating their experiences.
- Focus and Clarity: Trauma therapy often involves addressing specific traumatic events and their associated emotions, thoughts, and physical sensations. Directives here help the session to focus on these targeted areas, providing clarity for both the therapist and the client.
- Empowerment: Directives can empower clients by providing them with specific tasks or exercises to address their trauma. This can help clients to feel more in control of their healing process and fosters a sense of agency and self-efficacy.
- Skill Building and Coping Strategies : Therapy often involves teaching clients coping skills and strategies to manage distressing symptoms related to their trauma. Directives can facilitate skill-building by providing opportunities for clients to practice these techniques in-session and apply them outside of therapy.
- Boundaries and Limits: Directiveness can help establish boundaries and limits around the exploration of traumatic material. This is crucial for ensuring that therapy proceeds at a pace that is manageable and safe for clients.
- Time-Limited Interventions: Some trauma therapy modalities, such as Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PET), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), involve structured, time-limited interventions that follow specific protocols. Directives are integral to these modalities as they guide the therapeutic process within the framework of the chosen intervention.
Overall, while directive approaches may not be suitable for all clients or all phases of trauma therapy, they are highly beneficial in providing structure, focus, and support for individuals navigating the complexities of trauma recovery.