What kind of treatment/therapy for immense trauma?

[Anonymous]

Extreme and overlapping traumas here, OP. My heart goes out to you. After struggling for years and things getting bleak at points ketamine infusions literally changed my life. I do ongoing healing work with plant medicines.

I live in a different state where there are legal. I’d look around and see if you can fine a provider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone found something that worked for immense trauma? 3/4 of my family of origin suffered from addiction and died in my childhood/20’s (parents + sibling). I’ve really struggled with talk therapy because there is just not enough time to get through the family history and I haven’t found a therapist that can really even remember the details because there is so much going on in my family of origin.

I’m 40, happily married since age 30, two wonderful children (elementary school aged), financially stable, have a great group of friends BUT I deal with debilitating general anxiety/low self esteem from the abuse of a parent and the sudden deaths. Is there another kind of therapy or even alternative treatment that would be a good fit for me? I’ve heard of ketamine treatments? Any advice would be appreciated!!

Have you considered journaling to see if you can find a way to communicate the necessary information in an organized and concise form? Writing might help you organize your thoughts or maybe you could even give it as a cheat sheet to a counselor. Maybe a timeline of the important events? A list of the important people? It might also help you prioritize what's bothering you the most and need help processing. Sometimes it helps to put it in writing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone found something that worked for immense trauma? 3/4 of my family of origin suffered from addiction and died in my childhood/20’s (parents + sibling). I’ve really struggled with talk therapy because there is just not enough time to get through the family history and I haven’t found a therapist that can really even remember the details because there is so much going on in my family of origin.

I’m 40, happily married since age 30, two wonderful children (elementary school aged), financially stable, have a great group of friends BUT I deal with debilitating general anxiety/low self esteem from the abuse of a parent and the sudden deaths. Is there another kind of therapy or even alternative treatment that would be a good fit for me? I’ve heard of ketamine treatments? Any advice would be appreciated!!

Have you considered journaling to see if you can find a way to communicate the necessary information in an organized and concise form? Writing might help you organize your thoughts or maybe you could even give it as a cheat sheet to a counselor. Maybe a timeline of the important events? A list of the important people? It might also help you prioritize what's bothering you the most and need help processing. Sometimes it helps to put it in writing.

No. Trauma therapy doesn’t require rehashing the details at all. That’s re-traumatizing. “Processing” a bad breakup is much different from dealing with severe trauma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone found something that worked for immense trauma? 3/4 of my family of origin suffered from addiction and died in my childhood/20’s (parents + sibling). I’ve really struggled with talk therapy because there is just not enough time to get through the family history and I haven’t found a therapist that can really even remember the details because there is so much going on in my family of origin.

I’m 40, happily married since age 30, two wonderful children (elementary school aged), financially stable, have a great group of friends BUT I deal with debilitating general anxiety/low self esteem from the abuse of a parent and the sudden deaths. Is there another kind of therapy or even alternative treatment that would be a good fit for me? I’ve heard of ketamine treatments? Any advice would be appreciated!!

Have you considered journaling to see if you can find a way to communicate the necessary information in an organized and concise form? Writing might help you organize your thoughts or maybe you could even give it as a cheat sheet to a counselor. Maybe a timeline of the important events? A list of the important people? It might also help you prioritize what's bothering you the most and need help processing. Sometimes it helps to put it in writing.

No. Trauma therapy doesn’t require rehashing the details at all. That’s re-traumatizing. “Processing” a bad breakup is much different from dealing with severe trauma.

There's no one magic bullet. From her post, OP expressed frustration with not feeling heard and not feeling like she was able to communicate what she'd been through. It was just one of many suggestions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone found something that worked for immense trauma? 3/4 of my family of origin suffered from addiction and died in my childhood/20’s (parents + sibling). I’ve really struggled with talk therapy because there is just not enough time to get through the family history and I haven’t found a therapist that can really even remember the details because there is so much going on in my family of origin.

I’m 40, happily married since age 30, two wonderful children (elementary school aged), financially stable, have a great group of friends BUT I deal with debilitating general anxiety/low self esteem from the abuse of a parent and the sudden deaths. Is there another kind of therapy or even alternative treatment that would be a good fit for me? I’ve heard of ketamine treatments? Any advice would be appreciated!!

You would probably be a good candidate for a plant medicine that was in the news last year. You would skip talk therapy but you need a good trusted guide.

[Anonymous]

DBT with Judy but you must commit to the whole program.

https://www.dbtmaryland.com/

Couples with EMDR when Judy thinks it’s appropriate.

Talk therapy is not good for trauma

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say first DBT therapy followed by EMDR. I’m a therapist trained on both.

Curious why you would recommend DBT? OP says the primary symptom is anxiety and depression, not lack of emotional regulation/self-harm. What is the evidence on DBT and trauma?

DBT is about emotional regulation and mindfulness. It is skills based, not about history or psychoanalysis. It would be perfect for OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:EMDR is great for treating trauma. It might still take some time, and a therapist might still need background info, but it’s been very helpful for many people that I know.

NP and echo above except that I’ve successfully received intensive EMDR therapy and it was truly lifesaving for me. I’m also a childhood trauma survivor and one night in desperation found a thread right here on EMDR and the next day, I booked an appointment with a therapist.

Happy to come back to answer any questions about this therapy, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up with a lot of violence, addicition and suicide in my immediate family. For me, I found relationship counseling far more helpful in dealing with my issues than individual counseling. A a PP noted, individual counseling resulted in me re-living a lot of the trauma and it was horrible. Maybe it was the counselors I was working with but, unlike with relationship counseling, I never felt i was making progress or moving forward even when I asked for exercises, techniques, etc. It was just rehashing the worst moments of my life.

There was a period that I took an SSRI for 9 months and it was far more helpful than therapy ever was. It was NOT during a time I'd been triggered but when my DH was 2 years into a major depressive episode. I was burned out, had no resiliency and that SSRI took a lot of the emotional regulation load off me. I don't know how it works but it eased the burden I was carrying. That was about 15 years ago.

I'm now nearly 60 and post-menopausal. About 3 years ago, the PTSD flared and I started having nightmares again. Just last October, I went to a new OB/GYN to see about HRT. I'm not a candidate but she did suggest I take an SSRI again because the data indicates that post menopausal women often develop anxiety. I'm on a low dose and it's been amazing! I had no idea how much anxiety I'd developed. I feel so much more like my old self and haven't 'wallowed' in my trauma since starting it. KWIM? HTH

Sorry, off topic but why were you not a candidate for HRT?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have tried talk therapy twice, and both times made it worse and not better. I would never go again after the last one told me I should never have children or get married (I got married right after that, had a kid a few years later, and have been way happier than I was then - going on 15 years now). I think the problem is that trauma experienced growing up becomes a part of you - it's not just something that bothers me, it's a part of my identity, and therefore I can't ever get rid of it or get over it, because it's not like I have to think about it for it to affect me. I don't think therapists understand that.

I also had a bad experience where over years it felt like I was stuck in a hole and the therapist was giving me a shovel instead of a ladder

[Anonymous]

I don't really have advice. But I did read an excellent book about a woman dealing with complex trauma from childhood. I don't know if that's helpful, but she tried many things before finding a therapy that worked for her. She's a journalist you may have heard on NPR.

https://www.amazon.com/What-My-Bones-Know-Healing/dp/0593238109

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone found something that worked for immense trauma? 3/4 of my family of origin suffered from addiction and died in my childhood/20’s (parents + sibling). I’ve really struggled with talk therapy because there is just not enough time to get through the family history and I haven’t found a therapist that can really even remember the details because there is so much going on in my family of origin.

I’m 40, happily married since age 30, two wonderful children (elementary school aged), financially stable, have a great group of friends BUT I deal with debilitating general anxiety/low self esteem from the abuse of a parent and the sudden deaths. Is there another kind of therapy or even alternative treatment that would be a good fit for me? I’ve heard of ketamine treatments? Any advice would be appreciated!!

They don’t need to know or remember every last detail to be able to help you move beyond where you are. You can relay enough information for them to understand and help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say first DBT therapy followed by EMDR. I’m a therapist trained on both.

Curious why you would recommend DBT? OP says the primary symptom is anxiety and depression, not lack of emotional regulation/self-harm. What is the evidence on DBT and trauma?

DBT is about emotional regulation and mindfulness. It is skills based, not about history or psychoanalysis. It would be perfect for OP.

But OP didn’t say she had problems with emotional regulation, and mindfulness is not actually always helpful for some mental health conditions.

[Anonymous]

I just started doing what I think is called "Trauma-informed CBT" It's very different than any other therapy and I can say, it's worth finding a real trauma therapist. Hard but worth it.

[Anonymous]

Ketamine and EMDR