Bringing up PTSD in Therapy
Hello all,
7 cups has served me well over the last year. I'm so happy to return & to be a part of this community.
So, within the last 3 months my therapist has been bringing up trauma(I've been seeing her for about 9 months). Thankfully I have finally been able to address the ptsd comfortably with her(I've ditched 2 therapist in the last 1.5 b/c I didn't feel comfortable talking about it with them).
The issue that arises: Sometimes when in session with her there are dull moments(to be expected) and that's when she wants to lightly tread on the ptsd topic. Because we do have the time during these moments, we should! Other times I have different topics I need/want to address and don't touch on ptsd at all (totally fine with me, ebs and flows). BUT I just can't get into it when she wants to bring it up. I shut down completely & say "not right now". Well, that's not therapeutic. I'm there for a reason, and it's not to run from the issues just because I don't feel like bringing it up. not every moment will be the perfect moment, but I know it'll help me in the long run if I follow her lead.
Also, I have brought it up quite a few times with her and it went fairly well. It's easier for me to bring it up, and she knows this. I just want to be able to use the therapeutic space appropriately and not shut down--wasting the session and our time. She's very easy to talk to and approach, VERY professional, extremely caring, and certainly knows how to do her job. I could go on and on. I'm STUCK.
Any recommendations/tips/advice to help me open up when my therapist prompts PTSD talk is welcome!!
Thank you all <3
@SarAnn
Hi SarAnn ... I have PTSD issues too and my counselor sometimes brings it up when I'm not prepared/ready for it. Let me think some on this and see what advice/counsel I can offer you, ok? I just wanted to reply and let you know first that you're not alone in this. ~ Platy
Listeners @KristenHR or @Lee may have some ideas, so tagging them too....
@cyanPlatypus6370
Thank you so very much for replying! I look forward to hearing back from you =)
@SarAnn ... Dear SarAnn, so sorry! I haven't gotten back to you. I've not forgotten, I just don't know what to say :( It's just a hard thing to bring up. How are you doing? Are you still going to therapy? Figured out a way to talk about this yet?
Do let me know. I hope you are well :) ~ Platy
@SarAnn,
When my therapist wanted to bring it up she would mention it and instead of going straight to the subject we would first spend a little time on a grounding technique, a mindfullness exercise, or anything else that would help me find a bit of calm or sense of safety first. It made it slightly less threatening at times (not always). there will always be times you just can't do it. and I was always allowed to back out at anytime. I was still nervous and uncomfortable in the moment of having to open up, but i felt as if I always had an escape. After spending time on the subjects we would end the session with another calming exercise.
@SarAnn Has your therapist spent any time with you building on safety techniques that could help you within the therapy? In order to feel safe addressing or approaching more difficult issues, it can help that a therapist has worked with you on grounding techniques to help you cope when your levels of fear and anxiety begin to build or in times when you may be trigger or overwhelmed. For the client, just having reassurance that they can cope, that nothing terrible is going to happen, that you survived the first time around, and you can survive this time when sharing helps enormously. Therapists can also help teach a client breathing exercises not only to help control any fear or panic but to also keep you in the here and now, or within what is known as a window of tolerance. Other methods some therapists try is to visualisation exercises, such as building an image of a safe space or safe room, external sensory focus exercises - which can be used when clients shut down or dissociate. it may well be worth seeing if this is something if you felt it would help you, to speak with your therapist about building on these. It may be worth taking a look through the forums to have a look at posts about coping with flashbacks and grounding exercises etc. Good luck
