When it comes to clients who come to me for trauma, I use the triphasic trauma model. This model has 3 phases:
- Stabilization Phase: In this phase we are ensuring that the client is able to deal with overwhelming emotions, that may arise in between sessions and certain skills are taught and practiced. In this phase I bring in trauma-informed mindfulness, body-based psychotherapy and breathing and relaxation skills. We also work on some dissociation in this phase, if it is present, using Internal Family Systems and Structural Dissociation Theory.
- Reprocessing Phase: This is the phase where we reprocess memories and I often use a combination of EMDR Therapy, Brainspotting and Internal Family Systems.
- Integration Phase: In this phase we ground the gains made in therapy into real life. This is where I help the client learn new behaviours and teach and practice effective relating and communication skills
Please note that these phases are not linear in nature. We can also stay in phase 1 for the whole duration of the therapy and it can be very effective in stabilizing a client’s symptoms. We can talk more about this on our free phone consultation, if you like.
