I have an immense passion for normalizing mental health and wellness, and reducing the stigma that is often associated. Additionally, I am a huge advocate of encouraging self-compassion and love throughout one's mental health and wellness journey. While participating on my own adventure of personal growth, I became inspired to research, write, and share information with all of you. Life can be hard- please know you are not alone!
Read more below!
Preconditions to Couples Therapy
Before we can think about getting closer with our partner, we need to consider if there is untreated mental health concerns, self-medication or Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) present (Real, 2018).
Couples therapy is contraindicated by these concerns. We can imagine how difficult it would be to have respectful, meaningful conversations that impact change if we are not safe and able to focus in our relationships.
Trauma-Informed Care (TIC)
This blog post aims to help readers understand the terms “trauma-informed” or “trauma-informed care” (TIC), terms frequently used in the world of therapy. Although these terms are common, they are not regulated or protected, meaning anyone can claim to be trauma-informed. This post will assist clients in choosing a mental health professional who truly offers TIC.
An educated trauma informed therapist offers safety, evidence based treatment, empowerment, and a strengths-based approach to their clients. This approach includes a collaborative journey of resilience, healing, and the promotion of reconnection and integration. One who offers TIC assumes the client has likely experienced trauma (often under reported and recognized), which impacts how they are served (Engle, 2023).
How Often Should I Attend Therapy?
Session attendance is greatly impacted by external factors such as insurance coverage, finances, childcare, work schedules, and stability of environment, which must be considered. As such, I always advise clients that they should decide what works best for them-weekly, monthly, or otherwise.
If you are wondering what the research says- higher session frequency results in quicker recovery (Ereksen et al., 2015). It has also been found that the time between sessions impact treatment outcome MORE than consistency of sessions (Gutner et al., 2016). Overall, faster improvement and recovery is associated with higher session frequency, particularly in the first 3 months of treatment (Schleider et al., 2021).
In closing, rest assured that while attending sessions more frequently has shown higher efficiency, your finances, scheduling, work/home stability, etc... do need to be considered. Life happens, and could impact your initial plans for therapy. Stay in communication with your counsellor and let them know how they can best support you.
The Stages of Trauma Recovery
1) Safety and Stabilization
This stage is about understanding and overcoming dysregulation. We will learn how symptoms present, begin to understand traumatic reminders, triggered experiences, and cognitive distortions (Janet & Herman, as cited by Fisher, n.d.).
2) Processing
In order to metabolize trauma, evidence based treatments should be utilized. The client must have the ability to stay in their window of tolerance for processing to be effective-otherwise they may become overwhelmed or attempt to avoid the pain, memories, and flashbacks (Janet & Herman, as cited by Fisher, n.d.).