To be trauma-informed is to acknowledge the way someone is managing their trauma often manifests in their daily life and therapy itself. For example, being in chronic or acute states of flight/fight/freeze impacts our ability to concentrate, remain on task, and retain information. A trauma-informed therapist understands an individual may need additional and creative interventions to integrate new skills into their daily life. In session, they collaboratively develop enticing and empowering ways to do so. 

 

In addition to creating a safe environment, the therapist is highly attuned to the presence of the trauma and ways of coping with it that often show up in therapy.  Polyvagal theory specifically explains how trauma impacts our bodies and influences our ability to manage or healthily react to daily stressors. In treatment, specific skills and approaches are incorporated to increase resiliency, develop a positive relationship and connection to one's body (e.g., embodiment), reduce overall physiological arousal (e.g., danger response in the body) and regulate the nervous system so the client can independently move out of fight/flight/freeze with increasing ease. It's about learning how to live a fulfilling life in the body we have and retraining the body's response so we develop the sense of safety that may have been missing for months, years, or decades.