Feeling Stuck in Talk Therapy? Explore These 4 Trauma Treatments to Accelerate your Healing
Written by Mollie Volinsky LCSW
Talk therapy has long been a cornerstone of mental health treatment. Its roots date back to Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis, and it has evolved into various forms, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, and humanistic therapy. While talk therapy can be incredibly beneficial for many individuals, it is not without its limitations. These limitations are particularly evident when it comes to treating trauma. We store our traumas, emotions, and perceptions of the world in the right hemisphere of our brain. This hemisphere is non-verbal, therefore, there is only so much recovery that can be done through talking alone. This is where more holistic treatments involving mind, body, and soul are crucial. This blog will explore 4 different holistic treatments that we offer at Juniper Therapeutic Services to help you finally break through your mental health plateau.
1.) Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
EMDR is a form of psychotherapy designed to help individuals process and recover from traumatic experiences, negative core beliefs, and chronic pain. Developed by Francine Shapiro in the late 1980s, EMDR involves an approach where the therapist guides the client through recalling traumatic events while simultaneously moving their eyes back and forth. This bilateral stimulation is believed to facilitate the brain's natural healing processes, allowing individuals to reprocess traumatic memories in a way that reduces their emotional impact and helps integrate them into a more adaptive perspective. This is akin to REM sleep. EMDR has been extensively researched and is recognized as an effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related conditions. A client will often experience relief in a fraction of the time of traditional talk therapy.
2.) Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a therapeutic approach that views the mind as composed of multiple distinct "parts," each with its own perspectives, memories, and roles. Developed by Dr. Richard C. Schwartz in the 1980s, IFS posits that these parts interact within an individual's internal system, often in conflict, but can be harmonized through self-awareness and therapeutic intervention. Central to IFS is the concept of the "Self," an innate core of calm, compassion, and clarity that can lead the internal system when parts are in distress. The goal of IFS therapy is to help individuals identify and understand their different parts, heal wounded or extreme parts, and restore the Self to its natural leadership role. This process aims to foster inner harmony and resolve internal conflicts, promoting overall emotional well-being and personal growth.
3.) Transpersonal Therapy
Transpersonal Therapy explores the transcendent or spiritual dimensions of the human experience. Rooted in the works of thinkers like Abraham Maslow and Carl Jung, transpersonal therapy integrates elements of traditional psychology with spiritual practices and insights from various religious and philosophical traditions. It focuses on the potential for personal growth beyond the ego, emphasizing experiences of interconnectedness, higher states of consciousness, and the pursuit of meaning and purpose in life. By addressing the whole person—including mind, body, and spirit—transpersonal psychology aims to facilitate profound personal transformation, foster a sense of unity with the universe, and promote holistic well-being. This approach is often used in therapy to help individuals explore their inner depths and achieve a greater understanding of their place in the world.
4.) Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP)
KAP is an innovative treatment modality that combines the administration of ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic, with psychotherapeutic support to address various mental health conditions. Biologically, the current and most probable understanding of ketamine's mode of action is as an NMDA agonist working through the glutamate neurotransmitter system. This is a different pathway than that of the other psychedelic drugs, such as SSRIs, SNRIs, antipsychotics, and benzodiazepines, etc.
Psychologically, ketamine puts one into a non-ordinary state of consciousness, which allows for interference in our Default Mode Network—the nerural pathways responsible for our core identities and negative beliefs about ourselves. It's also been found to stimulate the growth of new synapses in our brain, a phenomenon called neuroplasticity, which is responsible for creating new thoughts and insights.
Talk therapy lays a great foundation for self-awareness, connection, and learning coping skills. However, it can be a major time investment, taking many months and even years to see progress. If you would like to rewire your brain, shift perspectives, and gain profound insight in a shorter time span, then holistic therapies should be used. These can include EMDR, IFS, Transpersonal Therapy and KAP, to name a few. Somatic therapy, mindfulness, and music therapy are, also, great avenues. Remember that you are not alone if you’re feeling stuck or hopeless with your mental health and that there are many routes to explore. Here’s to the journey!
