The problem with “aha”moments for trauma therapists

There is a seductive trap in therapy that catches even the most experienced clinicians.

It is the moment your client looks at you with wide eyes and says...

"Oh my god. I finally understand why I do that."

They connect the dots. They see the pattern. You both feel a rush of relief because it feels like a breakthrough.

But then... next week happens.

And they do the exact same thing again.

The "Aha!" moment didn't change the behavior. It just gave them a more sophisticated way to explain why they are stuck.

If you rely on the old medical model... you might label this as "non-compliant" or "resistant." You might think the client is sabotaging the work.

But if you look through the lens of Character Strategies... you see something completely different.

You see that their "Insight" is actually a survival mechanism.

In the workshop next week, we are going to talk about the Insight Barrier and how it shows up in different Character Strategies:

• Sensitive/Withdrawn

• Dependent/Endearing

• Tough/Generous

• Charming/Seductive

• Burdened/Enduring

• Industrious/Over-focused

• Expressive/Clinging

They aren't lying to you.

They are using the only tools they have to survive an environment that once felt impossible.

We are taught in school to diagnose symptoms. We are taught to treat pathology.

But nobody teaches us how to look at the human being sitting in front of us and understand how they organized their experience to survive.

When we try to force "change" before we honor the strategy... we are threatening their safety.

And that is why they loop.

If you want to stop spinning your wheels with "smart" clients who never change... you have to stop treating the symptom and start working with the Character Strategy.

You have to help them find safety outside of their intellect.

That is what we are doing next week with my clients in the trauma training program.

I am going to show them how to identify the Insight Barrier in each of these 5 strategies... and how they can gently dismantle it using specific somatic interventions (JOOTS) that respect the client's survival intelligence.

And for the first time… you can join us

We are going to move beyond "symptom management" and get to the root of how your clients are organized.

LINK to purchase recording here : Working with Treatment Barriers And Character Strategies with Advanced Somatic Skills

Esther

P.S. We are also going to cover the Response Barrier.

This is where the client wants to move but physically can't. It looks like laziness... but it is actually a biological freeze. Once you see it through the lens of Character Strategy, you will never judge a "stuck" client the same way again.

Sign up for Recording here: Working with Treatment Barriers And Character Strategies with Advanced Somatic Skills