Trauma healing is invisible (until it isn't)
One of the biggest reasons trauma clients quit therapy is simple.
They think nothing is happening.
Complex trauma isn't like a broken leg. You don't just wake up one day, take off the cast, and go for a run.
The shifts are subtle.
They happen in layers.
They're procedural... meaning they happen deep in the nervous system before they ever reach conscious thought.
If you don't give your client the language to see these shifts... they'll eventually decide therapy isn't working and walk away.
As therapists, we have to be the eyes for the client.
You have to point out the invisible wins. You have to show them that while they're still "angry," their procedural response has shifted.
"Two weeks ago, you would have dissociated. Today, you stayed present for 30 seconds."
"Last month, that trigger would have sent you into a three-day spiral. This time, you came back to regulation in an hour."
"Notice how your window of tolerance is widening... you're holding emotional intensity that used to completely flood you."
This isn't just being encouraging.
It's clinical work. It's making the progress visible so the client stays engaged in the hard work.
In the upcoming workshop I’m holding for my clients in my Trauma Mastery Program, I'll be giving them and our guests the specific vocabulary for "tracking the shifts."
And show how to help your clients—and yourself see that the work is actually landing.
The Details: Advanced Treatment Planning for Complex & Developmental Trauma Framework
I'd love to have you with us.
Grab your Guest Pass here: https://integrativepsych.teachable.com/l/pdp/advanced-treatment-planning-for-complex-developmental-trauma
Esther
P.S. When a client can see their own progress... their buy-in goes through the roof. They stop looking for a quick fix and start trusting the process. I'll show you how to guide them there.
Grab your Guest Pass here: https://integrativepsych.teachable.com/l/pdp/advanced-treatment-planning-for-complex-developmental-trauma