Use these words “Your Container Is Expanding” and watch what happens
I want you to start using that phrase with your clients.
But first, you have to understand what it actually means.
Here's what I see happening... a therapist tries to do deep trauma work with a client who doesn't yet have the nervous system capacity to hold it. It's like pouring water into a cup with no bottom.
The intervention just... spills right through.
And then the client leaves the session feeling worse. Or dissociated. Or flooded.
And the therapist thinks, "Maybe I did something wrong. Maybe this client isn't ready."
But the issue isn't readiness.
It's that we skipped a step.
Before we can dive into the "meat" of the trauma work, we have to build the container.
We have to teach the client how to actually use therapy. How to stay present with difficult material without collapsing or checking out.
I call this "meta-therapy."
It's the skill of teaching someone how to track what's happening in their body and their nervous system in real time.
And if you don't do this first? You're not doing deep work.
You're likely flooding the client and wondering why they're re-traumatized.
In our upcoming class, I'm showing the therapists in my Trauma Mastery Program and our guests how to build that neuro-capacity.
How to assess the container as they go. How to give your clients the language to notice when their window is expanding... and when it's closing.
The Details: Advanced Treatment Planning for Complex & Developmental Trauma Framework
Build a better container here: https://integrativepsych.teachable.com/l/pdp/advanced-treatment-planning-for-complex-developmental-trauma