What’s your score?
The Body Keeps the Score
If you are a social worker, business owner, youth recreation director, community advocate, mom, and grandmother you probably already know that “The body keeps the score”. The body is a tell-all that you need to rest, stop, and sit down. The body has a true way of communicating with us without being able to verbally speak or physically write. God made us with certain tools that act as alerts when this thing (the body) is just not working right. Bessel in his writing explains to us that not only do the trials and tribulations of life influence us physically, but we also suffer mentally. Bessel carefully explains how the brain deals with the traumatic events that happen in our lives [1].
The Diagnostic Criteria in the American Psychiatric Association does not list trauma as a diagnosis. It has created a chapter for trauma-and stressor-related disorders [2]. This indicates that there are many different situations or concerns that can be diagnosed as traumatic events. As a therapist, I feel that the client has the ability to identify what has been traumatic in their lives. When an event is identified as having a great impact on an individual physically or mentally the body will at times be the indicator. Bessel states that the mind can also be an indicator of traumatic stress [1].
When thinking about a person that has experienced trauma, I think about someone who could be whole but is fragmented. In my work as a trauma therapist, my initial sessions begin with a timeline. I ask my clients to think back as far as they can and list memories that continue to resurface (good and bad) up to the present. I allow them a few minutes to jog their memories and jot down their thoughts. As they are jotting down their thoughts, I glance at them for non-verbal and sometimes verbal cues. At times there are tears, blank stares, confusion, and even laughter. Once they are done, they are asked to share their thoughts. This process is to identify if there are any traumas and to target the behaviors that clients identify as results of those traumas. Through this process, I have witnessed what Shapiro calls “Getting Past Your Past” [3].
In conclusion, Bessel shares with us many successful ways of healing. He mentions that techniques such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) are used to help the pieces to come together. Before the healing process begins one must be aware of the traumas they have experienced and how their bodies have been affected. It is important to not allow the score to continue to tally.
- A., Van der Kolk Bessel. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Penguin Books, 2015.
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. American Psychiatric Association, 2017.
- Shapiro, Francine. Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy. Rodale, 2014.
About the Author
Shonell Dillon
A daughter of the KING of kings and the LORD of lords. A lover of LIFE!4 responses to “What’s your score?”
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Shonell – Have you used any somatic processing techniques like EMDR in your counseling practice? Using the body to release emotions makes so much sense to me and I’m curious how you might do this in your practice?
How can therapists help individuals identify and address the traumas they have experienced? Sometimes its hard to put it into words because we shove them down so far!
Shonell, thank you for sharing. I love this: “When thinking about a person that has experienced trauma, I think about someone who could be whole but is fragmented.” It makes me think of the Japanese are of kinstugi. When a piece of pottery is broken, they repair it using a lacquer mixed with gold. They do not attempt to hide the damage, instead they highlight it, seeing the repaired piece as more beautiful. I think this is what God does with us.
https://traditionalkyoto.com/culture/kintsugi/
Shonell,
Thank you for sharing how you process trauma with clients. I think for some people seeking help this unknown process can be intimidating and lead to someone not getting the help they need to process through the trauma in their life. Being open and sharing with people is so essential to creating a safe space and reducing the stigma of getting help. Thanks for all the work you do!