Help for Complex Trauma: Can Christian counseling offer hope for PTSD recovery?
Are you looking for help with a series of traumatic events in your life, but don’t want to dredge up the past? Don’t be afraid to tackle the symptoms before you get to the root. You may be emotionally fragile from a recent loss or in recovery from alcohol or substance abuse. Maybe you were in a car accident? This is probably not the time to talk about your childhood.
The most common treatments besides Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) right now are Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Exposure Therapy (ET). The last two have been around longer and are the go-to treatments at the Veterans Administration (VA). According to VA training, which is the gold standard for PTSD treatment, you can make changes in your behavior and thinking to get relief quicker. It begins with understanding your brain.
Brainscans and Complex Trauma
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) shows up in brainscans in two vivid ways with people who have disconnected from their emotions or body during trauma. These people will sometimes have an out-of-body experience. 30% of this population will show no emotions and their brain scan will show the visual center in their brain is active. 70% will over-react emotionally and have an active frontal cortex, amygdala (emotion and memory center) and visual centers. The Amen clinics in California are a good place to get a SPECT brainscan to aid in the comprehensive and holistic treatment of PTSD - for more information look here, https://www.amenclinics.com/conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/.
Christian Counseling and Complex Trauma
Christian counseling helps people change their thoughts and behavior (CBT) to be in line with God’s word. Some scriptures that are useful and inspiring for anxiety are Phil 4.4-8 and 13, along with 2 Cor 10.4-5. They point to prayer and spiritual warfare which fits in with the Christian worldview. You may underline them, write them on index cards you take with you, or memorize them to use when you’re in distress. You can also make a list of worries; break them down into more specific worries; write out an argument against the worry or belief; and then find Scriptures that support your argument. Talk to God about this - that’s all that prayer is. Be expecting the change.
Quick Trauma Relief When You’re Alone
You can get more immediate relief that requires less thinking in a step-by-step way using CBT. For example, start with a simple body scan you can find on YouTube. Sit down in a chair, close your door, turn on the audio, close your eyes, and progressively relax your muscles starting with your toes and feet. This is a great way to reconnect with your body and calm down your emotions. Grounding exercises will do the same thing - but your awareness is focused on your senses and what’s in the room. You can keep your eyes open with this one. With complex trauma, you may need someone to guide you through this.
Hope these tips have been helpful in some way. If you are needing more support, call 720-577-5985 or book a free 15-minute consultation.
