What is IFS Therapy for Trauma?

Everyone has a personality. However, if you allow yourself the freedom to think more openly, you will see that you’re made up of many sub-personalities. Quite often, these sub-personalities are in conflict with each other. Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a type of psychotherapy that takes this into account in a big way. In fact, the title is meant to validate each part of you as part of your internal family system. 

You want to balance the parts of an external family, right? Well, IFS seeks a similar kind of balance for all the personalities that make up your “Self.” In the process, it can help you recover from a wide range of problems — including trauma. 

What is IFS?

This approach recognizes that none of your sub-personalities are bad. Rather, they’ve had bad roles imposed upon them. They are wounded and deserving of healing. Healing your sub-parts brings harmony to the greater Self. Again, you can think of a family for context. If each family member is healthy, the whole family is healthy.

Working with an IFS therapist has been found to promote:

• Self-compassion

• Self-leadership 

• A calm reaction to the inevitable symptoms of daily stress or previous trauma 

• A deeper understanding of oneself

• Preparation for emotional difficulties that lie ahead

What is Trauma?

You probably know many of the common causes of trauma, e.g., neglect, abuse, disaster, disability, and more. The causes are many, but they typically fall into a few broad categories:

• Too much happens too soon 

• Too much happens for too long

• Losing personal power and the resources to deal with that

• Not having access to healing options

This adds up to some of your many parts — your internal family members — being traumatized. Some sub-personalities have shifted into permanent emergency mode. They seek to protect you even in the methods are not functional. Obviously, bringing these parts back into balance can facilitate recovery. 

How IFS Can Help With Trauma

IFS reminds the trauma survivor that they are not “just” a traumatized person. In fact, some parts of our internal family are not carrying negative memories and sensations. Integrating the different sub-personalities can help identify where the pain lives. You’ll better understand your triggers and visualize paths toward healing. Your IFS therapist creates a safe environment in which this work can be accomplished. 

Some IFS Techniques

To better grasp how the recovery happens, it helps to know a little about the general approach taken with IFS. Firstly, the many sub-parts of you are broken into two general categories:

• Firefighters: As the name implies, these are protectors. They put out fires, but you’ll still have to get to the root cause of those fires.

• Managers: These parts plan diligently to help you avoid triggers. This saves you from painful experiences but, again, does not deal with the sources. 

What Happens Next

You’ll need to find where the sensations emerge from. It could, for example, feel like tight neck muscles. If so, that’s where your focus must be aimed. Some steps you will take:

• Learn from the part of you that feels the pain the most. Is that pain tied to an emotion or a particular memory? Does it grow from a certain time in your life?

• Identify how you feel about this sub-personality. This will help both you and your therapist surmise how important of a role it plays.

• Challenge yourself to become friends with this part of you. Find out where the fear comes from and see if friendship releases it.

IFS is an innovative and effective approach toward trauma recovery. To learn more, I invite you to reach out today. Let’s connect for a free and confidential consultation. 

Learn more about therapy for trauma and PTSD.

What is Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy & Is it Right for You?

Psychotherapy never stops evolving. As time passes, more and more treatment options are available to people in need. Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) is a relatively new concept that is rapidly gaining acceptance and popularity. Ketamine is a psychedelic drug that can induce a hypnotic state during which healing happens.

Ketamine began as an animal anesthetic but was used for humans during the Vietnam War. Such use expanded to emergency responders, and that’s how its psychotherapeutic potential was discovered. When ketamine was given to a person who had attempted suicide, it had an unexpected, positive side effect—suicide ideation was drastically reduced.

Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy FAQ

How does KAP work?

Ketamine is believed to impact a particular neurotransmitter that increases your brain’s ability to adapt and adjust. Through a process called neuroplasticity, your nerve cells become better equipped to reduce the risk of mental distress. For example, KAP has been found to short-circuit the factors that can create treatment-resistant depression. 

What other conditions are commonly treated with KAP? 

The list is long, varied, and growing. Some problems addressed via KAP include Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, substance abuse, disordered eating, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, chronic pain, and Bipolar Disorder. 

How is ketamine administered?

Lozenges are the most common method. But it can also be delivered via injections, nasal sprays, and intravenous infusions. The positive impact is felt within minutes. 

What are KAP sessions like?

Your therapist is with you all the way as the ketamine eases you into a trance-like state for about 40 to 60 minutes. Think of it as a healthy and productive form of dissociation. But there’s even more to it than the actual ketamine sessions.

In between, you meet with your therapist to work on integration, during which:

• You talk about your ketamine experiences 

• Integrate these experiences into your everyday life

• Homework is given as a way to carry over the healing outside the therapy setting 

Are there any side effects or other cautions to know about?

Let’s start with the side effects. Generally speaking, they are rare. If present, they usually present as minor episodes of:

• Drowsiness

• Headache 

• Nausea 

• Headache

• Increased blood pressure and/or heart rate

• Disorientation

You will need someone to bring you home from the sessions in which ketamine is administered. Other factors to bear in mind:

• In cases when ketamine is injected, needles are involved 

• Anyone deemed susceptible to addiction must address this reality in pre-treatment conversations

• Make sure your insurance will cover KAP

• Be diligent about making sure your KAP clinic is regulated 

What can KAP offer me?

KAP can provide symptom relief that often occurs in a matter of hours. In addition, most patients experience long-lasting symptom relief and become more sustainable with ensuing sessions. KAP is still relatively new, so there’s not a very long-term record yet. What we do know is promising—especially for folks who have not found relief through other treatment approaches.

General Benefits of Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy

• Calm mind

• Mood enhancer

• New brain cell growth 

• A reduction of pain and, thus, less of a need for traditional painkillers

• A general sense of being an active participant in your everyday life 

How Can You Know if KAP is Right for You?

I will safely assume that the above summary of KAP has provided some answers and provoked more questions. As is typically the case, the next step is to speak with a mental health professional with experience in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy. Therefore, I invite you to reach out at your earliest convenience to learn more. Let’s talk about your situation and decide together if KAP is the right path to take you to a place of healing and recovery. 

6 Signs and Symptoms of Complex Trauma

Trauma is common, and it can be debilitating. On average, at least half the people you encounter have endured a traumatic event. But there’s not just one type of trauma. For example, when a person (usually a child) undergoes repeated, ongoing abuse or neglect, they are susceptible to complex trauma. People who fall into this category are often diagnosed with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD).

The differences between trauma and complex trauma can be subtle at times. But this does not take away from the importance of differentiating between the two. With this in mind, let’s learn a lot more about complex trauma.

Possible Causes Behind Complex Trauma

• Incest

• Sexual abuse

• Ongoing domestic abuse

• Being kidnapped or held captive

• Repeated neglect or abandonment

• Human trafficking

• Being prostituted

• Torture

• Children being forced to take on adult roles

• Being subjected to or witnessing genocide, terrorism, or a war zone

Of course, trauma is in the eye of the beholder. Individuals can struggle with C-PTSD for an incredibly wide range of reasons.

6 Signs & Symptoms of Complex Trauma

1. PTSD Symptoms

Firstly, be on the lookout for signs of PTSD. People with C-PTSD often share some common symptoms, e.g.:

• Re-living events via nightmares, flashbacks, and other intrusive thoughts

• Hyper-vigilance

• Avoidance and social withdrawal

2. Dissociation

The relentless of what you’ve endured puts you in a place of detachment. This could manifest as:

• Forgetting important details about the trauma.

• Experiencing a change in consciousness (dissociation).

• Not feeling connected to your own body.

3. Unable to Regulate Emotions

Intense trauma-induced emotions can range from explosive anger to downright despair. When under the throes of complex trauma, you can feel overwhelmed by such feelings. You get the sense that they are beyond your control. People in your life will notice and remark on your emotional state.

4. Skewed Perception of Those Who Abused You

The abuse most frequently takes place for a long time period during childhood. Thus, complex trauma can distort how you see your abuser and your relationship with them. You may be fixated on them—trying to understand what happened. In other cases, you can be preoccupied with fantasies of revenge.

5. Relationship Issues

Having gone through such horrific experiences can negatively impact how you interact with others. C-PTSD can affect your relationships in ways like this:

• Feeling that you are different from everyone and no one can understand you.

• Guilt, shame, and other types of negative self-perception.

• An inability to fully let go and trust other people.

• The disconnection and detachment mentioned in #2 above.

• Seeking out partners who remind you of your abuser.

6. Loss of Meaning

A more existential symptom involves a loss of belief and meaning. The horror you’ve experienced can lead to questioning and possibly rejecting what you once had faith in. This could mean religion but also involves a general sense of faith and trust in humanity. The parallel tracks of this sign are despair and hopelessness.

Getting the Help You Need and Deserve

Do not try to address complex trauma on your own. Self-help steps will definitely complement your treatment, but you will need to consult with a professional. There are several treatment modalities available to you depending on the specifics of your situation. Hence, the first and most important step is to reach out for help.

You do not have to suffer in silence. You do not have to suffer forever. As terrible as the traumatic experiences were, you can process and resolve them. You can recover, heal, and thrive in your life. Let’s get you started on this path. I invite you to contact me to set up a free and confidential consultation at your earliest convenience.