Sublime

Gangs, extremist political parties, and religious cults may provide solace, but they rarely foster the mental flexibility needed to be fully open to what life has to offer and as such cannot liberate their members from their traumas. Well-functioning

Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa.

Being validated by feeling heard and seen is a precondition for feeling safe, which is critical when we explore the dangerous territory of trauma and abandonment.

Therapists who are trained to see people as complex human beings with multiple characteristics and potentialities can help them explore their system of inner parts and take care of the wounded facets of themselves.

Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk explores this in The Body Keeps the Score, addressing how if we only talk, we’re accessing one part of our brain, and we miss out on what the other parts of our brain have to teach us about ourselves. How do we access these other parts of our brain? Yoga, meditation, experiential therapy, neurofeedback—and of course, writing

As we will see, finding words to describe what has happened to you can be transformative, but it does not always abolish flashbacks or improve concentration, stimulate vital involvement in your life or reduce hypersensitivity to disappointments and perceived injuries.

Perry, B. Interview with Guy Macpherson, PhD. Trauma Therapist Podcast Episode 94. https://www.thetraumatherapistproject.com/blog/bruce-perry-md-phd-on-the-trauma-therapist-podcast/ (accessed 6 October 2017).

trauma almost invariably involves not being seen, not being mirrored, and not being taken into account.

When something reminds traumatized people of the past, their right brain reacts as if the traumatic event were happening in the present. But because their left brain is not working very well, they may not be aware that they are reexperiencing and reenacting the past—they are just furious, terrified, enraged, ashamed, or frozen.