Interpersonal Trauma
Definitions:
Trauma originating from interpersonal relationships, involving sexual/physical/emotional/verbal contact
Establishing Boundaries: disproportional anxiety or anger regarding canceling or making plans with others, fear regarding physical touch, engaging in learned behaviors that may cause guilt (ex. worries that “I’m hurting/manipulating others”), adopting protective stances, paying attention to entrances/exits, and/or other protective behaviors
Executive Functioning: trouble engaging in and/or establishing motivation to complete school-work or other tasks, perfectionistic behaviors, difficulty understanding or sensitivity to academic expectations
Emotional Regulation: extreme empathy including heightened awareness and sensitivity to others’ emotions, nonverbal and verbal cues coupled with irritability and anger, depression and internalization or externalization
Developmental Considerations: while many interpersonal traumas occur in childhood, it is often in later life when these traumas are identified and processed. Difficulties may manifest in intimate partner relationships
Considerations:
Modern mental health care providers typically acknowledge that traumatic experiences underlie many symptoms that lead individuals to seek treatment (depression, anxiety, substance use, mania, etc.)
Interpersonal trauma impacts key elements of developing relationships with others, including trust, safety, self-esteem, and guilt/shame
The age at which the trauma occurred is especially important in directing therapy, and adult therapy may involve elements of child therapy, including sand-tray, journaling, and yoga/movement
Treatment:
Diagnosis: understanding the unique experience of how the trauma has impacted many layers of the individual takes time, and bravery
Referrals: common referrals include psychiatry, and an array of relevant strengths/movement/arts based extracurricular activities
Psychotherapy: Dr. Carroll-Wray’s approach involves a combination of movement based/body awareness and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. TF-CBT is an evidenced based treatment approach involving establishing safe coping skills (ex. Movement, yoga skills, guided imagery, deep breathing/relaxation techniques, and individualized considerations), education regarding how trauma impacts the brain and body, exploration of the trauma’s meaning/significance, and offering corrective/reparative relational healing
