Trauma therapy is a significant topic in psychotherapy. However, I've always wondered, "What is the right way to work with emotional trauma?"
With this question in mind, I joined my colleague, Hung-Ru Chen's workshop "Healing Magic in the Counseling Room."
During the course, when he shared the presentation on "Integration of Trauma Therapy Schools," my eyes lit up...
Oh my, I got it.
School of Trauma Therapy
In the workshop, Hung-Ru listed the trauma therapy schools that he commonly used as follows:
- Hypnosis
- Trauma-Informed Therapy
- Psychodrama
- Gestalt Therapy
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Somatic Experiencing (SE)
Each school has its own focus and intervention methods, such as:
Hypnosis
Focusing on deepening resources, reducing distress, and strengthening or reducing sensory stimulation.
Psychodrama
Utilizing "double technique" to temporarily becomes another person and experiences their emotion, help them acting out their emotions.
Gestalt Therapy
Shifting perceptual positions, connecting with, detaching from, and altering perspectives.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Externalizing, dialogue with, and help "parts" cooperate with each other.
Somatic Experiencing (SE)
Enhancing the awareness of nervous system and traumatic responses, to help people finish the "fight of flight" response.
Trauma-Informed Therapy
Getting knowledge about how trauma affects the nervous system, have a whole picture about "What happen to my body and mind?"
How Improv Skills Enhance the Effectiveness of Trauma Therapy?
As an improv coach, when I see these schools of trauma therapy, I realize that I can enhance the effectiveness of trauma therapy through improvisation training.
Such as:
Hypnosis
🌹Trauma Therapy
Focusing on deepening resources, reducing distress, and strengthening or reducing sensory stimulation.
✨Improv ("Gift for Therapists")
Color your scene (Color and Advance): use analogy, description, and details.
Psychodrama
🌹Trauma Therapy
Utilizing "double technique" to temporarily becomes another person and experiences their emotion, help them acting out their emotions.
✨Improv ("Gift for Therapists")
Role training, "Character", Status, Narrative Skill
Gestalt Therapy
🌹Trauma Therapy
Shifting perceptual positions, connecting with, detaching from, and altering perspectives.
✨Improv ("Gift for Therapists")
Role training (to play more than one character), Status (top-dog and under-dog)
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
🌹Trauma Therapy
Externalizing, dialogue with, and help "parts" cooperate with each other.
✨Improv ("Gift for Therapists")
Give and take (Help therapist to YED, AND client's parts), Endowment (Help therapist find out "which part is coming?")
Somatic Experiencing (SE)
🌹Trauma Therapy
Enhancing the awareness of nervous system and traumatic responses, to help people finish the "fight of flight" response.
✨Improv ("Gift for Therapists")
Be here and now, Connect with you and your partner. I got this idea from a workshop held by Jonathan Pitts, "Take Care of the Now".
Trauma-Informed Therapy
🌹Trauma Therapy
Getting knowledge about how trauma affects the nervous system, have a whole picture about "What happen to my body and mind?"
✨Improv ("Gift for Therapists")
Using improv game such as "expert interview", to talior the knowledge, analogy and framework of trauma/nervous systems for clients.
Conclusion
In the book "The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel van der Kolk, there is a chapter that specifically addresses how drama work can assist in trauma therapy.
To conclude this article, let's use the title of that chapter:
"Finding Your Voice: Communal Rhythms and Theater."
