How many of you have been watching the award-winning HBO Series, "In Treatment" with Gabriel Byrne, Dianne Wiest, and John Mahoney? This HBO series is currently near the beginning of its second season, centered around how Dr. Paul Weston (Byrne) conducts therapy sessions with four different clients, and then his own individual therapy process with his own therapist, Dr. Gina Toll (Wiest). In my opinion, the "In … [Read more...]
Addressing Depression in Trauma Disorders
It is no secret that trauma survivors get depressed, and depression is the most commonly known and experienced mental health disorder. Typical depression symptoms include: Suicidal thoughts, recurring death thoughts, death wishes Suicidal behavior and suicide attempts Self destructive behavior, self injury, self harm Feelings of worthlessness, guilt, self hatred, or not deserving to live Loss … [Read more...]
Using Collage as a Way of Communicating
Creating a collage is another way of allowing your internal system parts to tell more about themselves. Pictures can be a powerful way of communicating. And a collage - a collection of pictures - can tell a lifetime of stories. Most trauma survivors were repeatedly told by their abusers, "Do not tell". Violence, threats, abuse, and pain often accompanied these rules. How many times did you hear "don't say … [Read more...]
Holidays for DID Trauma Survivors… Making it Nice for the Littles
I hope you are all having a good holiday season..... I had hoped to post these thoughts a couple days back, but unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance until now. And even though it’s the day after Christmas, I still want to approach the topic. I’m proposing that it’s not too late to make a difference this year. In my experience, from listening through the years, holidays are typically very difficult times for … [Read more...]
50 Treatment Issues for Dissociative Identity Disorder
"I have DID. How long will it take for someone with Dissociative Identity Disorder to feel better?" As a clinical therapist, I hear that question frequently. It's a reasonable question. I certainly understand that when dissociative trauma survivors are deeply hurting and struggling in their life, they want to feel better as quickly as possible. However, the clinical treatment for someone with Dissociative … [Read more...]