In the last post, we talked more in depth about the Parts, their role, and learning to empathize and understand them. In this post, I want to go a little deeper to help this concept make as much sense as possible. Everyone has Parts; but people who have lived through traumatic events are often more [...]
Cybersex addiction is a virtual sexual activity which causes serious negative consequences to someone’s physical, mental, social and/or financial wellbeing. Also commonly referred to as internet sex addiction, sufferers may find themselves unable to stop certain behaviors including viewing pornography, participating in adult chat rooms and pursuing relationships for cybersex. What causes cybersex addiction? Naturally, [...]
Witnessing can be a very important part of trauma therapy for those who want to tell the stories of their traumatic events. But please know that it is not always necessary or helpful for trauma victims to tell their stories. Sometimes there are benefits, and being witnessed is one of them. The reality is that [...]
The key to effective trauma therapy is helping clients learn the difference between a trigger and being threatened in the here and now. In order for a trauma victim to be able to process how unsafe they were when the traumatic event occurred, they have to be able to understand that they are safe now. [...]
Healing from trauma the right way requires people to learn how to “see from the Self.” This can take some practice, and it can be very helpful to do some exercises as a way to train yourself. This might not be something that you are able to do right away. But in time, you may [...]
There is no denying the fact that healing from trauma is a process. It can take some time, but there are different steps you can take – even baby steps – that will help move you closer to your goals. In his book, Introduction to the Internal Family Systems Model, Dr. Richard C. Schwartz discusses [...]
Relapse is unfortunately a common part of addiction. Statistics do in fact show that 40-60% of people treated for substance use disorders will relapse at some point. While relapse is generally most likely to occur within the first 90 days of recovery, the risk remains high for the first five years and can even occur [...]
It can be very painful for trauma victims to explore the memories that are related to the traumatic events they lived through. Unfortunately, trauma therapy has largely focused on reviewing these events in the past. But for the most part, the only thing that really ever accomplishes is retraumatizing the person all over again. That [...]
A lot of trauma therapists focus on using talk therapy to help their clients work through the traumatic events they have experienced. But this method has not been shown to be very effective. This is why there has been a shift toward the internal family systems model. Today, we know that focusing on the event [...]
In Canada, approximately six million people (21% of the total population), will experience addiction at some point in their lives. Despite the fact that so many are left devastated by this, it’s still so widely misunderstood, especially when it comes to sex addiction. Urges to engage in behaviors that are difficult or even impossible to [...]