5 Reasons Why Trauma Therapy Isn’t Helping You

Trauma therapy comes in handy for people whose traumatic experiences impact their functioning ability or can’t cope. It can help if you’ve gone through any experience or event that left you psychologically or emotionally harmed, including abuse, accident, bullying, abandonment, a loved one’s death, divorce, near-death experience, domestic violence, life-threatening situations, sexual assault, and others.

While trauma therapy can help lessen avoidance and fear, enhance coping skills, challenge problematic beliefs, build trust, and offer validation, it might not work for you. This article outlines five reasons why trauma therapy isn’t helping you.

1. Wrong therapist

When looking for a trauma therapist, ensure they have the relevant experience and training to help address your concerns successfully. For instance, if you’re looking for help to release trauma-blocked emotions, ensure your therapist has completed the EMDR training to improve your quality of life and overall functioning. You may not get the desired results if your trauma therapist isn’t a good match.

The right trauma therapist shouldn’t push treatment goals or agendas you don’t share. There should be assertive communication between you and your therapist to ensure that you are on the same page and working towards similar objectives.

2. Lack of trust

Trust is every successful therapeutic relationship’s primary feature. To get the help you so desire, there should be a rapport between you and your therapist. You should be open with your therapist without feeling ashamed or judged. If you can’t trust your therapist, you can’t be genuine and honest with them in your therapy sessions, compromising your recovery chances.

While trust takes time to grow, you can’t make substantial progress in your therapy sessions without it. Consider talking it over with your therapist to find a way to build a connection between you.

3. You aren’t ready to put in the work

For trauma therapy to work, you must be fully prepared to go through the process. You should know how your trauma history impacts your life and how healing can help you achieve your goals. You should also have the strength and stability to handle the trauma work. Effective therapy requires you to be ready for emotional pain in your sessions.

The trauma therapy experience can catch you unaware if you aren’t well prepared. If you aren’t ready for the emotional pain or don’t do what your therapist asks you to, quit mid-way, and even if you complete the sessions, the outcome won’t be as anticipated.

4. Inconsistency from you or your therapist

Consistency is a powerful factor in achieving your therapeutic objectives and goals. Meeting your goals might be impossible if your therapist doesn’t appear for multiple sessions or regularly cancels on you. Similarly, if your therapist gives you an assignment or requires you to reflect on some issues, and then you miss several sessions, the therapy may not help. Also, the therapist may be forced to keep suggesting new ideas each time you don’t show up.

5. Your therapist doesn’t stay within their limits

Your therapist shouldn’t utilize their potential to exploit or engage in sexual relations with you. This might interfere with the therapist’s objectivity while causing you more harm. Where therapists cross their professional and ethical boundaries, you may be forced to discontinue the treatment.

Endnote

While therapy helps victims cope with traumatic experiences, it might work for you. Find out why therapy isn’t helping you and what you can do to overcome trauma.