How can you help clients feel safe and in control after trauma?

In addition to validating clients' experiences and feelings, understanding and respecting cultural differences surrounding trauma is essential. Different cultures may have unique beliefs, rituals, and coping mechanisms related to trauma. By taking the time to learn about and acknowledge these cultural variations, you can provide more effective support to clients with diverse backgrounds. This cultural sensitivity enables you to tailor your approach and interventions, ensuring that your clients feel seen and understood in their specific cultural context. By incorporating cultural understanding into your practice, you can foster trust, enhance communication, and promote more meaningful and successful healing journeys for your clients.

Understand that another person's trauma history will be different to your own experiences. What may seem comparatively minimal compared to your own trauma experiences, their own personal response is no less real and should be treated, supported and acknowledged as worthy of full assessment and support.

Ensure that if they may benefit from further professional supports, ensure they seek out a professional who - rather than being handy/available - has a background in the area of exposure. This 'hack' can short-circuit lost time through rapport-building to provide timely and expert support, to shorten the treatment and recovery time.

Find out what they liked to do to relax or recharge - providing options that align with their pre-trauma well-being activities. Sports based around exercising in nature can also provide surprising improvements.

Tailoring skills to individual needs and trauma history promotes resilience and a sense of control. For example, when working with a trauma survivor, you might teach them a grounding technique like the 5-4-3-2-1 method. This coping skill involves asking the individual to identify and describe five things they can see, four things they can touch, three things they can hear, two things they can smell, and one thing they can taste. By engaging their senses in the present moment, this technique helps the individual shift their focus away from distressing thoughts or triggers and regain a sense of control and safety. This simple yet effective coping skill can be practiced anytime and anywhere, offering immediate relief during times of distress.

In many instances, the best way to deal with stress is to travel through it. Having said that, it is excellent to talk through recovery from trauma, however it is essential trial to keep moving forward, avoiding going down rabbitholes that can cease growth or feed further fears. It is great to destigmatise trauma-related illness and important to normalise the need for recovery, but it is also important to surround yourself with a co.munity of supportive people and services to ensure growth is maintained.

Seek help that you know is beneficial to your circumstances and self-growth. If after enough time you still struggle to 'click' with that person, ask or seek a more suitable option to best suit your circumstances.

Assist them to recognize and believe in themselves, knowing their strengths… believe they are supported and valued no matter what.. they’re in a right path to succeed and recover, it’s hard it’s tough it’s bitter yet it’s all about them and their journey

I find that reminding my clients that they have choice and autonomy IN their own healing offers them an antidote to the often choice-less trauma they’ve endured.