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Trauma + Developmental Trauma or Developmental Injury

Trauma is an emotional response to a overwhelming event like an accident, physical attack, or a natural disaster. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. Longer term reactions could include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, relationship difficulties, and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea.

Developmental trauma also called developmental injury is the result of seeming invisible childhood experiences of being mistreated, abused or not having our emotional need met on many occasions. These cumulative experiences could involve verbal abuse, neglect or manipulation by a parent but they can also include misattunement, parental inconsistency or not having our emotional needs met often enough. As young children we are vulnerable and repeated experiences can lead to psychological and neurological disruption and also result in physical and emotional symptoms eg anxiety, feeling fearful of the world, racing heart, dissociation, insomnia, numbing and dissociation to name just a few.

   

Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)

The SSP is an evidence-based listening therapy designed to reduce sound sensitivities and improve auditory processing, emotional self-regulation, and social engagement behaviours through listening to filtered music. As a practical application of Polyvagal Theory, the SSP acts as a non-invasive, acoustic vagal nerve stimulator, helping to retune the nervous system to better support connection, collaboration and resilience. The SSP involves listening to specially filtered music through headphones alongside a provider in person or remotely.  Suitable for children and adults, the SSP is designed to shift the body from a defensive state to one of safety and social engagement, has demonstrated benefits for individuals with trauma, anxiety, sensory processing differences and more.

Highlights of the SSP : A 5-hour auditory intervention developed and patented by Dr. Stephen Porges, author of the Polyvagal Theory. Designed to reduce sound sensitivity, and improve auditory processing and behavioral state regulation. Activates the client’s social engagement system, helping to accelerate and enhance therapeutic outcomes. Supports physiological state regulation, allowing for greater resilience.

Polyvag al Theory: the Science of Feeling Safe Developed by world-renowned researcher and Unyte’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Dr. Stephen Porges, Polyvagal Theory focuses on what is happening in the body and the nervous system, and explains how our sense of safety, danger or life-threat can impact our behavior. Understanding Polyvagal Theory gives us a scientific framework that can be applied through physiological, or “bottom-up” therapies, to help change and improve how we feel, think and connect with others.

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Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy includes the body and nervous system as both a source of information and as a tool for healing. It harnesses the natural innate wisdom held within the body to tap into the intrinsic drive towards healing. This process can increase integration between body and mind.
 

“In sensorimotor treatment, traumatized clients are taught to become aware of trauma-related tendencies of orientation and to redirect their attention away from the past and toward the present moment. Repeatedly "shifting the client's attention to the various things going on outside of the flow of conversation [evokes] experiences which are informative and emotionally meaningful" (Kurtz, 2004, p. 40). Redirecting orientation and attention from conversation to present-moment experience-that is, from external awareness to internal awareness, and from the past to the present, engages exploration and curiosity, and clients can discover things about themselves that they did not know previously (Kurtz, 2004).”  Pat Ogden, Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy

When paying attention in a mindful way we can capitalise on the neuroplasticity of the brain by helping to notice something that has previously been out of our field of awareness; thus giving an opprotunity a new experience, growth and healing .  In sensorimotor psychotherapy there are three levels of treatment: stabiliisation and developing resources; processing the effects of trauma and integration of attachment, developmental and relational wounds.

Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Internal Family Systems (IFS) believes in the natural multiplicity of the mind, that we have multiple parts eg a part that wants to do something because we know it’s good for us and a part that does the opposite. We all have a core self that has inherent wisdom. Our parts are evolved from difficult experiences, eg trauma and attachment injuries and they carry burdens. Each part has a good intention for us and there are no ‘bad’ parts. The goal of therapy is to understand our parts role and heal their burdens, thereby helping to increase self-energy, achieve balance, harmony and wholeness in our system.