How do you remove trauma response? There is only one brain mechanism we know of that can – memory reconsolidation. You either trigger that and remove it. Or you don’t and, well, you don’t.
But here’s the thing. Memory reconsolidation doesn’t just remove trauma response. It removes all kinds of emotional learning.
Despite this, we have become limited to discussing trauma.
We don’t have an all-encompassing word to cover all that memory reconsolidation can help with.
Many potential clients reflect on their difficulties and say: "That’s not trauma." The word doesn’t fit them and they don’t want that description.
Others who may also have not thought of their experience as trauma feel invited by therapists to upgrade it to that category.
The word is too specific and imprecise at the same time. We need a better word.
My book is called How To Remove Trauma Response. Yet even as I gave it that title I felt limited by the T-word.
Indeed, the first thing I do in the book is to give it a more expansive definition. That’s something at least. But some potential clients will still understandably say "What? you’re calling that trauma??"
What if people have psychological barriers, limiting beliefs or non-traumatic emotional learnings? The ideas inside the book help them too because memory reconsolidation removes these.
What can we do about this word problem? Is there a better phrase? Bruce Ecker uses the lovely term "emotional learning". I often borrow that. But I’m not sure anyone is Googling it in great numbers. At least people Google trauma. If they don’t Google it, they won’t find us, and we can’t help them.
When I was a musician I briefly categorised my music as Celtic Americana. But can you guess what phrase music fans never type into Google? Yep, you’ve got it!
Alas, this is a post without answers. Just a question. How can we describe our clients’ experiences in ways that don’t require us to always label them as trauma?
Send me your ideas.
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