[libribook.com] Traumatic Scar Tissue Management 1st Edition

Box 7.2
Basic strategies for navigating somatic memory and emotional responses.
Establish in-the-moment connection – let the client know you are present,
focused on them and their needs
• Be calm and grounded
• Be attentive to subtle verbal and non-verbal cues and respond
empathetically
• Respect the client’s need to contain or release, do not direct or guide their
experience (e.g. do not insist that they ‘relax’ if displaying signs of
containment, do not ‘correct’ their breathing pattern) – simply provide a
safe space for them to have their experience
• Be empathetic, use a calm quiet voice
• In an unobtrusive way, ask the client what they need (e.g. Kleenex, pause
the treatment or continue, relocate treatment to another region of their
body)
• Proceed slowly
• Do not specifically initiate conversation or ask questions that would
intensify the client’s emotional state
• If the therapist begins to feel overwhelmed, do not abandon the client by
suddenly disengaging as this may be distressing, but do find a way to
reground (e.g. stop applying techniques, instead simply maintain touch
contact, take a few slow breaths, talk calmly to the client)
• Stay connected to the client but distanced from the client’s experience,
support them in an empathetic and quiet way
• Once the client’s emotional response has dissipated, in most cases
treatment can continue – exercising good judgement comes into play
here