By Austa Somvichian-Clausen — 2020
Here’s what racial trauma is, and why it’s more common than you would expect.
Read on thehill.com
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In 1987 psychologist Francine Shapiro developed a new type of psychotherapy known as EMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. EMDR therapy has become a more common treatment in recent years as a treatment option for people suffering from anxiety, panic, PTSD, or trauma.
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Psychomotor therapy is neither widely practiced nor supported by clinical studies. In fact, most licensed psychiatrists probably wouldn’t give it a second glance.
The tools that work so well are neither complicated nor expensive. They’re interventions that ping on the primitive structures in the brain, where posttraumatic stress sits and wreaks its havoc. These are tools like guided imagery, relaxation, meditation, hypnosis, and breath work.
You can recover from posttraumatic stress. Certainly, you can significantly reduce—not just manage—its symptoms. But—and here’s the thing—not with traditional treatment.
One of the most dramatic, butt-kicking examples of an effective new treatment tool for posttraumatic stress is a simple protocol called Nightmare Reprocessing, devised by two V.A. psychologists.