According to SAMHSA’s Trauma and Justice Strategic Initiative, “trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and physical, social, emotional or spiritual well-being” [1]. 

The individual’s experience of these events or circumstances helps to determine if it is a traumatic event. But it’s not the event itself which is traumatic; it’s the body storing those events if the nervous system and other systems in the body were unable to cope with the experience. 

The long lasting adverse effects of the event are a critical component of trauma. Central to healing from trauma is finding a sense of safety again, or for the first time. Read on to learn more about what safety means in trauma recovery.

Walking Through Trauma

There is a tendency in the world of therapists and counselors to view the treatment of trauma in too clinical a manner or too intellectually. But above all, trauma is felt to the core of someone’s being. Ali Rothrock, herself a trauma survivor and mental health clinician, describes walking through trauma in her beautiful short post, 

“…we must look at overcoming trauma through a holistic lens by supporting people through new positive experiences that help rewrite the parts of their brain that learned fear, through movement to release the stored stress our bodies hold, through acknowledging losses, and by supporting the meaning-making process. And we must walk with survivors on their path to assure them above all else that they are worthy of help holding the weight and that someday it will not feel so heavy.” [2]

What “Safety” Means In a Trauma Context

According to Podolan and Gelo, the main functions of safety are “to secure survival, facilitate restoration, promote exploration, sustain risk-taking and enable integration” [3]. People who have experienced and survived trauma may feel unsafe out of their environment. They may have difficulty trusting others. Physical, emotional, psychological and cultural safety is the highest priority in a trauma-informed approach to therapy and counseling.

It’s not possible to make someone feel safe but clinicians can be safer people. Creating safety within a trauma-informed setting goes beyond the standard expectations for the physical environment and administrative protocols of a care-giving agency. It must also include: 

• Implementing strategies to help clients cope with triggers that evoke their traumatic experiences.
• Being consistent in client interactions and treatment processes.
• Following through on what has been agreed upon in therapy sessions or other meetings.
• Being dependable, an essential value for people who may not have experienced dependability.
• Be thoughtful with words and body language to convey respect, calmness and an open, patient acceptance of the person with trauma.

Hyperarousal and Hypoarousal

Traumatic stress disrupts a person’s sense of security leaving them with two different reactions: Hyperarousal, when we feel overwhelmed by the stress and Hypoarousal, when we feel numbed by the stress. This can make it difficult to effectively benefit from therapy.

Hyperarousal, also known as hypervigilance, is a state of high alert. It makes a survivor of trauma very sensitive to their environment. They may feel unsafe and wait for another episode of trauma although this is unlikely. There are many physical, emotional, behavioral and mental symptoms of hyperarousal. 

It affects the ability to have healthy interpersonal relationships. Some people adapt to complex trauma by devising ways to keep themselves in a chronic state of hyperarousal. Usually professional help from a therapist or counselor is needed to overcome it [4].

Hypoarousal is a low state of physiological arousal, emotional numbing, restricted functioning, social withdrawal and a disconnect between body and feelings. Depression is a form of hypoarousal. For some, hypoarousal is triggered by perceived threats, traumatic memories, reminders or specific emotions [5].

How To Feel Safe After Trauma

What a person who has experienced trauma feels may be influenced by what has come before, or expectations of what is to come next. Safety is a key element in building trust in a therapeutic relationship.

How To Feel Safe Before Treatment

While treatment with a mental health counselor therapist or counselor is usually recommended to work through trauma, there are a number of steps you can do before then, including:

• It’s important to allow yourself to fully feel whatever emotions that emerge, without any guilt. This is a key step in your healing.
• Use your senses to help you feel grounded and safe, whether that be curling up in a blanket, squeezing a stress ball or lighting a scented candle.
• Try to maintain your usual routine so you don’t get stuck in thoughts about the trauma.
• Give yourself the opportunity to grieve. 
• Don’t remain on your own. Stay in touch with supportive family and friends. Get out several times a week.
• Lend others a helping hand. Not only does it help them but it can help you feel better

How to Feel Safe During Treatment

It’s important for people to feel safe in trauma therapy as that’s the ground for healing to occur. It’s only when people feel safe that their nervous systems can relax, enabling them to access the aspects of their brains for higher-order thinking, emotional regulation and social connection.

It’s one of the central responsibilities of the therapist to create a context of safety through an empathetic relationship with their clients built on trust. Key goals include helping the client manage physical stress responses and greater internal regulation. This typically should include from the therapist:

• A safe physical environment
• No potential triggers
• Consistent support
• Nonjudgmental attitude
• Self-regulation techniques such as deep breathing, mindfulness, grounding exercises

How To Feel Safe After Treatment

Several things you can do after therapy include:

• Define your needs for personal safety.
• Set your boundaries and be prepared to let others know of them
• Be compassionate with yourself
• Be true to yourself
• Anchor yourself in the present moment through your senses.. 
• Re-parent yourself without trauma responses. Nourish your inner child
• Affirm your safety to yourself
• Practice mindfulness
• Do movement to rewire the body. Yoga, Exercise. Dance
• Observe external things in your environment that haven’t changed. This can help ground you.
• Observe internally and notice what you have inside.

Professional Help in Utah

Treatment is available in Utah. Are you or a loved one looking for a compassionate space to heal from anxiety, trauma, PTSD, other mental health issues or addictions? Our licensed professional therapists and counselors at Corner Canyon Health Centers can provide compassionate help using a range of holistic techniques.

Reach out to our Admissions team now at Corner Canyon. We’re in a peaceful setting bordered by the beautiful Wasatch Mountains.

Sources

[1] Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (US). Trauma-Informed Care in Behavioral Health Services. Rockville (MD): Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US); 2014. (Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) Series, No. 57.) Chapter 1. Trauma-Informed Care: A Sociocultural Perspective.

[2] Rothrock, A.2022. For Those Who Walk With Others on the Path to Healing

Personal Perspective: We need to see the whole person. Psychology Today.

[3] Podolan, M., Gelo, O. C. G. (2023). The Functions of Safety in Psychotherapy: An Integrative Theoretical Perspective across Therapeutic Schools. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 20(3), 193-204

[4] Davis, S. 2022. The Tragedy of Never Feeling Safe. CPTSDFoundation.org
[5] Hypoarousal. Complextrauma.org