“There’s a western bias/belief about problems with emotions/relations/addictions/maladaptive behaviors are all due to trauma and that we have to remember and relive them to become free of them. There’s some truth to that but it leads to some unintended consequences as well,” said Peter Levine in the webinar series (Part One and Part Two), Rethinking Trauma with e latest findings in Treating Trauma with Ruth Buczynski, PhD of NICABM.

For Levine, an experience in the 70’s impacted him greatly. There was a man, suffering from depression who got worse form therapy. He told therapist of his symptoms and she told that man that his symptoms were similar to those of group with ritual abuse. He was put into memory recovery group and people reliving memories.

The man, Levine said, was absolutely sure that he had experienced ritual satanic abuse. Levine said he does believe people have that experience and that it’s unbelievably traumatized by it. He wasn’t questioning the reality of the memories of the people in the group or the reality of cult abuse. I know this is a sensitive subject to anyone who has ever been questioned or not believed if abuse was really abuse, really as bad as thought if symptoms are “really” result of abuse.

Levine was talking about this man who had an unqualified therapist telling him what his symptoms were.

This particular guy had depression get worse and functioning got worse and worse. He was unable to maintain any kind of a relationship. Someone told him about Levine and Levine saw him and reassured him that they wouldn’t search for memories, but would work with any memories if any came up.

Levine told him about body awareness and some basic exercises having to do with grounding, centering and feeling extremities (most of the guy’s body felt dead but fingers and feet).

The man became aware of strong tension/constriction in lower back, said Levine who suggested he just feel it and notice what happened as it increased. He noticed pelvis pulling away (what are now called procedural images) and he felt his whole pelvis constricting going dead and image flashed that when at 12, mother decided he should have circumcision.

The man’s mother was anxious about changing bandages on his penis so out of her fear she would yank the bandages off which Levine said was extremely painful for the then boy.

By following procedural memory to organic conclusion, Levine said, man could connect with memory.

The man was able to be able to look back at whole time in his life, depression, how desperate he felt to get help, how help made him worse, how angry what done to him and the group. Indeed, the man took action, and got the therapist’s lisc. Revoked. Levine said the man went on to lead a meaningful joyful life in many ways.

He was actually able to not remember but to let his body remember Levine said. And while he knows most therapists don’t do things that extreme, he said, they can inadvertantly make suggestions or commentary say when someone has a procedural memory and therapist says, “tell me about relationship with parents” and the person is taken out of procedural memory into talk.

Honestly, because so many trauma survivors aren’t believed or have experiences minimized, I was hesitant to even post this story. But, this stuff happens as well and lousy therapists do damage people looking for help. Plus, it’s a reminder that we are the ultimate authority on us, and what we need in healing, and can’t give that power to others no matter how qualified or “expert” they seem.

There are times when it is valuable to work with traumatic memory. However, he cautioned also, saying, the key is that whatever we remember, how we remember, is greatly determined by what we are experiencing the present moment. If we are in distress, we go to memory of distress and it will cause more somatic markers, sensations, causing further distress.

Pain (and fear) get pickled. Photo Credit: Margaret Bellafiore

Person becomes less and less resourced, more and more traumatized.

When able to come to a place where feeling more balanced and regulated in bodies, then they can go do traumatic memories and work with them in conductive way.

Levine said lots of therapist think, “if we could only get to root, to bottom of, talk about what happened, we could fix what that event caused,” but he said, “memories not necessarily going to set us free.”

Levine talks about how Freud really in many ways brow beat patients to get them to remember trauma after trauma. Then, he changed model that trauma not due to memories but to conflictual impusles towards parents.

Levine was talking about Freud but have things changed and have they changed enough?

My Note: How much are trauma survivors still at the whim of whatever the latest trauma research or researchers are saying, speculating, wanting to explore and practice?

As I’ve mentioned, I was shocked by Trauma Conference in Boston of 2014 and how books such as the most recent one by Bessel van der Kolk don’t include perspectives from trauma survivors doing well and what works and is healing as much as what doesn’t and the researchers with their latest theories. I don’t understand research that doesn’t learn from success as well s from struggling and that doesn’t allow trauma survivors to speak for themselves more or have a seat at the table where the conversation is trauma recovery.

I know treatments would be more varied and effective if created in partnership, outside of therapy, but this seems rare to non-existent so far except on the internet where there are some experts and trauma survivors working together, in partnership.