Stages of Recovery
This is the first and most vital stage of recovery for a trauma survivor, during which deep bodywork is generally considered inappropriate until a sense of security is established.
What is safety? (CH 11)
This phenomenon involves a survivor reliving or re-experiencing a traumatic event as if it were happening in the present moment.
What is a flashback? (CH 11)
This specific psychological condition—distinct from standard PTSD—affects individuals who have been subjected to prolonged, repeated trauma over time.
What is Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (or CPTSD)? (CH 11)
This term refers to the psychological impact on a practitioner resulting from hearing about or witnessing the traumatic histories of their clients.
What is secondary (or vicarious) traumatization? (CH 11)
To provide the predictability a survivor needs, practitioners are encouraged to use these three specific types of body therapy techniques.
What are subtle, gentle, and non-invasive techniques? (CH 11)
Following the establishment of safety, these are the second and third stages of the trauma recovery process.
What are remembrance/mourning and reconnection? (CH 11)
This type of memory is so painful that parts of it are blocked from conscious awareness and many details are missing.
What is an unintegrated memory? (CH 11)
This specific symptom of PTSD involves a state of constant, heightened alertness and sensitivity to potential threats in the environment.
What is hypervigilance (or hyperarousal)? (CH 11)
Because a survivor's boundaries have often been repeatedly broken, the practitioner has a heightened duty to both provide and do this regarding boundaries.
What is model them? (CH 11)
In the hands-on treatment protocol, these three qualities of touch help the client stay present and feel safe.
What are structure, pace, and predictability? (CH 11)
Clinical guidelines indicate that somatic therapy and bodywork are generally most helpful when a client has reached this specific stage of recovery.
What is the third stage (or reconnection)? (CH 11)
This term describes a memory that may have been painful at one time but has been remembered, understood, and accepted by the survivor.
What is an integrated memory? (CH 11)
Bodywork undertaken in isolation from other therapies, or without a context for integration, carries this specific clinical risk for a trauma survivor.
What is the potential to harm rather than heal? (CH 11)
This professional resource is identified as an absolute prerequisite for any practitioner who chooses to work with survivors of trauma and abuse.
What is ongoing supervision and support? (CH 11)
During the initial phone interview with a survivor, the practitioner’s primary goal is to assess these two factors.
What are recovery stage and the client's support system (or use of psychotherapy)? (CH 11)
To minimize the risk of retraumatization, practitioners must assess this specific factor before consenting to work with a self-disclosed trauma survivor.
What is the client's current stage of recovery? (CH 11)
According to the clinical protocol for "retrieving" a client from a flashback, these are the first three specific physical and communicative steps a practitioner must take.
What are gently breaking contact with hands, making voice contact, and making eye contact? (CH 11)
This is a mandatory client prerequisite before a somatic practitioner begins working with a trauma survivor to ensure a coordinated, safe team approach to care.
What is giving consent for communication between the practitioner and the psychotherapist? (CH 11)
When working with survivors, practitioners must be particularly sensitive to touch boundaries both during the treatment and during this specific time.
What is after the treatment? (CH 11)
This clinical skill is defined as being fully engaged and aware in the moment, which is essential for monitoring a survivor's subtle behavioral cues.
What is being present? (CH 11)
A client self-discloses a history of trauma but insists they are "fine" and wants very deep, painful pressure to "get the tension out" during their first session. Why might an ethical practitioner still choose to work very superficially and slowly?
Because the client may be in a state of dissociation or attempting to re-enact a trauma pattern; the practitioner’s primary ethical duty is to establish safety and predictability, which requires assessing the client's physiological response rather than just following a verbal request for intensity.
A client begins to cry uncontrollably during a session after you touch their shoulder. How do you distinguish between a "healthy emotional release" and a "traumatic flashback," and why does that distinction change your next move?
A healthy release usually leaves the client present and aware of the room, while a flashback involves losing orientationto the present; if it is a flashback, the practitioner must stop the work immediately and use grounding techniques (like making voice contact) to bring the client back to safety.
You notice that a client's body tenses up every time you move your hands toward their neck, though they verbally say they are "okay." Why is continuing the treatment as planned a violation of trauma-informed care even if the client hasn't said "stop"?
Because trauma survivors often have broken boundaries and may not consciously recognize their own signals of distress; ethically, the practitioner must prioritize the nonverbal "no" and model healthy boundaries by slowing down or checking in.
A practitioner finds themselves feeling an intense, parental urge to "rescue" a client who has a history of abuse. Why does this "fixation to fix" signal a breakdown in professional ethics?
Because it assumption that the client is helpless, which reinforces the power imbalance and creates countertransference; this prevents the practitioner from supporting the client's actual empowerment and autonomy.
You are in the middle of a session and the client starts talking about the graphic details of their past abuse. Why should you ethically gently redirect the conversation back to their current body sensations rather than letting them continue?
Because a somatic therapist’s scope is body-based integration, not talk therapy; allowing a client to recount trauma details without a mental health professional present can lead to flooding or retraumatization, making the session clinically unsafe.