"I know, and I can help."

"I know and I can help."

Bessel van der Kolk

TRAUMA * ADDICTIONS * INTIMACY DISORDERS

Conference Nashville, Tennessee

 

 

Bessel van der Kolk is one of the world's foremost authorities Post Traumatic Stress Disorders and other related disorders.  He has extensive credentials and his presentation was filled with studies, research, and current discoveries. 

 

During his presentation, Mr. van der Kolk referred to the importance of feeling safe.   An individual suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder needs more than drugs.  If an arena of safety is not provided or abused within the context of receiving help, the person may experience the original impact of trauma again, intensifying fear.

 

There are a large variety of people who have suffered trauma and resist healthy professional relationships where healing can take place. As a friend or co-worker, we can be present in the crisis at hand and assist the victim in finding professional help. 

 

Professional services are required.  Therapeutic intervention may also include skills such as hypnosis, EFT, EMDR or SE to name just a few.  The important piece for a person in relationship with a victim of trauma, is to assure them you understand even if on a minor level.  Display compassion and empathy with the assurance of trust.  Once this part of the relationship is in place, we can assist the person in finding professional help.  We can be one of the witnesses to their  recovery. The primary skill is listening. 

 

When a person is facing challenge and they hear, "I know and I can help" the beginning of relief is immediately felt.  It indicates an action or the first step in the direction of healing.  As human beings, we are all capable of developing compassion and empathy to witness our own  challenges and those of others. If these qualities are not displayed by a professional, the victim needs to discover one who does provide the arena of safety.

 

Bessel van der Kolk primarily focused upon the parts of the brain impacted by trauma and the damage that occurs.  In great depth he described how our relationships and our perceptions become impaired when trauma is repressed or never addressed.  From desensitizing experiences in life, nightmares, fractured relationships, to chronic trauma or other areas of dysfunction, a person cannot experience a full and healthy life of promise.  Drugs can be at the beginning of the  bridge to healing, but are not a remedy in themselves.