Autumn 1998

Overcoming Past Trauma

Judy Cook

This past year I have attended two different therapy conferences which both had the same focus: how to overcome the effect of past trauma which seems to persist or even get worse over time and which is not much alleviated through conventional talk therapy.

These two new therapies discussed are:

1) Traumatic Incident Reduction Therapy (TIR) developed by Dr. Frank Gerbode of the Institute for Research in Metapsychology in Menlo Park, California; and

2) TheoPostic Therapy, developed by Dr. Ed Smith of the Alathia Equipping Centre in Campbellville, Kentucky.

Both therapies seek to bypass a focus on insight, and instead focus on connecting negative emotional experience in the present with past trauma through the use of visualization. To understand how each therapy works, let's take a case illustration.

Case Illustration

Ann is experiencing nightmares, panic attacks, and feelings of depression. She has no appetite, has no energy to be with friends or do other activities she formerly enjoyed, and has trouble concentrating at work. Ann is exhibiting classic signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

When Ann was 16 she had been date raped. For two years she never told anyone, but with PTSD symptoms becoming more severe, she eventually confided in a friend, and then saw a counsellor for about a year. This course of action helped her feel more normal, and alleviated her sense of isolation. She began to cope better with her symptoms, and learned to control and manage them to a certain extent with the help of relaxation techniques and positive self-talk.

Traumatic Incident Reduction Therapy

If Ann had gone to see a Traumatic Incident Reduction therapist (TIR) she would have been told that this is a one-session therapy which could last as long as four or five hours, and that the therapy would be finished when the past incident was resolved for her. The TIR therapist would have her close her eyes and "view" in her mind the rape incident from beginning to end, at which time the therapist would ask her to "tell me what happened."

This process would be repeated until the "endpoint" was reached, and the negative feelings connected to the traumatic incident were gone. After going over the same incident again and again Ann would come to a new understanding of the meaning of what happened, and would slowly begin to draw different conclusions each time she visualized that particular event in her life.

She might come to the realization that she could not have prevented it, and is therefore not to blame. Her belief about herself as dirty or tainted might change to acknowledgment of the event belonging in the past and having no power in the present. Her perspective slowly would have changed from subjective, with its corresponding irrational beliefs such as "I should never let my guard down, ever," to a more objective perspective with a corresponding belief such as "I am not always able to prevent every bad thing that happens to me."

The strength of this therapy as described by Dr. Gerbode is that repeated visualization of the entire trauma creates the necessary distance to the event which allows for a more rational, and therefore resolved, interpretation of the initial trauma.

TheoPhostic Therapy

TheoPhostic therapy has some elements in common with TIR, but there are also some important differences. Both therapies are short term. Both therapies try to bring present negative feelings back to root incidents of trauma. Both use visualization of the trauma memory as the point where new thinking must be developed to counteract hurtful thinking about oneself and one's world.

If Ann had gone to a TheoPhostic (TP) therapist, however, the process would be quite different. The name "TheoPhostic" implies the process of this therapy. "Theo" meaning, God, and "Phostic" meaning, to illuminate, signifies that the light of Gods truth will dispel the darkness experienced in the trauma.

She would be told that this is a Christian therapy where Jesus Christ does the healing. Her therapist would tell her that her negative emotions and her post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms persist because of lies she has incorporated at the point of trauma. She would learn that divine truth will set her free from her symptoms when the lies are identified and matched with the memory picture which was the occasion for the lies to become embedded.

The therapist would begin by asking Ann to close her eyes. Then he would pray "Lord Jesus, would you bring the memory to which the pain is connected." Ann might envision the rape, and would then be asked to identify and stay with the negative feelings (e.g. of shame or fear).

The task of the therapist would be to identify and name the lie or lies incorporated in Ann's thinking about herself (e.g. I should have prevented it; I will never be safe again). He would ask her to embrace those lies and say them to herself.

Then he would ask Jesus to reveal his truth to Ann. She would either see an image of Jesus, hear his voice, or sense his presence, and he would impart his truth to her, such as: it was not your fault; you are safe now. Then, when Ann focuses on this same memory again, all feelings of shame and fear would be lifted and be replaced by feelings of calm and peace.

If Ann was unable to access a sense of Jesus' presence, the therapist would assume some obstacle to be in the way. This obstacle could be unconfessed sin, anger which would have to be given up first, or some defence such as a rational belief that what is heard could not possibly be Jesus speaking to her. Dr. Smith also describes that some obstacles are caused by demons, which must be bound in Jesus' name.

When obstacles have been removed, the lies identified in conjunction with the negative emotion in the memory picture, Jesus' presence can be seen, heard, or felt, and healing takes place.

Dr. Smith has found no exceptions, and reiterates that this process works equally well with Christians and non-Christians.

He gives all the credit to God, explaining that it is Jesus who heals, and that the therapist follows Jesus' lead to identify lies matched to memory which are released by hearing or experiencing God's truth.

Comparing the Theories

Although this quick overview cannot do justice to the intricacies of these two therapies, it does describe how some of the same principles about trauma and cognition underlie both. The fundamental difference is that with TIR a person develops new insight based on his or her own innate wisdom and understanding, whereas TP relies on specific insight given by the Holy Spirit during therapy. One way this difference could be characterized is to see God's healing manifested through TIR by common grace, and through TP by special grace.

Although both therapies are dynamic in bringing quick release for long suffered psychic pain, it would make sense for a christian agency such as Salem to pay particular attention to this new christian approach of inner healing called TheoPhostic therapy. Jesus came not only to save, but also to heal and to set free. This therapy equips us to participate with our Saviour by allowing us to assist sufferers to meet Jesus at the point of their suffering, so that his healing truth can dispel the darkness of lies in the trauma experienced.