Trauma Therapy – The Path to Successful Recovery

This Page was last reviewed and changed on April 21st 2022

The condition most of us know as co-dependence has been renamed ‘developmental immaturity’ to reflect the fact that the majority of people who suffer from this condition are the product of some form of childhood trauma that negatively impacted psychological and emotional development. Treatment for co-dependence is something clients can find here at UKAT. Our treatment is based on the Post Induction Therapy (PIT) model developed by renowned treatment expert Pia Melody.

Melody herself is the survival of childhood trauma who, in the 1970s, came to the realisation that the treatment methods of the day were inadequate. She devised a model that she used to successfully treat herself, before taking it to The Meadows in Arizona (USA) where it has since proved to be very effective.

The UKAT team is fully committed to providing treatments most appropriate to individual need. We believe in PIT because we are familiar with its history and results. Clients suffering from childhood trauma can contact us for more information about accessing this treatment.

Post Induction Therapy Basics

The foundation of PIT is built on the knowledge that those who suffered childhood trauma carry with them emotional baggage that seems unreasonable to others. This is why the therapy is so helpful for victims of child abuse, sexual abuse, and other types of trauma. The emotional baggage caused by all of them is nearly universal.

Children who have been victimised to the extent of experiencing trauma carry into adulthood exceptionally strong feelings of fear, mistrust, guilt, shame and even paranoia. PIT seeks to relieve victims of this emotional baggage by essentially ‘giving back’ or ‘transferring’ those feelings to the perpetrator of the abuse.

PIT therapists utilise a multitude of methods to facilitate and complete the therapy based on client needs. As a general rule, however, they follow a basic four-point programme:

• Building a Rapport – The therapist must first establish a comfortable rapport with clients in order to reassure them that they are in a safe place where they can find the help and support they need. Victims of childhood trauma who do not believe they are in a safe environment are less likely to open up in a way that is necessary to bring healing.

• Incident Debriefing – The second step, and often the most uncomfortable, is to recount the incident or incidents of abuse. Therapists call this debriefing. Depending on how extensive the trauma is, debriefing may take multiple sessions to complete. Clients are asked to recount incidents in as much detail as possible, bringing as many facts as they can remember to the surface. It is often a very emotional process but one that is both necessary and very helpful.

• Preparing an Address – In order to give back the emotional baggage, the client must first prepare by putting thoughts and emotions down on paper. Therapists ask clients to write a letter to their perpetrators detailing individual incidents, how those incidents made them feel, and the kind of physical and psychological damage inflicted by the perpetrators’ actions.

• Addressing the Perpetrator – Lastly, clients ‘address’ the perpetrator by imagining the person sitting in an empty chair and speaking whatever is on the heart and mind. The client is allowed to be in total control of the situation in order to psychologically empower that person to give back to the perpetrator. This final phase is done in a group setting in order to provide support, comfort, and assurance.

Some victims of childhood trauma can move directly into counselling at the conclusion of one round of PIT therapy. Others need multiple rounds to deal with multiple incidents occurring over many years. In either case, the counselling that follows PIT is necessary to help retrain the mind and emotions to move beyond past trauma.

PIT may not be an effective therapy for every victim of childhood trauma, but it has proven to be very useful for the majority of clients willing to undergo it. PIT is one of the most successful treatments ever developed for victims of childhood trauma. This is one of the main reasons we are so supportive of it here at UKAT.

Why You Need Treatment

Any person suffering the effects of childhood trauma needs to seek out treatment as soon as possible. Remember, the perpetrator of abuse does not carry around the emotional baggage inflicted upon victims. The only one hurt by the abuse over the long term are the victims themselves. Holding onto the emotional baggage of past trauma only serves to make the victim’s life more miserable and progressively unmanageable.

In its mildest form, childhood trauma can lead to a long list of emotional and psychological issues, not the least of which is clinical depression. Yet the effects of childhood trauma can be much worse. People have been known to become suicidal after years of trying to repress the negative emotions of past abuse.

Victims of childhood trauma who do not get treatment are allowing their perpetrators to continue victimising them day after day. Most do so in ignorance, not even understanding why they feel the way they do, but that does not change the reality of continuing victimisation. If you or someone you love is suffering from the effects of childhood trauma, it is not necessary to continue living this way. PIT is an exceptionally helpful therapy that leads to wellness.

Why We Use PIT

UKAT believes in utilising a holistic approach in the treatment of addictive behaviour and mental/emotional problems. This approach dictates that we treat the entire person in body, mind and spirit rather than just focusing on one aspect. PIT fits nicely with this holistic approach by treating both the mind and spirit simultaneously. In cases where medical treatment is also required, our recovery clinics are capable of providing it.

We use PIT for the treatment of childhood trauma because we have seen it work wonders. In the end, our number one goal is to make sure that every client who seeks our help receives the kinds of treatments that will lead to complete wellness. PIT is one of the best treatments in that regard for childhood trauma.

For more information about PIT or any of our other treatment programmes, please do not hesitate to call us. The UKAT team is standing by to serve you right now.