The relationship is the most effective tool (and also the “trap”): Relational strategies in the treatment of patients with complex traumatic histories
This two-part webinar addresses the complexity of the therapeutic relationship with patients who have traumatic histories. Although psychotherapists actively strive to maintain a strong relationship with their patients, in practice this is often easier said than done.
Patients with traumatic histories have difficulty trusting the therapist; many minimise their traumatic experiences, others tend to refuse help. Still others seek quick resolution, despite having endured difficult and repeated interpersonal trauma over time.
Drawing on attachment theory and research, as well as on established clinical practice, Robert Muller proposes strategies for working with these patients in order to find “points of entry” and attunement.
Through a relational and psychodynamic approach, ways of developing the therapeutic relationship are explored, with the aim of helping patients regain a sense of trust in others. Therapeutic techniques will be examined to encourage them to take interpersonal risks, process losses and face vulnerability.
Muller monitors the emotional shifts within the therapeutic relationship with trauma survivors and specifically seeks to address the following questions: How can we recognise when, unintentionally, we have put the sense of safety in the relationship to the test? What happens to the relationship when patients or therapists accelerate the process, and how can this be addressed? And in what ways can sub-threshold conflicts become therapeutically useful?
The webinar will also examine the different choices clinicians make in navigating the relationship, choices that often have a significant impact on treatment outcomes. Healing from trauma is a complex process: when patients disclose too much, too soon, they may feel worse, making the therapeutic journey more difficult.
Here too, the key lies in the therapist–patient relationship. Within relational approaches, it is possible to find an appropriate pace for telling one’s story so that patients experience it as helpful rather than threatening.
Throughout the webinars, theory will be enriched by clinical cases, and practical suggestions applicable to clinical work will be provided.
