Diane Poole Heller – Working the Edge in Healing Trauma: Can Therapy Sometimes Be Too Safe?

While most therapists are sensitive to the hazards of retraumatizing clients by pushing them too far, too fast, what about the dangers of playing it too safe? When is too much risk avoidance a disservice to clients and an indication of the therapist’s overprotectiveness getting in the way of growth? In this workshop, we’ll look closely at how to understand clients’ threat threshold and establish an optimal pace in trauma recovery, drawing fully on their resilience and capacity for self-healing. Through video clips and demonstration, you will learn how to:

• Use resourcing and other methods to set up corrective experiences with clients learning how to handle increasing arousal and discomfort
• Recognize your own tendency to be overprotective and rescue vulnerable clients
• Invite and empower clients to face manageable challenges and find ways to test their own limits