What is Trauma-Informed Couples Therapy?
Trauma-informed couples therapy is a therapeutic approach that takes into account the impact of past trauma on your current relationships and behaviors. It recognizes that trauma can affect your ability to trust, communicate, and connect with others, and seeks to address these challenges in a supportive and non-judgmental environment. Here are some potential benefits of trauma-informed couples therapy:
Improved communication: One of the main goals of trauma-informed couples therapy is to help you and your partner improve your communication skills. This might involve learning how to express emotions and needs in a healthy and assertive way, or learning how to listen actively and empathetically to your partner.
Greater understanding and empathy: By focusing on the impact of past trauma on current behaviors and relationships, trauma-informed couples therapy can help you and your partner gain a deeper understanding and empathy for one another. This can lead to increased compassion and support within the relationship, as well as a greater sense of connection.
Enhanced trust: Trust is often damaged in relationships where one or both partners have experienced trauma. Trauma-informed couples therapy can help you both work through issues of trust and build a stronger, more resilient bond.
Greater emotional regulation: Trauma can disrupt your ability to regulate your emotions, leading to outbursts or difficulty managing stress. Trauma-informed couples therapy can help you and your partner learn strategies for managing emotions and maintaining emotional balance, which can improve the overall health and stability of the relationship.
Improved self-esteem and self-worth: Trauma can have a significant impact on an individual's sense of self-worth and self-esteem. Trauma-informed couples therapy can help you both to work through these issues and rebuild a positive sense of self, which can in turn improve your relationship.
Here are some additional ideas on how trauma-informed couples therapy can help you and your partner improve your emotional regulation:
Identifying triggers: Trauma-informed couples therapy can help you and your partner to identify what triggers your emotional reactions and how to manage these triggers in a healthy way. This might involve learning coping strategies such as deep breathing or grounding techniques to help regulate emotions during times of stress.
Developing healthy communication skills: Healthy communication is a key component of emotional regulation. Trauma-informed couples therapy can help individuals and couples learn how to express their emotions and needs in a healthy and assertive way, which can reduce the likelihood of conflicts escalating into emotionally charged situations.
Seeking support: Trauma-informed couples therapy can provide a safe and supportive environment for you both to discuss your emotions and challenges. Having a therapist to talk to can help you and your partner manage your emotions in a healthy way and avoid becoming overwhelmed.
Building self-awareness: Trauma-informed couples therapy can help you each develop greater self-awareness of your own emotional states and triggers. This can help you both become more attuned to your own emotional needs and better able to regulate your emotions in a healthy way.
Improving self-care: Engaging in self-care activities such as exercise, meditation, or spending time in nature can help individuals and couples better manage their emotions. Trauma-informed couples therapy can help both of you to identify self-care strategies that work for you and incorporate these into your daily routines.
Sound like something you are willing to try with your partner? Woven has a few options for those looking for more support in their relationship. The first is couples therapy. We have multiple therapists on staff trained in couples therapy, and our therapist matchmaker is happy to help you find the best fit.
Our second option is for couples looking for a more intensive therapy experience. Have you experienced trauma or betrayal within your relationship? Are you engaged to be married and want help discussing the hard parts of all relationships? Are you struggling to co-parent with your partner because you see child rearing differently? If so, couples intensives might be for you. Learn more below.