Can vs. Should: Seeking Therapy for Past Trauma

Everyone experiences difficult experiences in life. Unfortunately, strife and struggle are parts of the human existence. Sometimes, individuals bounce back from these struggles, almost as if nothing ever happened. On the other hand, some individuals struggle for days, weeks, months, and even years from the effects of difficult past experiences. Try as they might, they cannot seem to overcome them, so they face a choice: live with them, or try to work through them.

Most people experience trauma in life. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the United States [SAMHSA] (n.d.) defines trauma using three E’s. Trauma is event, experience, and effects of the event. Traumas can include, but are not limited to accidents, attacks, natural disasters, witnessing a crime, and abuse (FHE Health, n.d.). The event itself is not what defines the trauma, however. The experience and effects of the event determine this. In the case of trauma, the experience is one that has lasting impact. Individuals who experienced it feel a deep sense of fear, and that their agency and power were taken away. These individuals may be left with memories that they cannot seem to remove from their minds (Remedy Therapy Behavioral Health, 2020). Nightmares may plague their sleep. They may feel unable to return to certain places, ideas, or discussions. Some may even receive a diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Laurence, 2023). The impact of trauma is truly life -altering.

People who experience trauma can seek therapy to help remediate its symptoms. Trauma therapy can help correct false beliefs that resulted from the experience of trauma (Laurence, 2023). It can help reduce flashbacks and fear. It can help return a locus of control to individuals as they gain healthier coping skills (Schmidt, 2020). In short, therapy can help reduce the effects of past trauma so that people can fully live their present lives.

Can individuals seek therapy for past trauma? Most definitely! Most likely, they will reap the rewards of engaging with their pain in this way. Should individuals seek therapy for past trauma, though? Well, that is up to them. Trauma takes control from people, and therefore forcing people to go to therapy can cause more trauma. Pursuing therapy is a choice, a choice to pursue a life free from the past, and fully able to live in the present.