Trauma has been having a moment. 

People are talking about trauma everywhere, from social media to magazine covers, but the prevalence of trauma in our society isn’t shrinking anytime soon. Trauma happens in our families, our relationships, our workplaces, our culture, and our society.

However, there is a prevailing school of thought that therapists should avoid exposing their clients to their traumatic memories and that doing so may be actively harmful.

To which we call BS.

We believe, from our own experiences and from working with clients, that engaging intentionally with traumatic memories helps people process and lessens the impact of those events on their lives.

At The Kiln, we support therapists in challenging the anti-exposure paradigm so that they can do this work with confidence and courage.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• The rapid rise of anti-exposure sentiment thanks to social media
• How exposure helps people learn that their memories are not dangerous
• Why all therapists need to be prepared to hold space for clients who want to talk about their trauma
• How exposure-based therapy positively impacts clients’ self-concept
• Why our professional culture needs to be more honest about the work being scary and difficult sometimes
• How the field’s fear of exposure-based therapy hurts the people who have been impacted by trauma the most
• How avoiding traumatic memories pushes past and present trauma back underground, with our clients and in our culture

Learn more about The Kiln:

• Website

Learn more about Dr. Kae Hixson:

• Website

Learn more about Riva Stoudt:

• Into the Woods Counseling
• Instagram

Resources:

• Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, Peter A. Levine
• The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel Van Der Kolk
• Trauma and Recovery The Aftermath of Violence: From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror, Judith L. Herman
• She Redefined Trauma. Then Trauma Redefined Her. - The New York Times
• Truth and Repair: How Trauma Survivors Envision Justice, Judith L. Herman