Judith Herman's- Stages of Recovery from Trauma.

We have talked about some of the results of traumatic childhood experiences and have tried to address each one of them separately. But I thought Judith Herman gives a good review of some of the most common ones.

• Difficulty regulating emotions and impulses
• Emotional numbing
• Anger and aggression
• Substance addictions
• Behavioral addictions (porn, anonymous sex, gambling, etc.)
• Self-harming behaviors (cutting, burning, etc.)
• Dissociation (spacing out, blanking out, losing time, etc.)

Judith Herman's work on Trauma is considered landmark work and her book  Trauma and Recovery is considered a classic. In this book she talks about recovery happening in 3 stages.

Stage 1: personal safety, self care emotional regulation.

• It is not about discussing or processing memories, but instead about establishing safety and stability in one’s body, one’s relationships, and the rest of one’s life.
• Developing one’s own inner strengths
• Learning how to regulate one’s emotions and manage symptoms that cause suffering or make one feel unsafe.
• Developing and strengthening skills for managing painful and unwanted experiences, and minimizing unhelpful responses to them.
• Addressing problems with alcohol or drugs, depression, eating behaviors, physical health, panic attacks, and/or dissociation (e.g., spacing out, losing time).
• Taking medication to reduce anxiety and/or depressive symptoms

Stage 2: remembrance and mourning.

• Reviewing and/or discussing memories to lessen their emotional intensity, to revise their meanings for one’s life and identity, etc.
• Working through grief about unwanted or abusive experiences and their negative effects on one’s life.
• Mourning or working through grief about good experiences that one did not have, but that all children deserve.

Stage 3:Reconnecting

• The third stage of recovery focuses on reconnecting with people, meaningful activities, and other aspects of life.

This summary is taken from:
https://1in6.org/men/get-information/online-readings/recovery-and-therapy/stages-of-recovery/judith-hermans-stages-of-recovery/

Judith Herman created the Victims of Violence Program that continues today in Cambridge, MA. For more information on their program go to ....http://www.challiance.org/Services/VictimsofViolenceProgram.aspx