What Helps Us Heal?

Healing from trauma does not happen in orderly, predictable steps. Moreover, what works in one situation or culture may not work in another. So there is no simple formula for healing. Just the same, three broad categories of activity and intervention have been shown to facilitate healing in every kind of trauma situation: safety, acknowledgement and reconnection. (Practitioners sometimes use other terms to describe these same principles.)

Safety is critical, because if people are not physically safe, fear sets off an alarm in the brain that begins a cascade of stress hormones and chemicals and physical responses such as tense muscles and hyper-attentiveness. These physical changes help us to survive traumatic events but they interfere with healing from trauma because they make problem solving and creative thinking difficult. There are many practical means by which we can help trauma survivors achieve a sense of safety. Naturally, these vary depending upon the circumstances.

Acknowledgement means coming to terms with the suffering, anxiety, grief, guilt and anger that accompany trauma and grappling with the changed and usually extremely challenging circumstances that traumatic events leave in their wake.

The first step toward acknowledgement is to face the reality of one’s losses: the death of a loved one, for example, or the loss of a home. Although denial and withdrawal are normal protective responses in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event, they must be transcended for healing to take place.

A crucial but often-neglected second step in the process of acknowledgement is to recognize that others, too, have experienced loss and suffering. This includes one’s family and friends, of course, but it extends even to those who may have contributed to the trauma, such as one’s “enemies” in times of war. Without this second step, the root causes of trauma may never be addressed and overcome, especially where conflict is involved. There are many practical means by which both steps toward acknowledgement can be encouraged.

Trauma disrupts and damages the social relationships that are necessary for the health of individuals, communities and societies. Reconnection involves rebuilding these relationships or building them anew. Where the social relationships were damaged to begin with, by long-term conflict or endemic injustice, for example, reconnection may take decades or even generations to succeed. Still, for permanent healing to take place, it is absolutely essential. There are many practical means by which individuals and communities can be helped to reconnect in the aftermath and even in the midst of trauma.

The natural responses of the body and brain to trauma can be either an ally or an impediment in each of these three healing processes. Understanding these responses is therefore invaluable in providing assistance to trauma survivors. It can also be very helpful to trauma survivors themselves, particularly in the acknowledgement process. There are many practical ways that this knowledge can be put to use in helping both individuals and communities heal from trauma.

The knowledge summarized here is not the special purview of mental health professionals. It can serve victims as well as healers. It can be applied to social work, education, international development, government, conflict resolution and many other fields. It can be adapted in appropriate and healthy ways to fit any culture and religion. In short, the principles described above can be used by anyone. One does not need to be an expert to heal or to help bring about healing from trauma. One of the important things we've learned come out of broad experience in community-based trauma healing.

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