the inability to know or explain what you are feeling. This is a very common phenomenon for individuals who’ve experienced early trauma, abuse or neglect. Starting off in therapy, it may be the first issue to address, and there’s no shame in not knowing how to describe your emotional experience at first.

Body armoring is the tendency to have constant muscle tightness and/or hold one’s breath. It is the body’s way of fending off intense emotions; a coping mechanism developed in the face of trauma, where the body is always in survival mode: braced for attack, be it emotional or physical, and to rein in any self-expression. Over time, this emotional suppression can lead to detachment and the inability to feel emotions. Many trauma survivors present with emotional armoring, and don’t know how to live any other way until they become aware of this trauma response, and it is somatically addressed.

An ingrained belief subconsciously impacting one’s sense of not being enough, of being unlovable, of feeling stupid, dirty, unwanted, or ugly. Core wounds are developed in childhood mostly due to suppressed pain caused by abandonment, rejection and humiliation, which leads to compensating behaviors and beliefs to manage the environment of abuse. Under our struggles, there is usually a core wound driving our belief system and coping mechanisms.

also referred to as complex trauma and developmental trauma: As opposed to PTSD, which describes the effects individuals may be left with after a one-time big T traumatic event, complex trauma is repeated trauma, which is often (but may not be) more subtle. The long-term exposure to pervasive trauma, abuse and/or neglect affects an individual into adulthood, leaving them with a dysregulated nervous system, intense feelings of shame, compromised safety in this world, and the inability to trust others. While CPTSD is usually developmental trauma (it occurs in early life and literally shapes an individual in a manner that leaves them feeling anxious and isolated), it can also occur later in life when experience prolonged trauma or abuse.

a state of being separated from conscious awareness. Dissociation runs on a continuum, from the pathological Dissociative Identity Disorder (previously known as Multiple Personality Disorder) to the normal phenomenon known as highway hypnosis, where one spaces out while driving. Most individuals struggling with dissociation, who often cannot name their struggle as such, fall somewhere in the middle, where they zone out as a protection in certain situations, are not conscious of small pockets of time (how did I get here? What did I just do?) or watch themselves going through the day as if they’re in a movie.

the state of lacking the inability to self-regulate. This manifests as the inability to manage feelings and emotions, and the tendency to get easily overwhelmed. Dysregulation is generally a cause of lack of attunement and co-regulation in childhood, where the individual never learned to co-regulate with a secure attachment figure, or a chaotic and unsafe childhood environment, where the nervous system is wired up.

When a client transfers feelings that they’d have for someone important in their life, to their therapist, thus causing feelings, yearnings, or reactions that seem disproportionate to what is actually going on between client and therapist. This is an expected part of therapy, often the catalyst for the important therapeutic work and healing, and nothing to be ashamed of.

having the knowledge of the nature of trauma, recognizing how it shapes a person and their ability to cope, and customizing treatment or adaptations to cater to individuals who were traumatized. This is not only the knowledge that trauma exists, but the in-depth understanding of how it affects the nervous system, how the body stores trauma and to access these as tools for healing with a bottom-up approach of regulation and safety and not only a focus on skills and cognitions.

a state of openness, honesty, and emotional exposure. A crucial goal in therapy is to build trust and enable the client to experience vulnerability with their therapist. Once the relationship becomes a safe space, it’s possible to attain the willingness to be authentic about one’s struggles, desires, fears and insecurities so the deep-seated emotions and experiences can be explored and addressed. Vulnerability and trust work hand in hand, with the cultivation of trust allowing for more vulnerability, and vulnerability well-received allowing for more trust and a stronger therapeutic connection.