Barriers to Therapy, Trauma and Triggers
Michael Ceely
An Interview with MTD therapist Christoph Zepeda
In this post, Christoph Zepeda talks about barriers to men seeking therapy, complex trauma and how attachment-focused EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) can help.
A Disarming Stance
It’s normal for men to be resistant to therapy, especially if it’s their first time meeting with a therapist. Opening up about one’s feelings and life challenges can seem daunting. But Christoph explains how a therapist can disarm the resistant feelings in a way that’s empowering.
How EMDR Can Help
Christoff explains how trauma can be “stored” in the brain and body. People may be stuck in a pattern of unconscious reactivity. EMDR works to reprocess trauma, and break the reactive patterns. Christoph's particular style of EMDR is called attachment-focused EMDR which emphasizes the potential reparative nature of therapist-client interactions.
Trauma and Triggers
By defining trauma as not always a single event (Trauma with a capital T), but also as an accumulation of events (traumas with lower-case t’s), therapists can help clients better understand why they may be stuck in reactivity.
Delving into trauma triggers can be scary or shame inducing. Christoph talks about how triggers are normal and that acknowledging them is the first step to reducing them.
Watch the Video
Chistoph Zepeda is a Bay Area psychotherapist. Find out more about his style and philosophy on his MTD profile or visit his website Zepeda Therapy
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