Traumatic events are emotionally distressing, and even though most people recover on their own, some may need the help of a counselor or therapist to recover from it. Experiencing a traumatic event activates the body’s defense system and causes a stress response, leading to a variety of mental and physical symptoms, causing behavioral changes. 

Some short-term trauma symptoms include feeling sad, numb, exhausted, confused, and more. Whereas long-term effects of trauma include extreme anger, emotional outbursts, denial of the event, and eliciting a sense of helplessness that stays with a person for a long time. People suffering from long-term effects are more prone to developing a mental illness. Some common mental issues resulting from a traumatic experience include depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

Trauma can change a person because the brain adapts in response to trauma. Different parts of the brain are affected. The amygdala enlarges and stimulates fight and flight responses. The hippocampus shrinks leading to short-term memory loss, and the pre-frontal cortex also shrinks, making it challenging to regulate thoughts and emotions. Therefore, the help of a competent counselor is necessary to deal with any post-traumatic symptoms to avoid long-term damage to the brain.

Trauma counselors learn several valuable skills, signs of trauma, counseling techniques, and treatment options during their education and training. They are also trained to provide trauma-informed care. Therefore, advanced degrees in trauma counseling can increase your career prospects, advancement opportunities, and salary. In this article, we will discuss in detail the things that an advanced degree in trauma counseling teaches you.   

1. Necessary Skills for a Trauma Counsellor

An advanced degree in trauma counseling equips you with various valuable skills to help you excel in your field. Some of those necessary skills include;

• Patience

Patience is a crucial skill that all trauma counselors must possess because a lot of their work involves sitting back and attentively listening to their clients. Providing a comfortable environment in which clients can speak freely and controlling your responses is essential for developing trust between you and the client.

• Attention to Detail

Trauma counselors are trained to observe their clients keenly. They should pay attention to little details like body language, voice tone, and other actions to accurately identify the problem and devise a treatment plan accordingly. Moreover, trauma counselors also take notes while interacting with their patients, which requires them to pay attention to minor details for basic record keeping.

• Control over Emotions

Trauma counselors deal with emotional topics on a daily basis. They should have a stronghold on their emotions to remain as professional as possible during client meetings. They should avoid becoming emotional crutches for their clients or developing an emotional bond with them. They should support clients to heal from their traumatic experiences, but becoming emotionally invested can result in inappropriate and ineffective professional practices.

2. Recognizing Signs of Trauma

Trauma may look different from person to person. Therefore, trauma counselors use trauma-responsive practices to identify the signs and symptoms of trauma. Trauma can have several mental, physical, physiological signs and symptoms, including feeling angry, sad, disconnected, guilty, and withdrawn from others. 

Trauma counselors help their clients identify the root cause of their feelings and encourage and support them to fix those problems to control signs and symptoms. Trauma can have different stages, and counselors can identify which stage their patient is in to help them accordingly, or they can support clients through the whole process of healing. The main stages of trauma include;

• Denial

It involves denying the fact that the traumatic event occurred.

• Anger

It involves feeling extreme anger about why it happened or why did it happen to you.

• Bargaining

It involves creating a lot of ‘what if’ scenarios like what if I had done things differently or any such wishes that help avoid the guilt or shame.

• Depression

Depression is common among trauma survivors. It is a gloomy feeling that people feel when they have to adjust to so many things so quickly.

• Acceptance

Acceptance is the realization that whatever happened wasn’t your fault and whatever has happened can’t be changed.

Everyone moves towards acceptance at their own pace, and it is not a straight path. Many people go back and forth between these stages. However, trauma counselors make sure that their clients get the required help and heal after accepting their reality.  

3. Trauma Counseling Techniques

Trauma counselors learn a lot of counseling techniques. They interact with their patients to identify the issue and use the most appropriate counseling technique to help them deal with their problems. Trauma-focused therapy aims to integrate the traumatic event into your life and not negate it. The most common forms of trauma therapy include;

• Behavior Therapy

Exposure therapy is the most common type of behavioral therapy, which encourages people to face their fears. This therapy helps people understand that negative emotions regarding the traumatic experience are unwarranted, allowing them to feel less fearful.

• Group Therapy

There are a variety of support groups for trauma survivors. Some groups are led by counselors who educate and provide support to the members, while some only consist of a group of people who have gone through the same experience and bond over that shared trauma.

• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Trauma counselors receive special training to perform EMDR from the EDMR international association. The treatment involves the person in therapy mentally focusing on the traumatic event while tracking a moving light or object. This treatment is highly effective for alleviating and eliminating symptoms of trauma.

• Pharmacotherapy

Pharmacotherapy is a medication-focused therapy that helps manage disruptive trauma reactions. Medications help in making symptoms more manageable and less intense.   

The Bottom Line

Traumatic experiences can negatively affect a person’s physical, mental, and psychological health. Trauma counselors gain a lot of knowledge and experience while pursuing advanced degrees in trauma counseling and help people deal with all the symptoms of trauma so they can lead happy and healthy life.

Trauma counselors learn different skills to better understand and deal with their clients. Moreover, they also learn to identify the signs, symptoms, and stages of trauma. Lastly, they are equipped with various counseling techniques and are trained to perform different counseling therapies to help trauma-survivors deal with their trauma-related signs and symptoms. Hopefully, this article will help you understand what an advanced degree teaches you about trauma counseling.