Blog

When personal trauma feels unspeakable, collective stories can lend it voice. And when fairytales are offered up for the retelling, individuals can find their own narrative agency and their own creative path through the woods. To mark National Storytelling Week 2024, Transpersonal Art Therapist and Place2Be School Project Manager Anna Atkinson shares a formative experience running a storytelling group for traumatised women.

For many clients who are trapped in the past by trauma, December is the most triggering time of the year. Sensory stimuli seem to be everywhere, relational pressures mount and anniversary reactions abound, while the contrast between the idealised picture of Christmas and the trauma survivor’s internal reality only compounds the sense of isolation. Andy Cottom, a psychodynamic psychotherapist who specialises in working with the impact of war and violent crime, contemplates the timelessness of PTSD – and reminds us of the true meaning of trauma.

In the world of relationship violence, one size does not fit all. Dr David Wexler, clinical psychologist and author specialising in men’s issues, shares the complex realities he has encountered in his work with men – and women – who commit acts of domestic violence, and urges us to listen to the vast range of stories that can get lost between the labels ‘victim’ and ‘aggressor’.

What are our social responsibilities when working with survivors of sexual violence? If we don’t extend our attentions beyond the therapy space, are we in danger of compounding victim-blaming and perpetuating cultural silence? In the concluding part of her series, Erene Hadjiioannou encourages therapists to raise our voices – and step outside the room.

From disturbed sleep through to physical pain, it is common for therapists to experience stress responses when working with survivors of sexual violence. In the fourth part of her series, Erene Hadjiioannou suggests ways to identify and manage vicarious trauma – helping us stay connected with ourselves, and with our clients.

How can we sustain a safe relational connection with survivors of sexual violence? In the third part of her series about working with survivors, Erene Hadjiioannou, author of a forthcoming textbook, addresses the therapeutic challenges and opportunities – and shares her work with one client for whom playing cards was vital groundwork.