Telling the Story (Narrative)

Creating a Sensory Safety Environment

The process of narrating the traumatic event differs significantly from traditional catharsis.

Because verbalization of the trauma can trigger intense re-experiencing, the therapist must structure the environment to avoid dissociation or overflow.

One effective technique is to provide the patient with an external visual focal point so that he or she does not have to maintain direct eye contact, which may be too intense or embarrassing.

A physical object, such as an anti-stress ball or a specific spot on the wall, can be used, asking the patient to fix his or her gaze there while recounting the events.

This allows the person to "bring out" the story without feeling judged by the gaze of the other and to maintain an anchor in the physical present while his or her mind travels to the painful past.

The Therapeutic Use of Past Tense

A crucial linguistic tool during storytelling is the deliberate change of verb tenses.

Patients with PTSD often relive the trauma as if it were happening now (flashback).

The intervention consists of guiding the patient to narrate the events strictly using the past tense.

If the patient says "I felt like I was being caught," the therapist gently intervenes to rephrase: "At that moment, you felt like you were being caught."

This grammatical distinction reinforces the chronological reality: the event was terrible, but it is over.

It helps the brain to file the memory as a historical fact and not as a current threat.

Context Validation and Differentiation

During the retelling, it is vital to validate the emotional response the patient had at the time, differentiating it from his or her current capacity.

Phrases that acknowledge the magnitude of the experience are used, such as "That was incredibly overwhelming for the person you were at that instant."

The goal is for the patient to understand that his or her reaction at the time (fear, paralysis, submission) was an adaptive survival response to an abnormal situation, not a sign of intrinsic weakness.

The aim is to separate the patient's identity from the traumatic event, establishing that the experience was a chapter of his life, not the totality of his being.

Summary

Narrating the trauma requires establishing sensory safety to avoid emotional outbursts. An external visual focal point is used, allowing the patient to recount the events without the pressure of direct eye contact.

It is vital to guide the narration by strictly using the past tense. This linguistic distinction helps the brain to file the memory as a completed historical event, reducing the sense of ongoing threat.

The original emotional response must be validated as an adaptive survival mechanism. The goal is to dissociate the identity from the trauma, understanding that the then reaction does not define the self.