Trauma-informed approach

The limitations of traditional talk therapy

Psychological treatment for victims of psychological violence requires a very specific clinical specialization.

Often, classic talk therapy, which focuses on recounting past events, is not sufficient and can even be counterproductive.

If not handled carefully, forcing the victim to recount abuse without first establishing a base of safety can lead to re-traumatization, re-triggering the pain without providing tools to manage it. This is why the current standard calls for a "Trauma-Informed Approach."

This means that the therapist understands that the patient's brain has been neurobiologically altered by chronic stress and that the priority is not only to "understand" what happened, but to regulate the nervous system that continues to operate in survival mode.

The three phases of clinical recovery

The effective therapeutic itinerary is usually structured in three sequential stages. The first is Stabilization and Safety: before opening the wounds of the past, the patient needs to learn techniques to reduce her anxiety in the present and to ensure her physical safety if she still has contact with the offender.

Only when the person is stable does she move on to the second stage: Trauma Processing, where she works to digest and file the painful memories.

Finally, the third stage is Reconnection, focused on rebuilding identity, self-esteem and the ability to establish new healthy bonds, moving from mere survival to a full life.

The absolute contraindication of couple's therapy

A serious and unfortunately common mistake is to try to solve psychological violence through couple therapy.

Experts warn that this is dangerous and totally contraindicated when there is a dynamic of abuse and control (as opposed to normal or toxic but non-violent couple conflicts). In these sessions, the aggressor does not seek to change, but to learn.

He listens to the vulnerabilities exposed by his partner and learns the therapist's technical language to manipulate with greater sophistication outside the consultation, a phenomenon known as "therapeutic gaslighting".

The therapist can be deceived by the social mask of the aggressor, leaving the victim more unprotected and confused to see that even the professional validates, by omission or deception, t