A little acknowledged breakthrough has been the development of an effective treatment for PTSD and post trauma symptoms, called VKD (Visual Kinaesthetic Dissociation), which can successfully treat this kind of injury in one to three sessions. The treatment is non-drugs based, safe and works with the way in which memory is stored. Simply described, the technique allows the traumatised individual, while in a safe relaxed state, to reprocess the traumatic memory so that it becomes stored as an ‘ordinary’ (albeit unpleasant) non-threatening, memory rather than one that continually activates a terror response. This is achieved by enabling the memory to be shifted in the brain from the amygdala to the neocortex. VKD is recommended by the European Therapy Studies Institute (ETSI). Clinical experience and research show that it works reliably with almost all cases of PTSD and phobias.
It is essential to note that PTSD and trauma symptoms are not suitable for counselling; indeed, talking therapies will embed the trauma further and possibly even vicariously traumatise the counsellor.
Excerpt from Psychological Trauma Red Poppy
At Mental Health Matters Counselling, we offer VKD Therapy, facilitated by a professionally trained VKD Practitioners, for people with PTSD and post trauma symptoms. Trauma may include adverse childhood experiences, chronic or single incident occurrences, and phobias. In as little as one session, and in a safe and non-threatening way, we can address things that may have occurred to an individual and which have, until now, resulted in a compromised quality of life and ability to function socially and/or occupationally.
Why CBT doesn’t work with trauma?
A central premise of CBT is that a person’s thought will precede any action. Therefore, this discipline advocates that if you change the way that someone thinks, you can change the way that they behave. That’s all very well until you get something that is not governed by conscious thought. The amygdala that houses the pattern for the trauma or phobia is part of our primitive brain and can ‘hijack’ the neocortex and dominate behaviour. That’s why standard CBT is less effective against phobias or PTSD. It also involves thinking about the event or stimuli, so the treatment can be distressing for the client who finds themselves “re-living the trauma”.
VKD is structured specifically to ensure there is no distress to the client and absolutely no requirement to talk about or re-live the trauma. The process of the session is relaxation for the client and memories that shift from the fight and flight centre of the brain to the neocortex. The outcome is a significant reduction to perceived threat levels and invasive memories, often from a single session.
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