Trauma is a threat to the psyche and the body: In-person therapy for trauma offers more to manage physical symptoms and responses than telehealth
Trauma therapy takes a lot of work. In the larger picture, the task is to “work through,” meaning find ways of talking about what happened as a part of integrating the traumatic experience so that its effects on your mental health are no longer overwhelming. Like recovering from a physical trauma, there are ways this recovery itself can be a struggle to endure in psychotherapy. People who seek therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and complex trauma often need help being in the world, being in their bodies, and tolerating the difficult work to get better.
In particular, trauma represents a level of threat to both the psyche and the body, often expressing itself in both places. Fear lives in the muscles and bones, not just the brain. Regardless of the approach to mental health treatment, there is frequently a need to help with the trauma-related embodied manifestations, such as panic attacks and other forms of anxiety, stomach aches, startle responses, flashbacks, headaches, avoidance, and struggling with breathing. Because the body can respond to trauma, even unconsciously, being present in the room for in-person therapy offers more opportunities to manage these symptoms, whether breathing together, going for a walk, using somatic interventions, or evidence-based modalities like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). We also make eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR therapy) referrals when helpful.