Spring Into Healing: Embracing Growth and Boundaries in Trauma Therapy

Spring Renewal and Personal Growth

This week marks the beginning of spring, despite what some of my friends and family in Colorado might think!

Copyright KDVR Denver

This is a special time of year when everything is coming back to life again (except in Ned 😂) and as I’m working on getting our garden back into shape, I can't help but be reminded of how this can also be an important time of renewal for us as trauma therapists.

When we allow ourselves to listen to and follow the natural rhythms of nature, it can have a profound impact on our experiences of vicarious trauma and especially of vicarious resilience.

Take the orchids in my office, for example - I have seven orchid plants that are ALL reblooming.

Each is working at its own pace, its own schedule, and some have had to overcome more challenges to get to the point of sharing their beauty with me again. And yet, they are ALL reblooming (if you're familiar with orchids, you know what a big deal this is).

As I watch them all grow in their unique ways, I have been inspired to think more about the ways we get to grow and rebloom in our practices as trauma therapists. 

Weeding Out the Old

Addressing Vicarious Trauma

As trauma therapists, this often means confronting vicarious trauma - something we all know about, but that isn't normalized in the way it should be.

Why should we normalize vicarious trauma you ask?

Because it is truly a natural part of our work of empathic engagement in trauma therapy, and if we don't acknowledge that process, we are always armored up against it.

That said, vicarious trauma, much like all the weeds I just pulled, can sneak up on us and suddenly they've taken over!

Vicarious trauma is then fed by the stories of pain we hear each day, often blocking out the gifts of resilience shared by our clients too.

And so, just as I meticulously removed each weed from the soil in our flower bed, ensuring the health of our garden, we too must actively engage in practices so we can notice and respond with care when vicarious trauma is impacting us as trauma therapists.

Planting New Seeds

Establishing Healthy Boundaries

Once all those weeds are gone, it's time for us to start planting seeds.

In recent years, this has become a favorite tradition with my daughter. Now, she's 3, so imagine the scene. It's joyful and very messy. Our hands are in the dirt, seeds scattered everywhere, but within this chaos, there's a beautiful, unspoken understanding: we are laying the groundwork for new life, new growth.

Actual footage of what it takes to prep our flower bed! 😂

Just as we plant these seeds together, each small act filled with hope for the soon to be baby plants, we also plant the seeds of healthy boundaries in our trauma therapy practices.

These boundaries, much like the seeds we bury beneath the soil, are the foundation for safe, effective therapy.

They ensure our well-being and help us prevent emotional fatigue and burnout – something we know all too well.

Cultivating a Supportive Community

The Role of Peer Support

In our garden, as in our professional lives, there is profound strength in community.

When my daughter and I tend to our garden, it’s a collaborative effort. She might scatter seeds with abandon while I follow behind, gently guiding them to their designated spots. It's messy, chaotic at times, but it's a shared journey.

We learn from each other; her unbridled joy teaches me to appreciate the simple moments, while my guidance provides her with the structure within which she can flourish.

The most special part of our garden, still a work in progress 💜

This dance of support and learning mirrors the peer support vital in our roles as trauma therapists.

Just as gardens benefit from the diverse plants contributing to its ecosystem, our therapeutic practice thrives on the insights, experiences, and compassion we share within our professional community.

This supportive network, this "garden" of colleagues, provides a space where we can share our challenges without fear, celebrate our successes, and find understanding in a way that friends and family, though well-meaning, may not provide.

Cultivating Our Collective Journey

As we reflect on the themes explored today – from clearing the overgrowth of vicarious trauma to the joyful yet intricate task of setting boundaries, and nurturing the communal spirit that sustains us as trauma therapists – it’s clear that our professional journey mirrors the natural world’s cycles of renewal and growth.

Just as the sudden spring snow blankets my home in Colorado, reminding us that mother nature has her own plans, our work too comes with unforeseen challenges.

But you know what? Beneath that snow, life persists, waiting for the right moment to emerge.

Like the orchids in my office, each of us, in our unique rhythm, is on a path of rebirth and growth, fueled by our experiences and the support we cultivate together.

Next Steps

I encourage you, as we move forward, to embrace the seasonal shifts within your practice and yourself. Let's take the lessons from our gardens – the patience, the care, the connection to the earth and to each other – and apply them to our work and our lives.

Reflect on the boundaries you've nurtured and the community you've fostered, recognizing their vital role in your continuous growth and well-being.

And for those seeking a shared space to grow, The BRAVE Trauma Therapist Collective is always ready to welcome you into a community where growth is nurtured, challenges are met with collective wisdom, and successes are celebrated together.

In BRAVE, we strive not just for individual flourishing but for our collective thriving, supporting each other through every season of our professional journey.

Thank you for joining me in this reflection on growth, resilience, and community.

May we all carry the spirit of spring into our practices, finding new ways to grow, to heal, and to thrive together.

Here’s to the journey ahead, filled with the promise of fresh blooms and new beginnings.