56. Rewriting and Replacing Adaptations [Rebranding Trauma Therapy Series]

Adaptations are all things we created in response to something we learned in life, often during a traumatic experience. Whether that experience happened in childhood or as adults, we learned how to cope and feel safe. And those adaptations perform a positive function, whether they’re healthy or not.

The important thing to remember is that adaptations can and should change over time, especially if they’ve become problematic, like disordered eating, alcohol abuse, compulsive shopping, gambling addictions, and self-harm, among other things.

You have the power to make these changes and to become the master of your own destiny.

In this week’s video, I’m showing you how to approach them with compassion, understanding, and an eagerness to grow beyond them. By embracing productive, safe conversations and powerful modalities like EMDR, Brainspotting, or Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), you'll unlock the keys to transformation.

Adaptations from our childhood were written by kids whose brains weren’t fully developed yet. So it makes sense that we can approach this with a sense of understanding and compassion rather than judgment.

Let’s notice the consequences of our adaptations and get creative about how we can replace them with something that serves you today

The first step is EMDR, Brainspotting, or Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) and a place where you can have productive, safe conversations about what’s happening inside the choices we’ve made.

Listen in and be sure to watch the whole series on rebranding trauma therapy.

When something traumatic happens to us, it can be healing to have a therapist listen to and/or validate our horrible experience, especially if no one else has before. However, rehashing details of traumatic events can be retraumatizing. Brain-based therapies like EMDR teach us that we don't have to talk about the trauma or the details if we don't want because the real healing doesn't focus on the traumatic event itself.

The Zero Disturbance podcast is for educational purposes and is not a replacement for a therapeutic relationship or individualized mental health or medical care.

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With a Masters in Education from Vanderbilt, Kambria has been creating trainings and teaching adult learners for over 20 years. As the Director of Education and Quality Improvement at Stanford Medical School, she created ease in complex systems, thereby giving medical trainees successful learning experiences. Now, as a dedicated mom, therapist, and EMDR Consultant, Kambria knows what it means to do things efficiently, effectively, and in a learner-centered way. When she isn't podcasting or creating online courses, you can find Kambria playing with her twins on a beach in California.