Coping With Trauma Workbook

‘Coping with Trauma’ provides a series of seven techniques that offer help and guidance if you:

• experience overwhelming emotions;
• have intrusive memories or flashbacks of a traumatic event;
• re-experience feelings in your body from the time of the trauma;
• want to develop a way of coping that doesn’t have harmful consequences, such as drinking alcohol or using drugs.

It’s important to point out that, whilst helpful, the techniques aren’t as powerful as therapy, which can help you move forward after a traumatic experience more effectively. Also, if you find that the techniques in the workbook don’t seem to help at first, don’t worry. Sometimes it helps if a trained therapist can go through them with you, until you find the right techniques for you. Some of the films show you what it’s like to talk with a therapist about this.

The seven techniques described in this workbook are designed specifically to help people who have experienced trauma and are out of danger now. They’re not designed for those who are currently experiencing trauma. In these situations, the techniques could potentially make you feel worse.

If the trauma is over and in the past, these techniques can help you focus on what’s happening around you, stay in the present and help to remind you that the danger is over and that you are safe now.

The seven techniques are:

• Grounding statement: Positive words to remind you that you got through the trauma and are safe now
• Grounding across the five senses: Using your senses of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste to keep you in the present
• Body movement: Using your body to tell you the trauma is over
• Updating: Reminding yourself what you know now
• Same/different: Reminding yourself what is different now to the time of the trauma
• Imagery work: Giving you more control of the images in your mind
• Nightmare rescripting: Creating a different script for any bad dreams you have

After a traumatic experience you may be worried about anything that might ‘trigger’ you or might cause you to relive the traumatic experience.

Watch the films or use the workbook in a place where you feel peaceful and comfortable. You may want to have someone around to support you if you feel distressed.

If you would like to see a therapist, you can find specialist trauma therapists and psychologists through Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT). The ‘Coping with Trauma’ workbook may support you while you are waiting to see a therapist and help you feel safe again.