Taking care of ourselves when we are taking care of others can be a challenge.

We often don’t think about our own needs, yet caring for ourselves can be the greatest gift we can give to others.

When we fly, the safety instructions we’re given include putting the oxygen mask on ourselves before putting it on our children. How counterintuitive is that? And yet, that’s exactly what we need to do in order to ensure that we are capable of caring for our children.

Remembering the holiday word N.O.E.L. can help your clients make the holidays easier and more enjoyable.

Note the effect of the environment and activities – our job is to help our clients understand the effect of the holiday environment and activities.

Observe normal routine. Help your clients understand that during the holidays it is important to keep their routine as normal as possible.

Expect changes in the way you celebrate the holidays. Show your clients that it is important for them to capitalize on skills and activities that are still enjoyable to them.

Limit the expectations you place on yourself. Explain to your clients that if old traditions don’t work, it’s okay to start new ones.

Tips, in part, from the Duke Family Support Program provided by NC Family Caregiver Support Program

Hope Makes Healing Possible!

Patricia Sherman, Ph.D., LCSW

Eye movement Desensitization Reprocessing, or EMDR, is a type of psychotherapy treatment used to help trauma patients.

EMDR uses a 3 step process to help trauma patients remember and process memories of a traumatic event so they can move past the event.

The 3 steps in the EMDR process are:

• Processing the past traumatic event that led to the current state of dysfunction.

• Focusing on the current state of dysfunction and desensitizing the current state’s triggers.

• Picturing positive images of future events and developing skills to create a positive future.

Check back for more on EMDR, including the 8 phases of EMDR treatment.

 Hope Makes Healing Possible!

Patricia Sherman, Ph.D., LCSW

*Written in collaboration with Jessica Hicks

As therapists and first responders, we’re all familiar with the term “trauma”, but how many of us really know what trauma is and how trauma can affect our clients’ bodies and lives?

The basic definition of trauma is a “shock to the body and/or emotions”. Based on that definition, most of us can probably say we have clients who have experienced trauma at least once in their lives. Life is tough. We need to help our clients understand that oftentimes they have no control over trauma entering their lives…and rarely have time to prepare.

If your clients suddenly find themselves thrown into a traumatic event, it’s important to make sure they know how it can affect them – both physically and emotionally.

We all know trauma can affect our clients physically, like injuries they might get from a car accident or a fire. The body is physically traumatized during these events. But trauma can also make clients’ bodies experience other types of physical reactions, such as shaking, chills, and dizziness.

We all experience stress…but sometimes your clients may need a little help from you to learn how to manage their stress – particularly when trauma is involved.

As therapists and first responders, it’s important we remind our clients that stress is a part of life – and not all stress is bad stress. Explain to your client sometimes, stress can even be good for them. How? Because it can motivate them. Oftentimes, the stress our clients feel from a deadline they have to meet motivates them to get the task done.

But it’s also important we make them aware that too much stress can actually be harmful. At least once a week the evening news runs a story about how stress can cause heart attacks, or how it can weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to getting sick. And these reports are true! Stress can do all of those things – and a whole lot more.

But how do we, as therapists and first responders, know when a client has too much stress?