Trauma Informed Wellbeing Coaching
Why choose a Trauma Aware Practitioner?
Life Coaching in its many forms has been working to help people achieve their life goals
for decades. It’s powerful. However, there have always been clients who got stuck or
could simply not get the results they wanted. They often embark on a life-long endless search for therapists or courses, to try and get to the route of why they could not
feel the way they wanted to.
For many people it affects their self- esteem, when they can't break habits of turning
to food for comfort, a glass of wine to feel less pressure and stress, or finding themselves
overworking or putting others first to avoid feeling guilty.
In many cases
it was the disappointment or intense pain of relationships that cause the most stress.
Difficult relationships can be an indication of historic ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) and trauma. In essence, if we have had a childhood we have experienced some level of adversity.
If interactions with
bosses, colleagues, friends, parents, siblings, or your own children feel strained or
awkward or volatile and trigger strong reactions, we can just dismiss it as everyday life and
it just becomes our normal that keeps us in a cycle of resigned ‘stuckness’.
When those frustrations persist, it impacts our wellbeing.
For decades coaches have
used tools to help clients as best they can, but they did not have the tools to really get to
the root cause of some of these patterns, until now.
In 1998 a ground-breaking study carried out by Dr Vincent Felitti and Robert Andas * clearly demonstrated the inextricable link between the level of adversity and trauma
experienced in childhood and the illnesses that emerge in adults. In fact, further studies
have shown that direct correlation between the number of childhood stressors and
unprocessed traumas have proven to be accurate predictors of major illnesses, such as
heart disease, strokes and cancers as well as being linked to a much higher incidence of
auto immune conditions. The root cause of multi -faceted illnesses such as chronic
fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia are often misunderstood.
A trauma Informed
wellbeing coach will have an in depth understanding of the kinds of adversity that can impact
the way a child’s brain and nervous system develop. They recognise that often quite
normal situations will register as an internal threat or small ‘t’ trauma in an adult’s life, if as a
child they were exposed to an environment where they cannot get their needs met or
lacked the support they require. As in any difficult situation, we humans are resourceful
and will have found something to do or not do to cope. This can be overeating, addiction, self medicating with alcohol, online shopping,
retail therapy or spending hours on our phones or Netflix escaping how we really feel.
Can you relate to any of those?
Many of these coping mechanisms have become automatic and explains why more and
more adults find that they are caught up in frustrating repeating cycles of
procrastination, avoidance or reaching for a substance or habit, instead of being able to
move forward and achieve their goals or experience peace of mind. Most adults go
through life unaware of how old unprocessed grief or trauma is impacting them on a daily
basis. This can lead to self sabotaging behaviour in diet and lifestyle choices.
This is where working with a coach who is not just accredited but trauma informed is
essential.
They are skilled in recognising the repercussions and links between what you are
experiencing now. Where those patterns may have been formed and most importantly
how to support you best in how to release unconscious unprocessed traumas, which when stored
in the body creating symptoms and obstacles to your emotional and physical wellbeing.
In the UK, Scotland is a leading ACE aware nation, which has created a totally integrated approach to its citizens health with regard to their ACE history. This has infiltrated the fabric of their nursery, primary and secondary education sector, their health and social care, NHS provision and their policing and legal sector. Being an ACE aware nation is legislated for at government level which is leading the way for providing a 21st century approach to the welfare of our people.
If this resonates with you, we can discuss ACE awareness and how this may be affecting your health goals within your consultation.