| Often, psychological and physical problems can be
traced back to an intense shock, or repeated shocks,
which disturbed the bodymind system. As the Su
Wen says, “During shock, there is no home for the
Shen.” This is basically what today would be called
an Acute Stress Disorder. When working with clients
after accidents, attacks or other intense shocks, it is
important to be able to recognize Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD)—a state of hyper-alarm, or
difficulty in moderating arousal, which follows an
intensely traumatic event (TE). Other symptoms
include: repetitive thoughts and images of the TE,
difficulty falling or staying asleep, increased
muscular tension, chronic fatigue, intensification of
chronic pain or somatization disorder. In cases of
PTSD, it is essential to avoid retraumatization,
because further shocks can cause or intensify the
hyperarousal. The important thing in therapy is to
help the client to access inner resources by learning
how to “switch channels” and focus on competence
and comfort. Iona will demonstrate this by doing Jin
Shin Do® (“The Way of the Compassionate Spirit”)
together with Ericksonian forms of brief Exposure
Therapy and Cognitive Therapy (which have a
success rate of 60-70% symptom reduction). |