THE ULTIMATE

TRAUMA THERAPY
CHECKLIST

11 STEPS TO
CLIENT SUCCESS
 1. Where can we start looking for a traumatic imprint?

Is there Self Sabotage and/or Highly Emotional Reactions in any of these areas of life?
NOTE: If more than one, choose the one most present and impactful on the clients life right now.

Relationship Money
Family Career
Social Personal Growth
Being Alone Physical Health

2. Check for Predominant Emotions Associated.

NOTE: There may be more than one. Choose to work with the one most present for now.

Anger Sadness
Fear Anxiety
Hurt Guilt
Shame Grief

3. Check for Underlying Subconscious Beliefs.

We can use the list below to see how each belief ‘lands’ for the client.
We can also use tools like Muscle Testing or watch for the clients language as we’re
communicating with them.

I’m not worthy I’m not enough

I don’t trust men/women Life’s not fair
I don’t deserve to be happy I hate my body
I am alone in the world It’s not safe to be me
I’m not heard I’m unloveable
Life is hard I need validation
Money is evil I hate myself
I’m not confident People will always abandon me
Food protects me I need to struggle
It’s not safe to have money I have to put everyone else first
I need alcohol/drugs to be happy I am a disappointment

NOTE: Once again, there will probably be multiple here. Choose that which is most present.

At this point you will have a ‘Triad of Information’ in regards to their Traumatic Imprint.
Example: Fear with Money and the belief “It’s not safe to have money”
Example: Anger with their Partner and the belief “I’m not heard”
Example: Guilt with Dad and the belief “I’m not worthy”
 4. Education Phase

Educate the client on how traumatic
imprints are created in a single event
then ‘echo’ through time. Showing up as
dysfunctional patterns & behaviours.
For example, a child who spoke up in the
home and was hit by their drunk father
can create an imprint where they have
suppressed anger, fear and created the
belief that “I can’t speak up” (or I’ll be
hurt).
Then 20 years later they have trouble
speaking up in their relationship with
their safe partner, as every time they go
to fear arises and they shut down.
When we can help the client understand
this very human mechanism which in
turn helps them understand themselves
(and they way they act), we start to
remove shame.
This is key.
NOTE: We want to be wary here of
creating any blame. This can keep the
client stuck.
Example: “So it’s Mum & Dad’s fault that
I’m this way!”

5. Create a Healthy Resource for the Client.

A resource is a Felt Sense of Safety. This can be achieved in different ways.

Through an area of the body, through a memory, through a person, through a place or even an
imagined place (experienced through visualisation).
The main resource is YOU. Your presence, your rapport, your compassion.
Do your own work and be authentic.

6. Locate the Initial Imprinting Event.

The imprinting event is quite often much older then the client realises.
We can find this somatically as the trigger emotion & belief are being explored.
“When do you first remember feeling this way?”
“Who does this emotion remind you of?”
“That belief….who was the first person to make you feel that way?”
We can also use proven scripts to communicate with the clients subconscious mind.
Think of it as doing a ‘google search’ on the clients past.
 7. Process the Core Emotion/Emotions

There are many techniques for processing emotions. There is pendulation, cohabitation, dimmer
switch, merging & distancing, rhythmic breathing, etc.
It’s important that we create a ‘relationship’ with the emotion, that we understand it’s qualities.

• Where is it located? • What is its intensity?

• Does it have a colour? • Does it have a density?
• Is it moving or stationary? • If it was to talk, what would
it say?

It’s most important to focus on the two commonalities that all effective processing techniques
have.
h Processing in done Somatically (through the body)
h We’re turning towards emotion.
(not distracting, not escaping, we’re growing in capacity to ‘hold’ this energy)

8. Nervous System Awareness

Look for signs that the client’s nervous system is relaxing.

Breathing slows down Sense of relief

Sighing Yawning
Shoulders more relaxed Jaw unclenched
Sense of compassion Feeling of gratitude

9. Creating New Meaning.

The human mind is a meaning-making machine. It gives a specific meaning to all experiences.
These initial imprinting events have a meaning that is based on fear and deficiency.
Once the emotion has been processed the client is free to give new meaning to this event.
When creating a new story, a new narrative, we want the client to FEEL at least one of the
following.

A story of Understanding A story of Acceptance

A story of Gratitude A story of Empowerment
 10. Integration.
Take your time to let the client ‘sit with’ this new story. The new beliefs attached.
The absence of the heavy emotion. Let them sit with it in their body.
It is often foriegn for the client to feel ‘ok’ or ‘safe’ with this particular area of life.
Let them know that they deserve to feel this way. They can trust it.
Focus their breath and let them integrate this new way of being.

11. Further Embedding the New Self.

Now that integration is starting to take place you can use a short term future event to further
embed what has been worked on.
Have the client visualise an event happening in the next few hours, days or weeks.
Play out the event and how they will ‘show up’ as this new self.
How will they interact?
How will they carry themselves?
How will they feel inside?
How confident are they?
By seeing themselves this way and experiencing the ‘future event’ you can create even more
integration as the session wraps up.

I sincerely hope this guide has been able to add some value to you and your practice.
We honour everyone that is out there helping people and making the world a better place.

If you’d like to connect further please email support@thecentreforhealing.com.au

Our 2 Certified Practitioner Trainings at The Centre for Healing are:

h Root-Cause Therapy
h Embodied Processing

RCT Pre-Training: https://www.thecentreforhealing.com/webinar-registration

RCT Curriculum: https://www.thecentreforhealing.com/root-cause-therapy-certification-1
EP Pre-Training: https://www.thecentreforhealing.com/embodied-processing-pre-training
EP Curriculum: https://www.thecentreforhealing.com/embodied-processing