— Saiyami Juvekar
Imagine being hit by an avalanche. That’s what experiencing Trauma can feel like. As therapists, we are often faced with clients who feel stuck in their past experiences. It is as if they have been buried so deep under the magnitude of emotions and distress that it seems impossible to overcome. Despite our best efforts, we may sometimes fall short of helping trauma survivors fully heal or move forward in life.
Why does therapy begin to feel stagnated no matter what you try? The main reason why trauma survivors feel stuck or buried under their distress is they have not been able to adapt their thinking. They are stuck because their thinking is stuck!
ACT i.e. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a transformative approach that helps therapy move forward and empowers trauma survivors with flexibility in thinking as it gets them unstuck. It blends mindfulness, acceptance, and behaviour change to guide clients toward healing. With its Triflex model focusing on three core processes—Openness, Awareness, and Purposeful Engagement —ACT provides an effective framework to help individuals struggling with trauma break free from their psychological barriers.
Let’s explore how ACT can revolutionize your trauma therapy practice using the ACT Triflex.
1: Openness – Acceptance of Pain and Trauma
Our instinct is to resist pain. So understandably, we often want to escape or avoid the overwhelming emotions associated with their traumatic experiences. This avoidance, however, can paradoxically keep us stuck, adding to the emotional suffering.
ACT emphasizes openness, encouraging clients to open up to their feelings and sensations instead of battling against them through Acceptance and Defusion. Acceptance doesn’t mean endorsing or liking the pain—it means making room for it, acknowledging it as part of the human experience, and no longer fighting the inevitable emotions tied to trauma.
Imagine a client who experiences flashbacks from a traumatic event. Instead of trying to suppress these flashbacks, ACT encourages them to recognize these feelings and thoughts for what they are: just experiences. By fostering an attitude of openness, therapists can guide clients to see their distressing thoughts as mental events, separate from the self thereby defusing themselves from the thoughts.
The goal is to help the client progress toward their values while allowing the emotions (pain, fear, anxiety) to be there without taking over. This shift to acceptance opens a doorway for healing because it reduces the energy spent on resisting or avoiding trauma and instead allows for processing and integration. More importantly, it treats distressing emotions as normal human experiences, allowing the person to experience them without guilt or shame.
2: Awareness – Staying Present with Mindfulness
If it’s happened once, it could happen again. If it happened to someone close to me, it could happen to me too! Minds are often consumed by traumatic memories or by the fear of the trauma repeating itself. This pulls people out of the present moment and reinforces their pain.
ACT incorporates mindfulness as a central process to help clients stay grounded in the present. Mindfulness helps trauma survivors observe their thoughts and feelings without judgment or avoidance. By cultivating an awareness of the present moment, clients learn to relate to their thoughts and memories differently, seeing them as passing mental events rather than truths that must dictate their actions.
In a therapy session, you might guide a client through a mindfulness exercise such as mindful breathing or a body scan. This helps the client notice their bodily sensations, thoughts, and emotions in real-time. When trauma memories or distressing thoughts arise, the client is encouraged to observe these thoughts without attaching meaning or judgment to them.
For example, a client who often feels “frozen” due to past trauma can learn to recognize that sensation without seeing it as a personal failure or danger signal. Over time, this mindfulness practice empowers clients to create space between themselves and their trauma-related thoughts, reducing the control these thoughts have over their behaviours.
3: Engagement – Taking Values-Based Action
Many trauma survivors feel disempowered by their past experiences, leading to a loss of meaning and direction in life. They often struggle to regain a sense of purpose or identity, which can keep them from fully engaging with life. This loss of direction is a key barrier to long-term recovery.
ACT places great importance on values-based actions, encouraging clients to take meaningful steps in alignment with their core values, even when they’re experiencing emotional pain. This process helps clients reconnect with what truly matters to them, whether it’s nurturing relationships, pursuing personal growth, or contributing to their communities. By anchoring actions in values, clients begin to move toward a more fulfilling life, despite the presence of trauma-related pain.
After identifying core values, such as family, honesty, or personal growth, you can help clients set small, achievable goals based on these values. For instance, a client who values connection might be guided to re-engage with a loved one they’ve distanced themselves from due to trauma.
The key here is that clients begin taking committed action toward what matters to them, regardless of their emotional state. This builds resilience and demonstrates that they are more than their trauma. They can still create a meaningful life in alignment with their values, even when difficult emotions arise.
ACT’s Unique Power in Trauma Work
Trauma therapy can feel like navigating a labyrinth—both for therapists and clients. However, the power of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy lies in its ability to shift the focus from symptom reduction to creating psychological flexibility, allowing clients to live rich, meaningful lives despite their trauma.
ACT is not about “fixing” trauma; it’s about helping clients transform their relationship with it. By using ACT’s triflex approach—openness, awareness, and engagement—you’re equipping your clients with the tools to break free from the grip of trauma and move toward the lives they truly want to live.
As a therapist, embracing ACT in your practice not only enhances your ability to help trauma survivors but also deepens your own sense of purpose and effectiveness in your work. This isn’t just another therapeutic model—it’s a transformative journey, both for you and your clients.
