Integration - what even is it?

What do you think of when you hear the name, Integration Psychotherapy? For some, they may think about integrating various health modalities - somatic body work, energy work, acupuncture, yoga, and diet. For others, their mind may go to integrating “stuff” with the use of assisted psychedelics. And still, for others, the idea of integrating various parts of the Self may be brought forth. For a trauma therapist, like myself, my mind goes to integrating traumatic experiences into our life, identity, and way of being in the world. All these ways of “integrating” can be valid and in line with what it means to engage in integration psychotherapy.

You may be asking, so what does it even mean to integrate traumatic experiences? Does that mean I have to carry my trauma with me? The answer is no… and yes. It is likely not possible to just get rid of our trauma. Our traumas are painful and overwhelming events we have experienced that will likely continue to stay with us in some way, shape, or form. However, that does not mean that our trauma will continue to carry the same weight, pain, and shape that we may be used to feeling. Integrating the trauma is the process that shifts how that trauma feels in our body.

Integrating trauma takes time. It begins with the process of knowing our traumas. We must first, together, explore what has happened to you. What happened, how did it feel then, how does it feel now, what do you wish could have been different? All of these questions help us to better understand you, your experiences, how they felt, and how they shaped you. Being in touch with these pain points is, yes, painful, sometimes nearly excruciating, but in our work together, we can know and understand and feel the pain together, which may shift some things. This first part of the work of getting to know you and what you have been through is crucial making space to recognize and understand the traumas.