Creating Safety in Counseling: A Psychodynamic and Trauma-Informed Approach

This podcast episode, hosted by Dr. Donnelly Snipes, delves into the foundational principles of psychodynamics and their application in creating a sense of safety for clients in counseling. It begins by revisiting core psychodynamic tenets, emphasizing that adult behaviors and feelings are significantly shaped by unconscious/subconscious motives and deeply rooted childhood experiences, particularly attachment experiences. The discussion highlights how early, often dichotomous, thinking patterns lead to the formation of schemas that, while initially protective, can become antiquated and problematic in adulthood, influencing current perceptions and reactions.

The episode introduces key concepts like phenomenological reality, where present situations are perceived through the lens of past experiences, and transference, though not deeply explored, is mentioned as a related concept. Dr. Snipes stresses that all behavior has a cause and a function, often serving a protective role based on prior learning. Practical examples, such as fear of dogs, distrust of counselors, and relationship patterns like clinginess or anger at rejection, illustrate how past traumas and experiences manifest as current anxieties and maladaptive coping mechanisms. The Pacer method (physical, affective, cognitive, environmental, relational) and mindfulness are presented as tools to foster present-moment awareness and safety.

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on identifying behaviors and emotions indicative of a lack of safety, categorizing them under the "four F's" (fight, flee, freeze, forget about it). These include addictions, social withdrawal, giving up, self-sabotage, hypervigilance, worrying, creating chaos, and non-suicidal self-injury. Dr. Snipes explains the underlying protective functions of these behaviors, such as seeking control or avoiding perceived abandonment. Conversely, the episode also outlines indicators of safety, such as assertiveness, confidence, perseverance, self-esteem, relaxation, and interpersonal connectedness, advocating for the replacement of unhealthy coping strategies with healthy alternatives.

Finally, the episode emphasizes the importance of understanding a client's "phenomenological reality" by exploring their personal autobiography, including both positive and negative experiences. This process, termed an "anchored autobiography," helps clients and counselors alike to trace the origins of current reactions and interpretations, fostering empathy and facilitating schema adjustment. The overarching message is that by understanding the psychodynamic roots and protective functions of behaviors, therapists can help clients feel safe enough to explore and ultimately modify their responses to the world, moving from a place of threat to one of security and efficacy.

"behavior and feelings are significantly impacted by unconscious and subconscious motives"

"our behavior and feelings as adults are rooted in our childhood experiences including our attachment experiences"

"all Behavior has a cause and a function"

"the majority of actions and reactions that we identify as problematic behaviors or symptoms are often Antiquated schema based on prior learning experiences that are currently serving a protective function"

"children think dichotomously it's either all good or all bad"

"when people start understanding why they're doing something what the benefit is then they can start finding other ways to achieve that same end or they can adjust their schema appropriately"

"recognizing the traumas of the past that are influencing the perceptions of the present and the future"

"when people feel safe they're more likely to be assertive when they feel threatened they're more likely to either be aggressive or passive"

"phenomenological reality situations in the present are perceived through a lens of the past"

"we don't just want to take away unhealthy behaviors you also have to add healthy Replacements"

"every experience we have shapes how we anticipate the future"

"when a client starts to feel vulnerable sometimes they will create chaos"