1. Complimentary and Alternative treatments for Trauma
Danielle Pester, mS, LPC Intern
Supervised by Lorena Mendez, MS, LPC-S, RPT-S

2. Complimentary and alternative Medicine
Treatments not considered to be standard in the practice of Western medicine.
Complimentary: use of techniques combined with conventional treatment
Alternative: use of techniques instead of conventional practices
According to one study done by the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, 12.6% of the individuals diagnosed with PTSD accessed CAM treatments in the past year.
In another study with a nationally representative sample, 39% of individuals with PTSD reported using CAM treatments in the previous year.

3. Evidence-based CAM Modalities
Acupuncture
Meditation
Relaxation
Yoga

4. How do cam treatments help?
Help reduce the physiological symptoms of stress and PTSD.
Normal stress reactions: shallow breathing/shortness of breath, muscle tension, anxious feelings, headaches, dizziness, stomachaches, nausea, etc.
Traumatic stress reactions: body remains on high alert and is unable to calm down, ongoing state of tension and anxiety both physically and emotionally.
CAM treatments can help reverse the process and return the body to a state of being calm and relaxed.
Help build strength, resilience, and internal coping skills.
Trauma survivors can acquire a sense of control using CAM resources for symptom reduction and healing.
Controlled body awareness and sensation exercises can help trauma survivors to decrease hyperarousal symptoms, recon- nect when dissociated from their body, and differenfiate past trauma memories from here-and-now sensations. Through mindfulness, trauma survivors may build strength and resilience by acquiring a sense of control, developing inter- nal resources for symptom reduction and healing, and facilitating the mean- ing-making process.

5. Focused breathing/Mindfulness
Facilitate a “relaxation response” that can reverse adverse physiological and psychological symptoms of stress.
Creates focused attention/awareness to remove distraction from external objects/events or internal thoughts or feelings.
Children:
Belly breathing, Hot Cocoa breathing, Pinwheel breathing, Bubble breathing
Older Children and Adolescents:
Belly breathing, Mantra, Guided Visualization

6. Progressive muscle relaxation
Helpful for clients who experience difficulty sleeping and/or experience multiple somatic symptoms.
The selective attention given to specific body parts can help remove focus on thoughts about the traumatic event when the individual is triggered.
Children:
Spaghetti noodle, Body Scan, Hokey Pokey (“shake it all about”)
Adolescents:
Body Scan, Dance

7. considerations Practice! Variations Parental Involvement
Consider practicing and reviewing one technique for multiple sessions before moving on and teaching other techniques.
Variations
Help the client to understand how to use this technique in different situations.
What would it look like to use this technique at home? School?Out in the community?
Parental Involvement
Teach the parents the CAM techniques so they can help the child recognize when using a technique might be helpful and can even do the technique with the child.
Consider having the child teach the techniques to their parents.

8. Resources for children
Yoga Pretzels by Tara Guber and Leah Kalish
Starbright: Meditations for Children by Maureen Garth
Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids by Eline Snel
Brave Bart: A Story for Traumatized and Grieving Children by Caroline H. Sheppard

9. references
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., & Deblinger, E. (2006). Treating trauma and traumatic grief in children and adolescents. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Goodman, R. D. & Calderon, A.M. (2012). The use of mindfulness in trauma counseling. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 34(3), Strauss, J. L., Lang, A. J., & Schnurr, P. P. (2017, March 30). Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for PTSD. Retrieved from https: va.gov/professional/treatmentoverview complementary_alternative_for_ptsd.asp