Why Trauma is Important to Understand

A Critique of Western Psychology

Photo by Noah Silliman on Unsplash

Psychological trauma is a person’s experience of emotional distress resulting from an event that overwhelms the capacity to digest it emotionally.

The topic of trauma is unique because it is one of the few times in Western psychology where outside factors are acknowledged as having an impact on mental health.

Typically, Western psychology has often squared the shoulder of responsibility for a person’s mental health on the individual.

We have seen this with psychoanalysis, client-centered therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, etc. have all fixated on the individual. It is the individual who deals with mental illness so it is the individual who must learn the skills to overcome their mental illness.

While the conception of mental illness is itself debatable (that could be a whole other article), the focus on the individual when it comes to mental health is ubiquitous.

For Freud, the unconscious drives of the individual lead to dysfunction. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on the thoughts and behaviors of the individual. Most theoretical orientations concerning psychotherapy and mental health focus on the individual.

Ironically, it requires intervention from an outside force (a mental health professional) to help resolve mental health challenges.

Nonetheless, to deal with the growing mental health crisis I think it’s important to look beyond the individual.

We see this with trends within multicultural counseling and community counseling but the popularity of these schools of thought is nowhere near as widespread as the topic of trauma.

Trauma has been trending as a topic and more professionals are adopting trauma-informed care. At the same time, I am seeing a few problems with this adoption and some considerations for the trauma space.

What is the Trauma Space?

I’m using the phrase “trauma space” to refer to places online and in real life where folks connect over their shared traumatic experiences. The trauma space also includes professionals and experts on the topic of trauma.

Words and phrases like “trauma bonding”, “gaslighting”, and “narcissist” are used in the trauma space. This is an area where people want to make sense of their traumatic experiences and gain support. This is also a space to build awareness and point to resources for those struggling with trauma.

The trauma space is uniquely vulnerable as people share their experiences of abuse, neglect, and fear. Due to this vulnerability, it is an easy target for people to exploit others and misinform them.

The space is home to various New Age spiritual ideas of healing and lifestyle interventions. These ideas also tie in well with the growing usage of somatic therapeutic approaches.

However, the problem comes with the exploitation of people’s traumatic experiences to sell them on “alternative” solutions like supplements, unqualified coaching, and other questionable products/services.

What is trauma exploitation?

Trauma exploitation is simply the commodification of people’s traumatic experiences by folks who want to make money selling dubious solutions.

These are the unqualified trauma “coaches”, mental health “advocates”, and sometimes those with legitimate credentials who misuse those credentials.

These are the folks who tell you to buy their product or service. These are the folks who can promise to “unfreeze” your nervous system. These are the folks who claim that “healing” your gut will solve your trauma.

Trauma exploitation is tied to both the wellness industry and the behavioral health industry.

The wellness industry exploits those dealing with trauma by trying to sell them on “alternative” solutions. These solutions are often products such as supplements or services like coaching which are often inadequate and sometimes even harmful.

The behavioral health industry is a bit more legitimate as it revolves around strongly supported psychiatric drugs and therapeutic interventions. However, it also can be problematic because it can lead to exploitation of a different kind…

The pharmaceutical industry makes billions from antidepressants and more people are in therapy than in the past. While both therapy and medications like antidepressants are helpful for treating something like major depression, they do not address underlying problems related to mental health.

Material Analysis of Trauma

In my last post, I talked about the importance of material analysis when it comes to diet and nutrition, but this also applies to mental health.

The material analysis focuses on economic, institutional, and socioeconomic relations. We know that mental health is connected to economics and poverty.

We also have evidence that policies related to immigration can increase feelings of trauma and psychological distress.

When we look at some of the historical descriptions of trauma from past classifications like “shell shocked” we see something interesting.

Trauma, especially noticeable symptoms associated with it, was profoundly apparent during times of conflict and war. War is an inherently political and economic phenomenon that has an impact on various factors within society.

The fact that trauma can spawn from outside sociopolitical factors like war showcases that trauma as a psychological phenomenon is tied to material reality.

Trauma comes largely from the outside. While trauma can be tied to biological factors it is triggered by outside historical, political, and cultural considerations.

Until we address problems related to politics and economics, more people will deal with trauma and be given inadequate means to cope with it.

Final Thoughts

Trauma is essential to understand because it gets us outside of the Western psychology orientation of focusing on the individual at all costs.

Understanding trauma means understanding the outside facets of what triggers or causes the trauma.

This understanding needs to be based on a material analysis of the various political and economic components of trauma.

The trauma space desires better than industries aimed at exploiting people’s traumas.