Treatment-induced trauma is trauma caused by a clinical or medical intervention that causes further harm to the victim. Unhelpful and inexperienced treatment personal can cause a parallel re-injury to the patient or client, including traumatic consequences from clinical interventions, or serious clinical omissions, perpetrated by therapists and medical professionals.[1]
In Dimension 3, you met Carol Roberts. Carol wrote a message to therapists and treatment professionals that should be taken seriously:
“My last message for treatment professionals is to approach the treatment of the spouse as if you are on a rescue mission, trying to salvage a soul. You are there to keep someone from drowning. I wasn’t treading water. I was bobbing—barely catching a breath from time to time when coming up out of the depth of the water to glance at the dry land.
“Just try to pull us out of the deep water. After surviving the trauma, we might be ready for swimming lessons, to learn new skills. There will come a time when we can use this opportunity in counseling to grow in other ways. Someday we may be able to help someone else learn to swim. But in the immediate aftermath and months and in my case years, of continual disclosures, we mainly need help staying afloat.”[2]
Well said, and a lesson for all of us to take heed and pay attention as to how they need rescuing.
[2] Client letter, used with permission
13 dimensions of Trauma- Omar Minwalla
Image- Getty