| ITR™ | Other Approaches |
|---|---|
| Takes fragments of the traumas that cause flashbacks & nightmares and puts them into historical context so they are no longer triggers | Focus on coping skills (progressive relaxation, deep breathing, thought-stopping) |
| Uses images from Graphic Narrative™ (doing play therapy with children) using the structure of the Instinctual Trauma Response —“The image comes first” | Uses cognitive skills and reframing |
| If a traumatic event is not thoroughly resolved, it feels like the event will happen again. ITR makes it possible to truly “finish the story!” | Concentrates on how the person’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected in the present |
| As the traumas are truly finished, the person will have more capacity for problem-solving | What happened in the past is not considered as important as present-day functioning |
| Single traumas can be completed in a matter of hours; a program can be done as an intensive (20-30 hours per week), several long weekend, or weekly sessions. | Some therapists insist on a long period of stabilization before trauma processing begins; can be years of weekly sessions |
| Can be used with children as young as 3 years old as well as older children, adolescents, and adults. | Young children and those with developmental delays cannot be treated with some types of trauma work |
| Does not have an individual re-live the event. | Some approaches stress abreaction (re-experiencing the emotion dissociated from the original trauma) and others use prolonged exposure |
| Integrates nonverbal and verbal memories. | Deals primarily with verbal material |
Articles
What is Dreams? | How It Tell Us About Memory
Are there any resources that provide guidance on what to do with dreams pre or post ITR? There isn't anything that has been written specifically about dreams in the ITR [...]
General Principles About Trauma
GENERAL PRINCIPLES ABOUT TRAUMA Variables Contributing to Different Responses Physical proximity to the actual event Those who were closest to the event likely to have a stronger response than those [...]
Testimonials
“My wife went thru a therapy program using this Instinctual Trauma Response program and had excellent results. It eliminated all her flashbacks, her panic attacks and so on. It did what was being explained to her. Be careful about being critical until you understand more. This therapy will eventually be the standard for treating PTSD.”
“I am more free to be myself, to be real with everything my life has held, and to allow myself to experience a full range of emotions regarding my life. ITR helped me put together various puzzle pieces I’d been looking at in counseling and couldn’t make sense of. Probably the biggest change is that I know it is a very good thing that I am alive and life is beautiful. There is a big change in my perspective.”
“I feel so much freer and happier now and have been able to use tools I learned (grounding, external dialoging) to get through rough times. I am back on my “feet”, stronger than ever, enjoying a new line of work for now, many friends, life in general and perhaps most important: a much better sense of myself–all parts of myself that I now understand, accept guide and love.”
“Whether acute or sustained, the effects of trauma on the brain can lead not only to anguish for the client, but also to frustration for the clinician. These painful conditions, so often resistant to even the most sophisticated therapies, are now, thanks to the dedication of Drs. Tinnin and Gantt, able to be approached with a new and remarkably successful methodology. This is a model for responsible and effective care.”
“The therapeutic implications of this concept are profound, and are addressed in detail, providing theory and application of techniques that embrace both cognitive and non-verbal somatic/behavioral elements.”
