Treatment at Sanima Klinik.
The guideline-based treatment of simple and complex trauma-related disorders (Trauma I and II) begins in the first therapy phase with an assessment of the individual's need for stabilisation, taking into account comorbid conditions (addiction, depression, eating disorders, personality disorders). Building a stable therapeutic relationship is of particular importance to us, as trust, dignity, protection, a sense of security, reliability, appreciation, openness, and transparency are fundamental prerequisites for those affected to accept therapeutic interventions, engage with the clinical setting and its external structures and stabilising rules, learn distancing techniques (imagery exercises), acquire skills for affect regulation, refrain from self-injurious behaviour, let go of existing contact with perpetrators, open up, and challenge themselves, among many other things. The cross-method setting (see course of treatment and therapy methods) provides space for relief, structural developments (including self-awareness and self-regulation), the expansion of social skills, and improvement in the sense of self-efficacy. This stabilisation phase may last weeks to months.
Depending on the severity of symptoms and existing comorbidity, psychopharmacological agents — for example antidepressants — may also be indicated in the treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders. Thorough medical explanation will be provided. The decision about taking medication ultimately rests with the patient. In the spirit of transparency and mutual trust, it is important to us to address all questions, concerns, and reservations, and to seek the best possible, non-self-injurious symptom relief for those affected.
Depending on the level of symptom relief achieved, a phase of trauma processing (e.g. using EMDR) may follow the stabilisation phase in in-depth psychotherapy (still in the inpatient or subsequently in the outpatient setting). The aim of the trauma processing phase is to engage with the traumatic memories under protected conditions (to process them), until the memory of the trauma can ultimately be experienced as something that belongs to the past — no longer as a feeling of being subjected to the trauma in the here and now. This means that at the end of a trauma-processing procedure, the traumatic memory is stored in a changed form in the memory, along with the certainty that it is something that has passed. This trauma processing is not offered at our clinic; it should be carried out in a setting that specialises in treating PTSD with trauma processing.
Our clinic offers a sheltered therapeutic atmosphere and a cross-method setting to accompany the trauma-therapeutically stabilising path outlined above, and to connect it with subsequent outpatient or trauma-processing-specialised follow-up care, in close consultation and taking into account the existing need for support.
