I agree with PurpleFins. My therapist and I went through the old traumas, but once the story was told, we stopped revisiting it. Instead, we work on my current relationships and issues and how my old experiences influence who I am, how I think, what I do, today. So, yes, sometimes the old stuff comes up, but only in context of today. I don't need to rehash, retell, relive, the old traumas over and over again. I can look at the old experiences now without being retraumatized by them because instead of telling all the gory details, I look at what long-term effect those experiences have had on me. I guess instead of being at the mercy of those memories, those memories are more in my control. I don't know if that makes sense or not.