[Gracey]

Is anyone familiar with this?

[Rapunzel]

I have heard of it. I looked it up, and it sounds pretty good to me. This really makes sense:
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ETM theory sees symptoms as a normal and necessary response to trauma and believes that the focus on reducing symptoms not only does not work in the long-run, but can increase etiology or damage to the existential identity. It can actually make things worse!

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from http://traumaeducation.com/FAQ.htm

[Perna]

Oh, neat! I've never focused on symptoms, just let them "be" and focused on what was causing them. Just seemed more "natural" to me. You don't just give an aspirin for the headache, you see what's causing it so you don't get it again! Someone finally figured that out and made a "type" of therapy?

[chaotic13]

When I first read about this technique I though Great, this is exactly what I am looking for. A clear step-by-step plan for getting better.

This technique seems logical provided the underlying etiology can be found and adequately resolved. In the Q and A page that Rap shared they give an example of a man's drinking and how it results in a contradiction of the wife's "existential identity". That's nice but the wife going through ETM or TRT or some other treatment approach is not going to necessarily correct the problem. Unless it eventually leads her to change her existential identity, she leaves him, or he decides to change.

I think sometimes the underlying etiology is not always easy to uncover and sometimes it may not be resolvable. In which case the patient needs to be taught how to minimize the symptoms and learn some couping mechanisms that improve the quality of his or her life somewhat.

I am certainly a person who entered therapy thinking OK lets make this quick and direct--tell me what my problem is and then tell me a) how to fix it or b) how to better deal with it. So far despite gaining some awareness of my underlying issues and trying my best to address the ones I can personally address, I have not yet been successful in regaining my happiness.

Sometimes simply cleaning the wound is not enough to deal with complications of infection.

I really wish there was a simple step-by-step process, but at this point I am skeptical.

[Perna]

The man's drinking has nothing to do with the wife. No one else's thoughts, words, or behavior are responsible for our own "problems." The MAN would be the one doing the therapy to stop his drinking, if that's what he wanted. The woman can do the therapy to solve her own problems but her husband and his drinking aren't one of them :-)

If you can't find the underlying problem to work on then it's much harder to do anything about any symptoms. Take SI; that's not the problem, the reasons/underlying "need" to SI is what has to be looked at and addressed. If one can't figure out how to address it and/or one keeps working on the SI behavior, then one has to fight one's self/body to stop the chemically addicting SI and that's an uphill battle. But if one doesn't "need" to SI anymore because you are okay underneath, you get bored/pissed off at the SI and it gets to be more a "habit" that kind of drops away gradually and your body readjusts.

Symptoms HELP us and are not the enemy. I respect mine and use them for me rather than fight against them too.

[chaotic13]

Perna
I absolutely agree with your position. The optimal treatment approach is one that addresses the root of the problem. The TRT approach seems to be one that could be very effective in dealing with many different problems.

In my first post I was just voicing a point of skepticism that I personally had when I read the description of the technique. The TRT seems (from my limited knowledge about it) to address problems from a perspective that a) the underlying etiology can be found and b) that once found can be resolved. My skepticism is with these two assumptions not with the technique itself.

I totally agree with the notion that simply treating symptoms of a disorder or disease or learning to ignore what our body and mind is trying to make us aware of is NOT a good idea. In fact I am here on PC because this (denial) approach didn't work and may have even made me worse.

[Perna]

For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction :-)



So, I believe the underlying etiology is there and can "probably" be found (if it is sincerely looked for). I think if one finds it with the intention of resolving it that might happen too. It can seem like the person with the problem is being "blamed" if it doesn't get resolved but, in a sense, that is correct because it is ultimately their problem and ultimately up to them whether there is success and how that success is measured even.

I think symptomatic behavior we don't like, the underlying cause can be found and the behavior "fixed" but I don't know that I agree it can/should/must be done with this treatment method :-) There's more than one way to skin a cat.

[chaotic13]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
Perna said:

So, I believe the underlying etiology is there and can "probably" be found (if it is sincerely looked for). I think if one finds it with the intention of resolving it that might happen too.

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And this take home message is why I read and benefit from your posts! TY

[Perna]

Your results may vary? LOL

[Gracey]

WOW. . .I really didn't expect such a discussion. . .but, keep it up!!

I'm doing some reading on the subject right now. I'm not sure how it can help when it's not your experience, except that you focus on YOUR behavior revolving around the experience.

The group I'm with is using this primarily to help rape and sexual abuse vics.