Overwhelm, Trauma & Emotional Difficulties

People come to In The Clear with many different emotional difficulties, including anxiety, panic, phobias, compulsions, unresolved grief, overwhelm and post-traumatic reactions.

Our way of working does not normally require you to give a detailed account of what happened or repeatedly talk through difficult experiences.

Instead, we work with the response that appears when the problem is brought briefly into awareness.

The aim is to allow that response to be processed without pushing you into overwhelm.

How do we bring the problem into awareness?

We usually begin by identifying something simple that represents the problem for you.

This might be a word, a feeling, an image, a photograph, an object or another personally meaningful cue. We call this a trauma ticket.

The trauma ticket is not intended to make you relive the whole experience. Its purpose is simply to bring enough of the unresolved material into awareness for a response to begin.

Once that response is present, the trauma ticket is removed again.

This gives us a way of working with difficult material in small, manageable amounts rather than keeping you immersed in it.

What happens once a response begins?

You usually lie fully clothed on the treatment couch while the practitioner gently holds your head.

When the trauma ticket brings the problem into awareness, the practitioner pays attention to the response that can be felt through that contact.

Once the response is underway, the trauma ticket is removed again. The aim is to allow what has been activated to continue without adding more stimulation than is needed.

When the response settles, the trauma ticket can then be introduced again.

This process of bringing the problem briefly into awareness and then removing it may be repeated several times. We continue in small steps, always trying to avoid pushing you into overwhelm.

Why do we avoid overwhelm?

The aim is not to make you experience as much distress as possible.

We try to work with only enough of the problem for a response to begin, while you remain able to stay present and disengage from it when needed.

If the response starts to become too strong, we stop activating the material and allow things to settle.

Working in smaller amounts may mean returning to the same material several times, but it allows the process to continue without deliberately pushing you into a state where you feel flooded, overwhelmed or unable to step away from what has been activated.

You remain in control throughout and can pause or stop at any point.

How do we know when we have finished?

We return to the same trauma ticket and briefly bring the problem into awareness again.

If it still produces a response, there is more to work with and the on-and-off process continues.

We repeat this until the same trauma ticket no longer produces the response that was previously present.

Within the Boulderstone Technique, we regard that absence of a further response as completion of that particular process.

Sometimes further material becomes apparent afterwards, in which case we can work with that separately.

Do I have to talk about what happened?

No. Detailed retelling is not normally required.

You may need to identify what the problem relates to, and there may be some conversation during the session, but you do not usually have to describe the experience in detail or repeatedly talk through it.

The trauma ticket gives us a way of bringing the relevant material briefly into awareness without requiring a full verbal account.

For some people, this is an important part of the way we work.

Is this suitable for everyone?

The Boulderstone Technique is an alternative approach and is not a substitute for medical or psychiatric assessment, emergency care, prescribed medication or other treatment that you may need.

We do not deliberately push people into overwhelming emotional states. If something feels too much, the work can be slowed, paused or stopped.

If you are already receiving care for a mental health condition, we encourage you to continue that care and to discuss any concerns with the appropriate healthcare professional.

Thinking about an appointment?

If you are unsure whether the Boulderstone Technique is appropriate for you, you are welcome to contact us before booking.

You do not need to give us a detailed account of what has happened. A brief description of the difficulty is usually enough for us to explain whether our way of working seems appropriate.

If you are currently receiving medical or psychological care, please continue with that care unless the relevant healthcare professional advises otherwise.