The Emotional Volcano: 12 Rules for Successful Trauma Intervention

1. If you ask them about it, they could very well re-experience it.
2. Don’t be a traumatizer! Remember your voice and stimulus.
3. Check the space: What is stimulating?
4. Acknowledge their unsafe feelings, even if they are repressed.
5. Remember the Ripple Effect. Stop it at all cost!
6. Slower is faster, progress is made in seconds, not hours!
7. Are they in there (dissociation): Are you behind those eyes?
8. Keep them grounded in the room: I spy?
9. Keep them in their body: Physical anchor techniques.
10. Let them move: Physical movement keeps them working.
11. Safe place! Build it like a house—foundation, structure, roof.
12. Let the brain protect itself if necessary.