ABSTRACT
In traditional phase-oriented treatment, stabilization is followed by a phase of "memory-processing" based on the assumption that unmetabolized memories of traumatic events are the active ingredient in post-traumatic stress. "Trauma processing" must therefore include the body and the parts, and it must focus on reorganizing the individual's implicit memories and relationship to the traumatic past. For clients to transform their relationship to frightening, overwhelming, humiliating events necessitates acquiring the ability to be "on speaking terms" with the traumatic past without fear of being overwhelmed or humiliated. Transformation of the client's relationship to the unfinished past often happens spontaneously when the normal life self suddenly connects to the felt experience of the child and immediately feels sadness or protectiveness. Therapists can be reassured by the research demonstrating that even as infants, the window of tolerance expands and resilience increases when infants are exposed to experiences or stimuli just slightly outside their comfort zone and then are soothed and re-regulated.
