The Surprising Second Requirement to Resolve Trauma

There are two conditions required to recover from and process trauma. The first is fairly obvious. After a traumatic event, humans need to find safety for the trauma (of any kind) to be resolved. The second and final requirement according to our favorite somatic therapist, Sarah Baldwin, is “a mutually empathic witness.” 

This is profoundly important. 

This attuned witness is someone who can be present to the traumatic experience from a place of personal regulation such that they can feel the significance of the experience with us without getting taken up by it. 

I let out a deep sigh when I learned this. And, it makes great intuitive sense. I was left with two takeaways that I’d like to share with you. Firstly. There is compassion for self and others who did not have this critical second part to trauma healing. Second, there’s an opportunity for us to work on our own regulation to step into that role when a fellow human being needs it. 

This framework powerfully offers that we can overcome our trauma and proves that we cannot do it alone.