Sue Cox

Sue Cox

Monday 21 October 2013

Bleeding the radiators!


In my “Day Job” as a therapist,   I am asked a lot about the “psychological” fallout from child abuse, as well as my field of addiction.
There is no doubt “psychological “ stuff is all very evident . The self loathing, the guilt, the despair, disassociation, addiction, self harm etc.etc.etc., the long term effects are very well  known and documented. 
But “psychological”symptoms  are  just that -symptoms. 
The cause is always in a PHYSICAL root, in the physiological changes that have occurred as a result of the abuses,  specifically in the brain, and that is what my studies and the   teaching in our workshops  is all about.
When we have an understanding of  the workings of the brain, and therefore can see more clearly HOW these symptoms occur physically, and will inevitably continue, then we can tailor the interventions accordingly. 
I guess the point is that I believe that without research and understanding of a given topic such as this, an inconsequential treatment may be given prior to something that could actually work , and might be much more appropriate. 
 A good analogy might be this :  
If your central heating radiators go cold you might have heard that “bleeding”  them makes them hot again.However, if this is all you understand about central heating , you will not check that the pilot light is still working or if the gas has run out , and so you can bleed the radiators all you like to no avail. 
 In fact if you kept doing it ad infinitum you'd drain the system!  
A certain treatment is only suitable in a certain situation , and without full knowledge you can't  really know which.
So armed with just the knowledge of bleeding radiators and a key,  we have a situation  whereby, having sweated to bleed them all, with no effect, we then blame the key! 
Maybe it is the wrong kind of key?
Maybe there needs to be more than one key? Maybe the key needs to be a different colour? shape? size?
If the problem is not the need to bleed those radiators, it is pointless concentrating on the key!  A vast amount of wasted time and energy, and frustration will  result. 
Far better, I am quite sure, to have a basic understanding of the central heating system! 
We unfortunately come across this scenario all the time in treatments, a random approach, often well meaning, but without a FULL understanding of all of the issues. 
It is no use trying to  re -arrange  a jigsaw puzzle to suit our particular piece of it, at best the result will  be minimal.
Of course you may get a lucky shot !  you may find that there are occasions when the fault DOES lie in the necessity to “bleed the radiators” - that it has been useful to have that key!  In treatment we will  always come across someone ,somewhere who has benefitted from pretty much every therapy you can name .
 But it is a  very big mistake to base the recovery of any vulnerable person on a “lucky shot”  -- They do not deserve it!
And if , knowing this, we continue to throw just any intervention  at them , then this can only be for our own agenda, and NOT the wellbeing of the person who may  badly need help, and who should always be the absolute focus .
There is no such thing as a “one fits all” solution.
If there were such a thing as a magic wand, we would surely all be waving it , and everyone would get better and live happily ever after!
But there are no magic wands! and there is no other condition more in need of an “holistic” approach than this one. 
But it has to be from an understanding of the true reality of the damage. 

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