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On the Importance of "Naming" the Specifics of Preverbal Trauma
The ability of the client to identify, label and put into historical context preverbal traumatic events is one of the historic contributions of Primal Therapy that has yet to be recognized by the rest of the mental health or psychological community. There is a consensus among trauma experts in various schools of psychotherapy that cognitively naming" the components of a childhood or adult trauma is not only optimal, but absolutely critical to effective resolution of any trauma. In fact, the research evidence shows that the more coherent and detailed the client's trauma "narrative" is, the more depth and breadth there is in the client's eventual healing.
From the primal standpoint this is just as true whether or not the trauma occurs at the preverbal level (intrauterine to approximately 18 months of age) or when the trauma forms an "explicit memory" after the hippocampus "comes on line. As noted previously, the hippocampus is located deep within the limbic structure or emotional center of the brain and is the part of the brain where explicit memory or "picture" memories form. Explicit memory is what we universally think of as "a memory"---complete with pictures in our "mind's eye" and most of the time easily described through words. The hippocampus does not become functional and mature until around the age of three. Not surprisingly, this is approximately around the same time when language is first being developed and refined.
For memories that occur before the age of 3 or so, the only way to encode memory is what neuroscientists call "Implicit memory" or what some have called "body memories". Body memories are just as revealing, sometimes more so, than what we traditionally think of as "memory". As noted previously, preverbal memories and implicit memories (the associated emotions and body sensations) that naturally occur in all childhood or adult trauma are stored in the limbic system and reptilian part of the brain. Traumatic memory encoded "implicitly" manifests its signature through visceral reactions, body movements, muscular tension or contraction, irregular or rapid breathing, and other reactions in the autonomic nervous system.
Some of the more common symptoms that are expressed implicitly include: generalized anxiety, panic attacks, depression, mood swings, hypervigilance, hyperactivity, numbing, and dissociation. Some of the behaviors as adults that are commonly used to avoid or self-medicate implicit traumatic memory imprints include: isolating socially, workholism, excessive consumerism, substance abuse, eating disorders, sex addiction, and relationship addiction. Working with regulating the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic/ parasympathetic) and restoring autonomic balance is critical to effective therapy. This is where the notions discussed earlier of the "therapeutic zone" or "therapeutic window" come into play as well as the absolute importance of the client learning affect regulation or modulation and tolerance of affect.
Other body-centered psychotherapies conveniently posit that labeling or "naming" preverbal memories is simply non-essential. These other trauma therapies state that it is sufficient to re-experience the memory somatically and that cognitive context and integration by language and labeling is "unnecessary". In the Primal viewpoint, not only is this preposterous and an obvious contradiction to what has been universally viewed as optimally effective treatment for "verbal trauma", but also is indicative of the fact that other therapies and theories do not have the requisite therapeutic knowledge or tools necessary to help clients name the components of preverbal trauma--- thus leaving a huge piece of their healing unfinished. Why is this so important?
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