Traumatic events

Sadly most of us experience traumatic events at some time in our lives. All being well, we are able to deal with them and to recover without lasting problems. In some cases, however, we are left with memories in the form of images, sounds and feelings that continue to trouble us for long after the event has occurred.

Many people believe that because the effects can be so devastating, the memories of traumatic events are difficult if not impossible to change and that the process must take a long time. They find it difficult to believe that the memory can often change quickly without having to dwell for long on what happened in the past.

Whilst some people feel the need to talk through these events at length and choose to take the approach of counselling or therapy, others just want to be able to change the memories that haunt them so that the trauma becomes 'history' and they can get on with their lives. Jo's approach very often enables people to do just that.

One of the issues with trauma is that people can believe that they have recovered from a traumatic experience and that it no longer affects them but then something else happens - often a relatively minor event - and it can sometimes retrigger the traumatic memory.

This is often the experience of riders who have lost their confidence after a fall and say, for example, that they can't understand it as the recent fall "was only minor, I've had a much more serious fall in the past and that didn't worry me". In these cases it is important to deal not only with the recent event but also with the memory of the fall that may have happened many years before.

The approach that Jo has developed over a number of years is very effective. As well as accidents involving horses, Jo has helped people who have been involved, for example, in serious and fatal road accidents, armed robbery, sudden and violent deaths and who have been victims of war.

© Jo Cooper 2002-2017. All rights reserved