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Therapy in a Nutshell

Guided Meditation - The Container Method - for Processing Trauma, PTSD and Intense Emotions

Therapy in a Nutshell

Therapy in a Nutshell -Emma McAdam

Mental Health, Education, Health & Fitness:mental Health, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness

4.8658 Ratings

🗓️ 15 July 2024

⏱️ 7 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Do you want to learn How to Process Emotions and improve your Mental Health? Sign up for a Therapy in a Nutshell Membership, you'll get access to all of Emma’s courses, workbooks, and a Live Q and A with 100’s of exclusive videos: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership Check out my FREE course Grounding Skills for Anxiety and Trauma: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/grounding-skills-for-anxiety-stress-and-ptsd/ Do you tend to avoid thinking about difficult emotions or memories? Have you heard it’s unhealthy to just “stuff down” all the hard things? In this video, I’ll present a helpful strategy to use in order to slowly and deliberately work on distressing emotions and memories. And it’s a resource that trauma therapists use all the time to help people. PTSD and Trauma can create overwhelming feelings. The container method is a way to slow down the processing of them until you are in a safe place. It's often used with other trauma-healing approaches like EMDR, CBT, or other forms of therapy. Looking for affordable online counseling? My sponsor, BetterHelp, connects you to a licensed professional from the comfort of your own home. Try it now for 10% off your first month: https://betterhelp.com/therapyinanutshell Learn more in one of my in-depth mental health courses: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com Support my mission on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/therapyinanutshell Sign up for my newsletter: https://www.therapyinanutshell.com Check out my favorite self-help books: https://kit.co/TherapyinaNutshell/best-self-help-books  Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health. In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger Institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction. And deeper than all of that, the Gospel of Jesus Christ orients my personal worldview and sense of security, peace, hope, and love https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe If you are in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or your local emergency services. Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hi and welcome to the Therapy in a Nutschell podcast. I'm Emma McAdam, a licensed marriage and family

0:04.9

therapist, and it's my mission to create easy to understand educational content about therapeutic

0:10.2

skills and topics that anyone can use in their daily life. Stay tuned until the end of the video

0:15.4

to learn more about my mental health courses, discounts, and other news related to therapy in a nutshell. I hope you enjoy the

0:22.5

episode. Each podcast episode comes from a corresponding video you can find on the Therapy in a Nutshell

0:28.8

YouTube channel. Also, these podcasts are educational and don't replace the advice or direction

0:34.5

you may be receiving from a therapist or other health professional.

0:38.3

All right, let's jump in.

0:40.0

This is an exercise that you can do with your therapist to manage situations, emotions, or memories

0:46.0

that cause distress, but you aren't ready to deal with all at once.

0:50.9

You can use the container exercise to give yourself some time and space so that you can pause your emotions and then face them later when you have the energy or support that you need to do so. If you do feel overwhelmed, please seek support from a mental health professional. Let's begin by sitting comfortably in a quiet and safe space.

1:16.8

Close your eyes and take a few slow breaths to center yourself.

1:24.2

This exercise is designed to help you create a mental container to process and manage traumatic

1:32.3

emotions or memories.

1:35.3

Bring to mind a picture of a strong and secure container.

1:41.3

This container can be any shape, size, or material that you choose. Some people find it

1:47.3

helpful to use a locked filing cabinet or a castle keep, a strong box with a padlock, or a bank

1:55.8

vault. It can be any form of secure container that seems safe to you.

2:02.5

Now bring to mind your container.

2:06.4

Make your container as protective and resilient as you need it to be.

2:12.3

Pay attention to what makes it strong.

2:15.7

Does it have a heavy lid,

...

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