"In the early 1990s I was trying to make sense of why people often seemed to remain unaware of or forget certain types of trauma," Freyd tells Health<\/em>. "I realized that the need to stay attached to a caregiver could override the need to detect betrayal even when the betrayal was traumatic, like sexual abuse. Betrayal captures the dilemma people face." This betrayal usually causes a person to feel shame and fear, and it can have lasting mental health repercussions. Here's what to know about this specific form of trauma.<\/p>\n RELATED: What Is Trauma-Informed Care? Here's What a Patient Can Expect From This Approach to Health Care<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n The veterans Platt interviewed as a part of a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) study often answered "no" to many of the PTSD assessment questions, and yet they seemed deeply pained.<\/p>\n "It seemed like the PTSD interview was not always asking the right questions in situations in which the trauma was perpetrated by a commander, fellow unit members, or anyone else the veteran trusted or depended on for survival," Platt tells Health<\/em>. "Since then, my career has focused on understanding and treating betrayal trauma."<\/p>\n Traditionally, psychologists and other mental health professionals have focused on PTSD as the typical negative health impact of trauma. "Although PTSD does impact a lot of survivors, its diagnosis and treatment do not take into account the particular ways that being abused by someone trusted or depended upon impacts a survivor," says Platt.<\/p>\n Traditional PTSD results in fear and problems caused by trying to avoid fear, while betrayal trauma often results in shame and dissociation, as well as problems caused by trying to avoid shame and dissociation. "These different trauma consequences necessitate quite different treatment approaches," notes Platt.<\/p>\n Childhood physical, emotional, or sexual abuse perpetrated by a caregiver are types of betrayal trauma. But it's not restricted to childhood. Infidelity and intimate partner violence are other examples of events that can cause betrayal trauma, because they all involve a breach of trust between people in an intimate relationship.<\/p>\n Betrayal trauma can also happen when an institution, such as a government or law enforcement body, harms the individuals it claims to serve.<\/p>\n "Anyone can experience betrayal trauma, but our research suggests that women experience more betrayal traumas than men, while men experience more non-betrayal traumas than women," reveals Freyd.<\/p>\n RELATED: What Is Generational Trauma? Here's How Experts Explain It<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Betrayal trauma is not a diagnosis; it's a way to understand a type of harm inflicted on a person. With that in mind, there's no single treatment approach. But Platt says the following elements are necessary for deep healing to be possible:<\/p>\n Betrayal trauma survivors often believe that there's something wrong with them because they experience dissociation, have difficulty trusting themselves, and have mental health symptoms they can't explain. "They often believe they are 'bad' because they feel bad and because shame is a normal survival response to experiencing betrayal trauma, but they are not usually aware that is the case," says Platt.<\/p>\n Dissociation and shame are actually survival mechanisms that keep a person from making waves while they are in the relationship with the perpetrator, which might make things worse. "Survivors need to understand that these symptoms are signs that their mind was trying to help them to survive, rather than signs that there is anything wrong with them," says Platt.<\/p>\n Betrayal trauma survivors are often disconnected from their bodies, but developing the skill of interoception can help them heal. "Interoception is the ability to recognize and understand the body's internal sensations," Platt explains. "Without adequate interoceptive skills, psychoeducation will not be effective in changing the survivor's negative beliefs about themselves because the negative beliefs will still feel true."<\/p>\n While it can be scary at first for survivors to tune in and listen to their body, ultimately they often learn that their body's messages are more trustworthy than they ever could have imagined. "Many somatic approaches, such as somatic experiencing and sensorimotor psychotherapy, help survivors develop interoceptive skills," says Platt.<\/p>\n![\"Betrayal](\"https:\/\/imagesvc.meredithcorp.io\/v3\/mm\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F12%2F2021%2F10%2F18%2Fcouple-GettyImages-1028917414-2000.jpg\")
Betrayal Trauma , Man and woman. Relationships concept. Multiple exposure.<\/span> , PhD, who specializes in working with survivors of trauma, first became interested in understanding betrayal trauma when she worked with veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan in the mid-2000s.<\/p>\nThe difference between betrayal trauma and PTSD <\/h2>\n
Examples of betrayal trauma <\/h2>\n
Betrayal trauma recovery <\/h2>\n
Psychoeducation <\/h3>\n
Somatic focus\/interoception <\/h3>\n