Educational reference
Treatment overview
Stabilisation and grounding refers to the practical work that often comes before, or alongside, therapy that addresses traumatic memories directly.
Its purpose is straightforward: to establish enough safety and steadiness that difficult work becomes possible. It commonly includes attention to immediate safety and living circumstances, sleep, reducing alcohol and other substances, managing overwhelming feelings, and grounding techniques for use when distress or dissociation rises.
Grounding techniques are simple methods for re-establishing contact with the present - attending deliberately to physical sensations or surroundings. They do not resolve trauma, and are not intended to; they make the present moment more manageable.
For some people this phase is brief. For those with prolonged or repeated trauma, unstable circumstances, or difficulty regulating overwhelming emotion, it may take considerable time and be the most useful work available for a while. Pacing is decided with a qualified professional.