Constructed Awareness Therapy
What It Is
Constructed Awareness is an awareness-based approach to processing traumatic memories and experiences, attachment wounds, and disturbing emotional states. Awareness refers to one's mindfulness of the present moment, including what is happening around you as well as within you; the term "constructed" refers to the ways we construct that awareness- through thoughts, internal sensations, and perceptions of the world around us.
How It Works
By becoming aware of previously distressing memories and wounds while still maintaining a level of connection to the present moment and emotional regulation (with support and resources from the therapist), clients can reprocess memories and store them in new ways which hold less distress.
Raising awareness can transform our experiences before we even apply a single coping skill. Skills are helpful in regulating emotional experiences, but they cannot do so alone; instead, teaching clients to observe their inner experience closely and carefully changes the experience in and of itself.
Our awareness is composed of thoughts, sensations, and external senses. Constructed Awareness introduces a unique practice—mindful awareness of the client's own experience as it is constructed from these three elements. Understanding how these building blocks construct emotional experiences, and observing them in real time can transform emotional and relational responses.
Most people naturally focus on one building block—thoughts, sensations, or external senses. Constructed Awareness training identifies the client's orientation and provides techniques to deepen self-awareness. A typology of six personality types helps clients understand their traits, guiding them toward resources that enhance self-regulation based on specific needs.
Why I Use It
Constructed Awareness treatment can be extremely effective when working with traumatic memories that cause extreme distress when remembered, or when navigating symptoms that arise when situations trigger such memories. By using the brain's natural ability to encode old memories in new ways, clients can reduce their distress from its source and reap the benefits of a new way of healing.
As this is one of the many modalities I use when working with clients, let me know if you're particularly interested in Constructed Awareness treatment! You can learn more about the modality here. If you're interested in receiving Constructed Awareness treatment at Resonate, reach out here.