I have a good friend that works in a Community Center dental practice, and has difficulty himself because he also has a trauma background. I spoke with him a few days ago (I'm a coach, but have been trying to change my clientele from trauma to others - I get too triggered dealing directly with trauma myself) and we talked about a few things:
1. When you say YES, what are you saying NO to? If you're saying No to yourself you can't work effectively with trauma clients. You become a (-) in the world instead of being a (+).
2. Taking responsibility for things that aren't yours to own. He has struggled with his boss and others wanting to impose 'stuff' onto him, when he himself needs the downtime and the focus in his work to be effective in showing up for his clients.
3. A combination of boundary setting and creating a feeling of safety.
A lot of time, trauma victims show up with a lot of frustration and they take it out on the dentist. Being able to hold your own energy of presence and keeping yourself from being triggered is the key to being able to work with trauma background clients.
I can and am more than willing to expand on the training I already do and deliver and work with it online for dentists. Send me a note if you're interested.
Nikky
