Judith Herman’s Three Stages of Trauma Recovery.

In my practise I always hold in mind Judith Herman’s three-phase model of trauma recovery.

Judith Herman is a psychiatrist, researcher, and author widely regarded as a pioneer in the field of trauma and recovery. She is best known for her groundbreaking 1992 book Trauma and Recovery, which introduced the three-phase model of trauma healing that has become foundational in trauma-informed psychotherapy.

Her model continues to be a cornerstone of trauma therapy because it offers a clear and compassionate roadmap to working safely, especially when navigating the realms of complex and developmental trauma. Healing however is never ever linear, and these stages will constantly dance together - moving between stabilisation, trauma processing, integration and back again.

An overview of each stage is as follows:

1. Safety and Stabilisation

Before doing any deeper work there needs to be enough safety within the body and in the outer environment. This phase is about creating more of a felt sense of stability and steadiness within, or at least an ability to access it. If we are constantly at the mercy of flashbacks or overwhelming sensations and emotions it's not possible to do the deeper healing work.

It's important not to rush this stage, no trauma work can happen without this foundation. People need to feel anchored enough to even begin touching the deeper layers of their story.

In practice, this often includes learning grounding techniques, emotional regulation, psychoeducation, simple self-care, creating daily rhythms and routines, finding safe environments and relationships, and building trust in the therapeutic relationship, learning our nervous system patterns and beginning to access moments where the nervous system can rest.

I’ve noticed that when someone begins to feel just a little safer, even if only in small moments, something inside can start to soften, and from there new possibilities can emerge.

2. Remembrance and Mourning (trauma processing)

Once there is enough internal stability, a person may feel ready to begin processing their trauma. There are many ways to do this, and it doesn’t mean re-living every detail or even needing to remember or tell the story at all. It’s about slowing down, reclaiming, and integrating past experinences in a way that feels contained, supported, and honoring.

In this phase grief is often present for what was lost, what never got to be, or for exiled parts of self that had to go into hiding.

Therapeutic work here might involve narrative processing, trauma-informed somatic practices, reclamation work, unburdening, or simply creating space to be with and feel what couldn’t be felt before.

The focus is on slowing down, staying present and being with intense sensations, allowing them space and presence to move through the body and be resolved or dissolved. It can also look like meaning-making and integration. The focus is not on“fixing” but on bringing compassionate awareness to pain that has long been carried alone or that has been pushed out of awareness.

3. Reconnection and Integration

Over time, and each in their own unique way reconnection begins to happen - with themselves, with others, and with life. Discovering a sense of purpose beyond the trauma.

Trauma starts to feel like a piece of the story, rather than the whole of who a person is.

This stage is about building meaning, identity, and agency. It might involve creativity, exploring new relationships, or engaging in work or community from a place of deeper alignment.

Empowerment and choice begins to take root here, often quietly - not as a performance of strength, but as a gentle sense of 'I am here', 'I exist', 'what I think and feel matters', 'I can make different choices'.

Each person’s healing path is unique. We might move back and forth between these stages many times. What matters is not doing it “right,” but keeping going, trusting in your journey and possibly having some support along the way.

I’ve often seen people in this stage move from surviving and seeing life only through a trauma lens, to becoming more fully alive, setting boundaries, being more in their autonomy and meaningfully engaging with life - not because the trauma is forgotten, but because it’s no longer in the driver’s seat.