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At a GlanceAbreaction is an unconscious reaction that brings back painful memories. In therapy settings, abreaction is not used on its own but might be part of a broader strategy to help people cope with trauma.

At a Glance

Abreaction is an unconscious reaction that brings back painful memories. In therapy settings, abreaction is not used on its own but might be part of a broader strategy to help people cope with trauma.

An abreaction is an emotional, unconscious reaction that you have in response to something that brings back a painful situation you’ve experienced. It could be an event that you remember, or something that suddenly pops into your consciousness when having an abreaction.

Abreaction can also describe the process a therapist uses to desensitize or help you stop having these automatic reactions. Within the safety of a therapy session, you may be led to experience abreaction so that you can then learn to replace the illogical, gut-instinct reaction with one that is more suited to the situation.

In this article, we’ll cover the history of abreaction and look at some examples of abreaction that you or someone you know might have experienced.

Effects of Childhood Trauma

History of Abreaction in Therapy

Abreaction and its counterpartcatharsis(emotional release) are largely attributed toSigmund Freudand Josef Breuer who discussed the topics at length in their work onpsychoanalysis.

Freud and Breuer both emphasized the importance of abreaction and catharsis early on in their work but later realized that simply expressing or reliving painful emotions is not all that is needed to achieve recovery, especially for trauma survivors

The emphasis on achieving catharsis through abreaction carried on through World Wars I and II when trauma therapists usedhypnosisand chemically-induced techniques to create abreactions.

Some therapists saw the need to help trauma survivors do more than just “deal with” their complex emotions about their experiences.

Hypnosis: Types, Uses, and Limitations

Examples of Abreaction

There are many real-world examples of abreaction, some of which might be familiar to you because of what you’ve experienced or what someone you know has been through.

Is Abreaction Used in Therapy?

Today, abreaction is rarely used on its own as therapy. Just eliciting a reaction to a stimulus does not help a person work through the emotions and behaviors associated with past trauma. The value of abreaction is that it can lead to realization—but that does not mean that the feelings about the difficult experience have been resolved.

While abreaction has been largely disregarded as a tool in therapy, some providers use it in certain contexts—usually as part of a more comprehensive treatment plan. When abreaction occurs in therapy, people have a safe space to work through the feelings associated with past trauma.

After bringing a past trauma to mind, a person’s memories can be carefully explored with the support needed to cope effectively with the trauma. Learning to integrate experiences and lean on valuable coping skills can minimize thedissociationthat people often experience in response to trauma.

As an integrative approach, abreaction may have some value when it’s part of a broader treatment plan that includes other techniques like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

Abreactions can also occur duringeye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. This approach is sometimes used as a treatment for PTSD, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. During this treatment, people recall difficult or traumatic memories while engaging in bilateral eye movements.

Intergenerational Trauma: What You Need To Know

Effects of Abreaction

At first, Freud promoted abreaction in therapy because he thought if a person could release painful emotions, the traumatic experience would be less distressing for them. Today, experts recognize that repeatedly experiencing traumatic memories and emotions does not relieve a person’s distress.

Trauma often causes people to dissociate from their emotions, memories, and identity. The amount of dissociation that a person experiences ranges from mild (similar to daydreaming) to severe (in the case ofdissociative identity disorder).

In fact, studies have shown that one of the most effective therapies for PTSD iscognitive behavioral therapy(CBT), which has nothing to do with abreaction.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for TraumaCBTworks because it can help PTSD survivors reframe their thinking about a trauma.Changing faulty thinking and replacing it with more rational, factual thinking helps PTSD survivors cope better with the guilt, anger, distress, and fear they may have about what they went through.For example, arape survivormay feel illogical and unnecessary guilt for the situation they were in. Through CBT, they can learn to change their thinking and understand that the rape was not their fault.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Trauma

CBTworks because it can help PTSD survivors reframe their thinking about a trauma.Changing faulty thinking and replacing it with more rational, factual thinking helps PTSD survivors cope better with the guilt, anger, distress, and fear they may have about what they went through.For example, arape survivormay feel illogical and unnecessary guilt for the situation they were in. Through CBT, they can learn to change their thinking and understand that the rape was not their fault.

CBTworks because it can help PTSD survivors reframe their thinking about a trauma.Changing faulty thinking and replacing it with more rational, factual thinking helps PTSD survivors cope better with the guilt, anger, distress, and fear they may have about what they went through.

For example, arape survivormay feel illogical and unnecessary guilt for the situation they were in. Through CBT, they can learn to change their thinking and understand that the rape was not their fault.

What Is Trauma Therapy?

Tips for Coping With Abreaction

While some abreactions take place as a planned part of therapy, spontaneous abreactions can also happen unprompted—often when you least expect them. Something similar to a past trauma may trigger a reaction as you go about your daily life. Experiencing abreaction can be intense and upsetting, but there are strategies that you can use to cope when it happens.

What Does It Mean to Be Triggered?

Summary

Abreaction is an unconscious reaction to something that triggers the memory of a painful experience from the past. While psychologists used to think it could be a therapy on its own, today, abreaction is more often used as part of a broader treatment plan that also includes other strategies. When abreactions happen outside of therapy, they can be very distressing. It’s important for a person to work with a mental health provider to learn how to effectively cope with trauma and their emotional reactions to it.

What to Know About Trauma-Informed Therapy

11 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.APA.Abreaction.Imai H, Tajika A, Chen P, Pompoli A, Furukawa TA.Psychological therapies versus pharmacological interventions for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia in adults.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;10:CD011170. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011170.pub2APA.Catharsis.Marx C, Benecke C, Gumz A.Talking cure models: A framework of analysis.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1589. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01589Van der Hart O, Brown P.Abreaction re-evaluated.Van der Hart O, Steele K.The integration of traumatic memories versus abreaction: clarification of terminology.Christensen C, Barabasz A, Barabasz M.Efficacy of abreactive ego state therapy for PTSD: Trauma resolution, depression, and anxiety.Int J Clin Exp Hypn.2013;61(1): 20-37. doi:10.1080/00207144.2013.729386EMDR International Association.Guidelines for virtual EMDR therapy.Watkins LE, Sprang KR, Rothbaum BO.Treating PTSD: A review of evidence-based psychotherapy interventions.Front Behav Neurosci. 2018;12:258. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00258Qi W, Gevonden M, Shalev A.Prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder after trauma: Current evidence and future directions.Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2016;18(2):20. doi:10.1007/s11920-015-0655-0Ma X, Yue ZQ, Gong ZQ, et al.The effect of diaphragmatic breathing on attention, negative affect and stress in healthy adults.Front Psychol. 2017;8:874. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874

11 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.APA.Abreaction.Imai H, Tajika A, Chen P, Pompoli A, Furukawa TA.Psychological therapies versus pharmacological interventions for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia in adults.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;10:CD011170. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011170.pub2APA.Catharsis.Marx C, Benecke C, Gumz A.Talking cure models: A framework of analysis.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1589. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01589Van der Hart O, Brown P.Abreaction re-evaluated.Van der Hart O, Steele K.The integration of traumatic memories versus abreaction: clarification of terminology.Christensen C, Barabasz A, Barabasz M.Efficacy of abreactive ego state therapy for PTSD: Trauma resolution, depression, and anxiety.Int J Clin Exp Hypn.2013;61(1): 20-37. doi:10.1080/00207144.2013.729386EMDR International Association.Guidelines for virtual EMDR therapy.Watkins LE, Sprang KR, Rothbaum BO.Treating PTSD: A review of evidence-based psychotherapy interventions.Front Behav Neurosci. 2018;12:258. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00258Qi W, Gevonden M, Shalev A.Prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder after trauma: Current evidence and future directions.Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2016;18(2):20. doi:10.1007/s11920-015-0655-0Ma X, Yue ZQ, Gong ZQ, et al.The effect of diaphragmatic breathing on attention, negative affect and stress in healthy adults.Front Psychol. 2017;8:874. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

APA.Abreaction.Imai H, Tajika A, Chen P, Pompoli A, Furukawa TA.Psychological therapies versus pharmacological interventions for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia in adults.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;10:CD011170. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011170.pub2APA.Catharsis.Marx C, Benecke C, Gumz A.Talking cure models: A framework of analysis.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1589. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01589Van der Hart O, Brown P.Abreaction re-evaluated.Van der Hart O, Steele K.The integration of traumatic memories versus abreaction: clarification of terminology.Christensen C, Barabasz A, Barabasz M.Efficacy of abreactive ego state therapy for PTSD: Trauma resolution, depression, and anxiety.Int J Clin Exp Hypn.2013;61(1): 20-37. doi:10.1080/00207144.2013.729386EMDR International Association.Guidelines for virtual EMDR therapy.Watkins LE, Sprang KR, Rothbaum BO.Treating PTSD: A review of evidence-based psychotherapy interventions.Front Behav Neurosci. 2018;12:258. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00258Qi W, Gevonden M, Shalev A.Prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder after trauma: Current evidence and future directions.Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2016;18(2):20. doi:10.1007/s11920-015-0655-0Ma X, Yue ZQ, Gong ZQ, et al.The effect of diaphragmatic breathing on attention, negative affect and stress in healthy adults.Front Psychol. 2017;8:874. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874

APA.Abreaction.

Imai H, Tajika A, Chen P, Pompoli A, Furukawa TA.Psychological therapies versus pharmacological interventions for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia in adults.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;10:CD011170. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011170.pub2

APA.Catharsis.

Marx C, Benecke C, Gumz A.Talking cure models: A framework of analysis.Front Psychol. 2017;8:1589. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01589

Van der Hart O, Brown P.Abreaction re-evaluated.

Van der Hart O, Steele K.The integration of traumatic memories versus abreaction: clarification of terminology.

Christensen C, Barabasz A, Barabasz M.Efficacy of abreactive ego state therapy for PTSD: Trauma resolution, depression, and anxiety.Int J Clin Exp Hypn.2013;61(1): 20-37. doi:10.1080/00207144.2013.729386

EMDR International Association.Guidelines for virtual EMDR therapy.

Watkins LE, Sprang KR, Rothbaum BO.Treating PTSD: A review of evidence-based psychotherapy interventions.Front Behav Neurosci. 2018;12:258. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00258

Qi W, Gevonden M, Shalev A.Prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder after trauma: Current evidence and future directions.Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2016;18(2):20. doi:10.1007/s11920-015-0655-0

Ma X, Yue ZQ, Gong ZQ, et al.The effect of diaphragmatic breathing on attention, negative affect and stress in healthy adults.Front Psychol. 2017;8:874. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00874

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