trauma homework

While someone is in therapy, the hour a week can be extremely helpful, but providing clients with homework outside of session can also support continued practice of bringing the tools spoken about in session into their outside life. 

Here are a handful of trauma-informed therapy homework assignments designed to support clients in processing trauma, building coping skills, and promoting healing outside of therapy sessions. These assignments are grounded in trauma-informed principles, ensuring that they emphasize safety, choice, and empowerment while supporting clients' emotional and psychological growth.

1. Grounding Techniques Practice

Assignment: Practice grounding techniques daily for 10-15 minutes. Grounding helps you stay in the present moment and manage overwhelming emotions triggered by trauma. Choose at least one grounding exercise (e.g., the 5-4-3-2-1 method, deep breathing, or the "safe place" visualization). Record your experience each day—what technique you used, when you used it, and how it made you feel.

Purpose: This assignment helps clients gain control over emotional distress and reduce the intensity of trauma triggers. It also strengthens coping mechanisms and fosters a sense of safety.

2. Journaling About Safety

Assignment: Write about what safety means to you. Begin with small aspects of your day that make you feel safe, such as being in a calm room, having a supportive friend, or spending time with a pet. Then, reflect on what safety would look like in your life if it were present more often, and what steps you could take to create more safety for yourself.

Purpose: This exercise helps clients explore and identify their personal experiences of safety, which can be especially important for those whose trauma has compromised their sense of security. It encourages self-reflection and helps build a foundation for healing.

3. Affirmation Practice

Assignment: Create a list of positive affirmations that resonate with you. These can be statements like "I am strong," "I am worthy of love," or "I have the ability to heal." Choose one affirmation to repeat to yourself every day, especially when you feel overwhelmed or triggered. Write a brief reflection on how saying this affirmation makes you feel.

Purpose: Affirmations can help combat the negative self-talk that often accompanies trauma, such as feelings of shame or unworthiness. This exercise empowers clients to reconnect with their inner strengths and foster self-compassion.

4. Trauma Timeline (with Reflection)

Assignment: Create a timeline of significant life events, marking both traumatic and positive experiences. Include any childhood events, major life changes, or periods of healing. Highlight moments where you showed strength or resilience. After completing your timeline, reflect on how these events shaped who you are today, focusing on how you coped and what you've learned.

Purpose: This exercise helps clients process and gain perspective on their trauma. It also promotes an understanding of their own resilience, which can be healing in itself and help them reclaim their narrative.

5. Self-Compassion Letter

Assignment: Write a letter to yourself as if you were writing to a close friend who had experienced the same trauma you have. Offer kindness, understanding, and compassion. Reflect on how the trauma has affected you, but also acknowledge your strength and your journey. After writing, read the letter aloud to yourself.

Purpose: This exercise promotes self-compassion, which is often a key component in trauma recovery. It encourages clients to treat themselves with the same care and empathy they would show to others.

6. Create a “Coping Skills Toolbox” or a “Calm Down Kit”

Assignment: Create a "Coping Skills Toolbox, either digitally or on paper. List at least five coping strategies you can use when you're feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or triggered. These might include breathing exercises, taking a walk, listening to calming music, or using a grounding technique. When you are triggered, refer to this list and use one of your strategies. Keep track of which coping skills worked best and when. " A “Calm Down Kit” can be a small pouch or box (preferably travel size) that includes various things that help you calm down, like an essential oil to smell, or a crystal to hold, or a note to yourself, a piece of gum, etc.

Purpose: This assignment helps clients develop a personalized toolkit of strategies for managing stress and trauma-related symptoms, which can increase feelings of control and reduce reliance on maladaptive coping mechanisms like avoidance or substance use.

7. Mindful Moment Diary

Assignment: Over the next week, commit to noticing one mindful moment every day—whether it’s eating a meal, taking a walk, or sitting in silence for a few minutes. Write down the moment, describing how it felt physically and emotionally. Reflect on how mindfulness affects your sense of presence and safety.

Purpose: Mindfulness exercises help clients build resilience and become more attuned to the present moment, which is especially important for trauma survivors who may feel disconnected or hypervigilant. This practice helps create a sense of calm and grounding.

8. Gratitude Journal

Assignment: Each evening, write down three things you’re grateful for that happened that day. They don’t have to be big things—small moments of joy, kindness, or personal accomplishments are equally valuable. Over time, notice if this practice changes your perspective on your day or your life.

Purpose: Gratitude journaling helps clients shift their focus from trauma-related thoughts to positive experiences, which can improve mood, increase feelings of self-efficacy, and help counteract the hopelessness that often accompanies trauma.

9. Exploring Your Triggers

Assignment: Over the next week, notice any moments when you feel triggered by something in your environment—whether it's a smell, a sound, a conversation, or a place. Write down these triggers and the emotional or physical responses they cause. Once you've identified a few triggers, reflect on how you can prepare for them or respond differently. Bring this list to our next session.

Purpose: This assignment encourages clients to become more aware of their triggers and helps them develop strategies to manage emotional responses. Recognizing triggers and practicing self-regulation skills can empower clients to navigate difficult situations with more control.

10. Visualization of Future Healing

Assignment: Imagine a future version of yourself who has healed from the trauma. What do they look like? How do they feel? What steps did they take to get there? Write about your healing journey from this future perspective, focusing on your strength, resilience, and growth.

Purpose: This exercise helps clients reframe their trauma narrative by creating a vision of healing and progress. It encourages hope and reminds clients that recovery is a process—one that they are capable of navigating.

These trauma-informed homework assignments are designed to foster healing, build self-awareness, and increase coping skills for trauma survivors. They provide practical tools for clients to process their trauma, engage in self-care, and empower themselves outside of the therapy setting.

*Citations:

• van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Penguin Books.

• Herman, J. L. (1997). Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence--From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror. Basic Books.

• Briere, J., & Elliott, D. M. (2019). Prevalence and psychological sequelae of self-reported childhood physical and sexual abuse in a general population sample of women. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 12(4), 619-637.*