Disentangling Safety From Comfort

Jeff Levy, LCSW
(originally posted on Branching Out:  The Live Oak Blog, March 2014)

There is an exercise I facilitate during the first class meeting each time I teach graduate students about trauma.  Before we do the exercise, I ask for people to think about the difference between safety and comfort.  It might seem a strange request to make during the first class, but a relevant one prior to engaging in an activity that invites self-disclosure and possible vulnerability.  Usually, several hands go up in response to the question.  In addition to the hands, there are usually some looks of confusion.  In part, I think the confusion relates to trying to distinguish safety from comfort.  I also think my students are wondering why I am asking such an odd question on the first day of class.

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