30+ Trauma Tools Every Therapist Needs (And When to Use Them)

Some sessions feel like a breakthrough. Others feel like you're walking in circles — stuck in the same story, the same shutdown, the same silence. And even though you know the theory, there are days when it feels like your trauma tools just aren’t quite landing.

Working with trauma is layered, unpredictable, and often emotionally exhausting. But sometimes, what makes the biggest difference isn’t a brand new modality — it’s having something simple, supportive, and ready-to-use at just the right moment.

That’s where a bundle of trauma-informed worksheets, grounding tools, and affirmations can come in — not as a replacement for your clinical skill, but as an extension of it.

So let’s talk about what’s actually inside the Trauma Bundle — and more importantly, when and how you might reach for it in your next session.

What Trauma Looks Like When It’s Not Obvious

You know the classic signs — the client who flinches, who avoids eye contact, who panics at reminders. But trauma doesn’t always show up loud and obvious. Sometimes it tiptoes in, masked as irritability, perfectionism, emotional shutdown, or detachment.

For Adults

Think about the client who never asks for help, insists they’re fine, or intellectualizes every emotion. They’re showing up, but not really present. These are the moments when tools like the Identifying Your Symptoms worksheet (from the Trauma Worksheets for Adults) or the Challenging Thinking Errors sheet (from the Thinking Traps Worksheet Pack) can offer structure and language to what feels vague and overwhelming.

Another tool that gently opens up conversation? The Shame and Self-Compassion exercises (also found in the Trauma Worksheets for Adults). Shame often hides beneath the surface, and these tools create a bridge between silence and insight.

For Kids and Teens

Now imagine a child who gets silly, defiant, or distracted anytime you ask how they’re really feeling. Their protectors are loud — not because they’re misbehaving, but because safety feels out of reach.

In those moments, you might reach for the Feelings Thermometer (from the Trauma Worksheets for Kids) to help them track their internal cues or use the Safety Plan for Kids worksheet (from the Safety Plan Resource) to help identify what makes them feel calm, grounded, and understood.

And for a child who’s ready to begin exploring their story? The My Ouch Story worksheet (from the Narrative Therapy Tools) meets them where they are, with gentleness and creativity.

When a Client Feels Unsafe in Session

You can feel it the moment it shifts. The eye contact breaks. The energy pulls inward or explodes outward. A client is no longer grounded in the room with you — and before any trauma processing can happen, you know you need to restore that basic sense of safety.

Rebuilding Safety First

This is where having a few trusted tools within reach can make all the difference. The Window of Tolerance Worksheets (from the Window of Tolerance Resource) help clients visualize and understand their own regulation range. When paired with the P.A.U.S.E. Self-De-escalation Tool (from the Trauma Worksheets for Adults), they offer a practical entry point for conversations around self-awareness and emotional regulation.

For clients who need support in the moment, the Mindfulness Scripts & Breathing Exercises (from the Mindfulness & Grounding Bundle) create a soft landing — a way to ease back into the body without force or pressure.

Recognizing Dissociation

Sometimes, clients won’t say they feel unsafe — they’ll dissociate instead. You might notice they pause too long, forget the question, or speak in a flat, disconnected tone.

That’s when the Dissociation Conversation Cards (from the Dissociation Tools Pack) come in. These cards give clients the language to describe what often feels indescribable. They also help you gauge the level of discomfort or frequency in a non-threatening way.

Pair those with simple, sensory grounding cards from the Coping Skills Flashcard Set, and you have a go-to kit for gently guiding clients back to the present moment.

Helping Clients Identify and Work With Triggers

Sometimes a client will say, “I don’t know what set me off.” And often — they really don’t.

Helping clients connect the dots between events, sensations, and emotional responses can be delicate work. That’s why having structured, reflective tools is so important.

The Trigger Tree Worksheet (from the Trigger Tools Pack) offers a gentle and creative way for clients to walk through the before, during, and after of a triggering event. It encourages them to describe what happened, what they felt, what they needed, and where they felt it in their body.

Pair it with the Trigger Tracker Sheet (from the Trauma Worksheets for Adults) to help clients notice patterns over time. This tool is especially helpful for teens and adults who are learning to spot early signs of escalation.

And when conversations veer into control vs. chaos? The Circle of Control Worksheet (from the Coping Skills & Self-Regulation Pack) can help clarify what’s theirs to carry — and what isn’t.

Processing Trauma with Gentle Structure

Some clients are ready to explore their story — but freeze when asked to write about it. Others want to talk but don’t know where to start. In these moments, giving structure to the story helps clients feel more contained and less overwhelmed.

The Tree of Life Worksheet (from the Narrative Therapy Tools) offers a powerful metaphor for clients to describe who they are beyond what happened to them. With roots, branches, storms, and resilience, it gently guides clients to reconnect with identity and strength.

For those early steps into narrative work, the Healing Journey Prompts (from the Trauma Worksheets for Adults) provide reflection questions clients can answer at their own pace. These prompts are particularly helpful when clients feel stuck or afraid of opening the floodgates.

Want something that works with both kids and adults? The My Ouch Story worksheet is flexible and creative enough to meet clients where they’re at — with drawings, symbols, or words — and doesn’t demand more than they’re ready to give.

When Emotions Run High — And Stay There

There are times when clients leave your office calm, but come back in the next session spinning in the same emotion. Whether it’s shame, anger, anxiety, or dissociation, that heightened emotional state can feel like a loop that never ends.

This is when having between-session tools makes all the difference.

The Coping Skills Flashcard Set (from the Coping Skills & Self-Regulation Pack) includes grounding activities like hot chocolate breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and sensory-based tools that help anchor clients during tough moments.

If anger is a recurring theme, the Anger Management Worksheets (from the Trauma Worksheets for Adults) can guide clients in noticing their triggers, learning their cues, and building a more intentional response plan.

Flashbacks? The Flashback & Dissociation Tools section (found across the Dissociation Tools Pack and Trauma Worksheets for Adults) offers practical ways to interrupt the spiral, from orienting exercises to sensory strategies.

These tools aren’t meant to erase what happened. They’re about creating a bridge back to safety when clients feel like they’re drowning in the emotion.

Tools That Keep Clients Engaged in Their Own Healing

You know that session where everything clicks, and then the next week your client forgets what you covered? That’s where tangible, take-home tools can keep the momentum going.

The Affirmations for Trauma Survivors (from the Trauma Affirmations Pack) offer gentle but powerful language clients can return to again and again. These aren’t your typical “just think positive” affirmations, they’re written with survivors in mind, acknowledging strength, pain, and healing.

For clients who process best through writing, the Gratitude and Reflection Prompts (from the Trauma Worksheets for Adults) are a quiet way to encourage integration and emotional insight between sessions.

And when safety is still shaky, or self-harm is a concern, having tools like the Self-Harm Prevention Plan and the No Harm Agreement (from the Crisis & Safety Planning Pack) can offer comfort, structure, and a pathway toward trust.

What’s Inside the Trauma Therapy Bundle

Maybe you’ve been slowly gathering worksheets over time. Maybe you’ve been meaning to organize your trauma tools into a go-to folder. This bundle saves you that time and energy, while giving you over 100 therapy-ready resources to support your work.

You’ll find:

• 8 Types of Coping Skills

• Adult Window Of Tolerance

• Adult Trauma Workbook

• Adult Tree Of Life Sheets

• Anxiety Coping Skill Cards

• Attachment Styles Quiz

• Attachment Styles Psychoeducation

• Cognitive Distortion Cards

• Dissociation Discussion Cards

• Inner Strength Cards

• Journal Prompts

• Kids Safety Sheets

• Kids Trauma Workbook

• Kids Tree Of Life

• Kids' Window Of Tolerance

• Negative Thinking Traps

• Post Traumatic Guilt Cards

• Trauma Posters

• Religious Trauma Sheets

• Safety Plan Sheets

• Safety Plan Workbook

• The Trigger Tree

• Trauma Affirmations

• Trauma Coping Skill Cards

• Trauma Measuring Tool

• Trauma Responses

• Trauma Responses Card Deck

• Trauma Wheels

• Truine Brain Sheets

The tools span multiple evidence-based approaches, including CBT, DBT, Narrative Therapy, and Mindfulness, making it easy to adapt for different client needs, ages, and stages of healing.

This isn’t just a collection of PDFs. It’s a trauma-responsive toolkit you can keep at your fingertips.

Use it to:

• Help clients identify triggers, patterns, and emotional responses

• Support clients in building coping strategies that feel safe and achievable

• Offer reflection and journaling prompts between sessions

• Reduce planning overwhelm with ready-made structure

  
  

Whether your client is stuck in shame, spiraling in anxiety, or just starting their healing journey, there’s something in this bundle to meet them where they are.

Gentle Observation: Sometimes when I’m creating a new resource, I picture those moments you might face — the pause, the disconnect, the client who can’t find words. I think about what I would have wanted to reach for during those moments, and I build from there.

There’s something steadying about reaching for a worksheet, a card, or a visual that can hold space when words alone fall short. It’s not about having the perfect tool — it’s about having something that meets the moment with care and clarity.

If you’ve been holding too much, trying to think of everything, or feeling like you’re constantly adapting, I hope this bundle brings a bit of ease to your week. You deserve that.

Jemma (Gentle Observation Team)

P.S. If you're a member of the Therapy Resource Library, you already have full access to everything mentioned above!

Just log in and check "TRAUMA" in the Condition/Problem category to download all the tools in this post.

Not a member yet? You can learn more and join the Therapy Resource Library here.

It’s a growing collection of ready-to-use resources, organized by topic, designed to support your work and save you time.