Helping Heal Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE Score)

EPT Helps Trauma. But How Much Trauma?

Emotional Polarity Technique is an incredible approach to tackle trauma, but many people have A LOT of trauma, and a lot of trauma means you have to commit to loving yourself and caring for yourself and never giving up on yourself. EPT could be the way you do this, but it isn’t a cure-all when it comes to complex and compound trauma. Nothing is (yet). 

More than anything, EPT helps you build better love for yourself and lowers your trauma response intensity and frequency. EPT helps you understand your reactions and open you up to more creativity in your choices and how you react--instead of the trauma reaction. 

All that being said, the Adverse Childhood Experiences (or ACE for short) score is a good way to measure a person’s trauma load. The score is on a scale of 1-10, yes or no questions. Here’s the shorthand:

Get Your ACE Score

Before you were 18 years old did…

1. You experience frequent emotional abuse (insulted, threatened, scared)?

2. You experience frequent physical abuse?

3. You experience sexual abuse?

4. You frequently feel like no one loved you, and no one in your family cared for each other?

5. You frequently experience food insecurity, homelessness, or severely neglected by your caregivers?

6. Your parents divorce or separate?

7. You frequently see your mother be physically abused?

8. You live with an alcoholic or drug abuser?

9. A household member have mental illness or attempt suicide?

10. A household member go to prison?

For any one of these things that someone said “Yes” to, a person could be in therapy forever. With EPT at Open Heart Holistic Therapy here’s how I help you based on your ACE score:

2 or less?

When someone has 2 or less on the ACE score, I know that EPT can help them reach their goals in 7 sessions or less. Usually, in just a few sessions, these clients are able to feel a weight being lifted and freedom to finally live and enjoy life more than they ever thought possible. Clients in this category may need an emotional support boost every few years when unexpected tough things happens--bad diagnosis, death, divorce, car accident, etc.

A person with 2 or less could have a difficult life circumstance that gives them a tough year, but they bounce back, overall, they move to heal quick. 

4 or less?

I’ve found that with clients who have 4 or less, EPT really helps them to reach their goals and start to feel the weight of their stress, anxiety, or depression lift.

However, people who have a 4 on the ACE are usually depressed and prone to addiction. There’s tons of research on how the ACE score and mental health and physical health are related. This point on the ACE score of 4, can really go either way, it depends on the person. 

5 or more?

With the clients I see, whether they have 5 or 10, doesn’t seem to matter. What matters for these clients is their commitment to themselves. These clients work so hard to heal.

They see every doctor, healer, psych person, shaman, herbalist, reflexologist, and yogi they can find. And everything helps a little because they show up to do the work. The biggest challenge for people with a 5 or more is that struggle to connect and they desperately need consistency to heal. 

A person with 5 or more who has an unexpected trauma in adulthood (car accident, death, cancer, house burns down, lost job, break up) may find themselves struggling for years with the emotional heartache and pain compounding with every new challenge. That is why consistency and commitment is so important for a client with a high ACE score--so when that tough stuff happens, they don’t feel alone like they’re back in the trauma. 

EPT and forgiveness might be the thing where 5+ client can finally see big healing strides. And I see these big healing strides in my office often. 

The ACE score can be a scary thing, and it can feel like it’s hopeless if you have a high score. But everyone has something to heal, and healing is possible for everyone. The ACE score is simply a tool that gives me and my clients a reality check on what they need and how long it will take. 

Along with the ACE score, I also check for Resiliency, which also mitigates a person’s ability to handle trauma. You can read more about that here. 

Don’t be afraid. EPT at Open Heart Holistic Therapy can help you no matter how deep the trauma goes. 

Whether you have 0 or 10 on the ACE, the weight can lift, and life can feel better now. Make an appointment today.