Tier list on ways to heal trauma:
S Tier
Coaching
Coaching is S tier because it is the fastest, most practical, and most personalised way to heal trauma.
With coaching:
- You get direct guidance tailored to your exact situation
- You can choose the format (calls, voice notes, text, custom videos)
- It removes confusion and trial-and-error
- It’s less expensive and less clinical than therapy, but more actionable
Trying to heal trauma alone is slow and ego-driven. Coaching collapses years of mistakes into weeks of progress.
Every successful person invests in coaches for a reason.
This is the highest leverage option.
Courses
Courses are S tier because they deliver structured, high-quality knowledge in a frictionless way.
They:
- Are far cheaper than university
- Can be consumed privately, at your own pace
- Go deeper than YouTube
- Are built to teach, not chase views
Your entire understanding of trauma healing came from courses. Without them, you would not be able to teach or explain this topic.
For the return on investment, courses are one of the best decisions someone can make.
Books
Books are S tier because they are the deepest source of knowledge.
Most high-level courses are distilled from books anyway.
Authors spend years researching, synthesising, and refining ideas.
Even if you haven’t finished many trauma books yet, the people you learned from did.
Books reward patience and seriousness.
They’re not optimised for dopamine, which is exactly why they’re powerful.
A Tier
ChatGPT
ChatGPT is A tier because it functions like a 24/7 assistant or pseudo-coach.
It’s powerful because:
- You can ask very specific questions
- It helps clarify confusion instantly
- Even experts use it to fill knowledge gaps
The limitation is obvious: there is no human intuition, no emotional presence, and no lived experience.
That’s why it can’t be S tier.
Still, as a tool alongside courses or coaching, it’s extremely valuable.
Therapy
Therapy sits in A tier, not S tier.
While it can help some people, it has major downsides:
- High cost
- High friction (appointments, in-person sessions)
- Intimidating for people with social or relational trauma
- Often slow and overly clinical
For certain individuals it can be helpful, but compared to coaching, it is less flexible, less personalised, and less practical for rapid progress.
B Tier
YouTube Videos
YouTube is B tier because the primary incentive is views and retention, not education.
That doesn’t mean it’s useless:
- Some videos can genuinely help
- YouTube was part of your own personal growth
But:
- Information is scattered
- Depth is limited
- Content is optimised for algorithms, not healing
It can spark awareness, but it’s not where real transformation happens.
C Tier
Formal Education (College / University)
Formal education is C tier because it’s impractical for trauma healing.
Problems include:
- Extremely high cost
- In-person pressure
- Academic focus rather than real-world healing
- Poor fit for people with social anxiety or trauma
In the modern world, you can access better information for free or cheaply elsewhere.
It’s outdated for this purpose.
D Tier
Doing It By Yourself
Healing trauma alone is D tier.
This includes:
- Guessing based on intuition
- Random advice from others
- “Figuring it out” without guidance
It’s slow, inefficient, and ego-driven.
You might make 10 percent of the progress in three years that a coach could help you achieve in weeks.
If you value your time, this is the worst option.
Hope you found this valuable.