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Friday, 8 February 2019

Somatic Trauma Release And PTSD Study Results


By Brenda Cooper


When it comes to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, better known by the acronym PTSD, there are different symptoms. In some cases, individuals freeze and lose the ability to function when being reminded of a trauma, in others individuals become overwhelmed with a number of emotions. In either case, there are alternative and holistic practices which can assist individuals suffering from PTSD, one of which is that of Somatic experiencing, also known as Somatic Trauma Release.

In the case of this practice, sessions are often provided which track an individual over time. Most often, those providing the practice are mental health professionals such as psychologists, psychotherapists or psychopathologists. Although, clergy, chaplains, social workers, marriage and family therapists, nurses, physicians, body workers and physical therapists have also been known to assist individuals through somatic experiencing.

Certified practitioners must complete a 3 year training course, eighteen hours of consultations and twelve hours of one-on-one sessions. Different types of Somatic experiencing include developmental trauma on a long term basis and shock oriented trauma on a shorter term. As such, the training allows individuals to learn the best methods for treating different times of trauma on a long or short term treatment plan.

The practice works to promote awareness while releasing physical tension which remains after a major or minor traumatic event. Pendulation is another aspect of this type of therapy and involves moving between dysregulation and regulation. In general, a client is assisted in moving into an alternate state of mind any time the individual is dysregulated.

It is the return to this regulated state in which somatic experiencing becomes active. For, the practice is defined as anything which can help a client's nervous system return to a regulated state. In order to assist an individual in returning to regulation, resources can include reminding the individual of a beloved pet, relative or friend. For, when the individual can be taken out of the current state of fear and moved to a calmer emotion, the individual can often begin to function within a few minutes.

Clients often go through a series of emotional responses during the reregulation process. In some cases, this can be returning to regular breathing patterns, experiencing a warm sensation throughout the body or tears while the nervous system is returning to a regulated state. The intention of reregulation is to reinforce the inherent ability clients have to self-regulate before moving into a state of dysregulation in the future.

Shock and developmental trauma while similar do share differences. For example, shock trauma often occurs after a single traumatic event such as a physical attack, battlefield incident, earthquake, flood, hurricane or car accident. Whereas, developmental trauma occurs during child development when a child does not have sufficient, or experiences detrimental attention from primary caregivers such as parents and teachers. In addition, there can also be other traumas such as brain injuries or concussions in which the individual may need ongoing therapy in this area.

Two different somatic experiencing based studies have been conducted on a randomized basis. In each study, individuals showed great promise when it came to treating PTSD through somatic experiencing. Upon completion of the studies, researchers also determined more research would be required before being able to understand how and why these individuals responded positively to the treatment.




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