Sensorimotor psychotherapy in the treatment of trauma.

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janina Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

A Pilot RCT of A Body-Oriented Group Therapy For Complex Trauma Survivors: An Adaptation of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Catherine C. Classen ◽  
Lesley Hughes ◽  
Carrie Clark ◽  
Bonilyn Hill Mohammed ◽  
Patricia Woods ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Group Therapy ◽  
Complex Trauma ◽  
Trauma Survivors ◽  
Pilot Rct ◽  
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

Proximity, Defence and Boundaries with Children and Care-Givers: A Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Perspective

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pat Ogden
Keyword(s):  
Child Therapy ◽  
Care Giver ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Relational Dynamics ◽  
Caregiving System ◽  
Care Givers ◽  
Care Giving ◽  
Limit Setting ◽  
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

Traumatised children can be easily dysregulated by relational dynamics. These children often experience the sequential or simultaneous stimulation of attachment and defence characteristic of disorganised/disoriented attachment patterns. Expressing their relational needs for proximity and distance can be fraught with conflict, confusion, frustration and fear. Parents/care-givers are often baffled about how to balance boundaries and limit setting with closeness and proximity in a way that is effective for themselves and their children. Additionally, parents/care-givers themselves may have histories of trauma and attachment failure that impair their own ability to balance closeness and distance. Both proximity seeking or closeness and defense or boundary setting actions are organized by innate, psychobiological systems of attachment and defense, and for parents/caregivers, the caregiving system as well. Each action system has to meet particular goals to achieve proximity to and security with a trusted other (attachment system); to defend and protect when needed (defence systems) and to protect and care for offspring (care-giving system). The legacy of trauma and attachment failure, with their consequential neuropsychological deficits, can constrain and disrupt adaptive responses to the arousal of these three systems. This paper clarifies the inborn systems that drive actions of proximity and distance. A case study will explore the interactions of these systems in child/care-giver therapy. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy will be described and somatic relational techniques will be illustrated to address proximity and defence/boundaries in the context of child therapy and care-giver/child therapy.

scholarly journals Sensorimotor approaches to trauma treatment

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 171-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janina Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Affect Regulation ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
The Body ◽  
Affect Dysregulation ◽  
Therapeutic Modalities ◽  
Underlying Basis ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

SummaryResearch has consistently demonstrated a connection between affect dysregulation and experiences of early childhood neglect, trauma and attachment failure. Without adequate regulation of the infant's distress states, the nervous system and affect-regulating brain structures fail to develop optimally. Affect dysregulation is a component of all mood, anxiety and borderline personality disorders as well as a contributor to addictive and suicidal behaviour. Methods to increase self-regulation are crucial to the effectiveness of any treatment for these problems. Traditional therapeutic modalities that address distorted cognitions or focus on emotional expression attempt to address affect regulation but fail to modify its underlying basis in the nervous system. Sensorimotor psychotherapy, as a somatically oriented therapy, approaches affect dysregulation as a subcortical issue. Its interventions directly address the underlying causes of dysregulation in the body and nervous system.

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