Body-oriented Trauma TherapyBody-oriented Trauma Therapy

Over the past several years, many therapists have found that working with clients to identify where and how they hold trauma in their body and helping them to release it can be far more effective than traditional talk therapy alone. They've learned that somatic approaches can help trauma survivors to befriend their body, which they so often have come to see as the enemy. In this three-part series, researchers and clinicians share their perspectives on the nature of trauma, including recent research on heart rate variability and the role of the social engagement system. They describe trauma's impact on mind and body, and the most effective tools for helping clients heal. Presenters demonstrate a variety of somatic techniques in excerpts from model therapy sessions. Body-oriented practices such as yoga and Impact Model Mugging are discussed, and ways of working with at-risk children and survivors of war and natural disasters are shown. Presenters include Bessel van der Kolk, Peter Levine, Pat Ogden, Bill Bowen, Janina Fisher, and Stephen Porges. Released 2008.