Lisa came to counseling five years after
a car accident. Another car had collided into hers, leaving her
trapped for several hours. She experienced intense feelings of
panic, fears about dying and excruciating pain while waiting to be
rescued. Physically she was able to make a full recovery, though
years later Lisa continued to have panic attacks along with stabbing
back pains and migraines. Loud noises and the smell of blood still
startled her and her body continued to “freeze,” leaving her feeling
paralyzed by terror. A physician referred her to counseling after
extensive medical exams found no medical explanation for her somatic
complaints.
Talk therapy has been around for decades to assist traumatized
clients. Therapists encourage clients to verbalize their emotions
related to traumatic experiences, though many people find it
difficult to express their emotions in words. Dr. Pat Ogden created
Sensorimotor psychotherapy to complement traditional talk therapy
approaches and, specifically, to assist people in realizing the
impact of trauma on the body.
Trauma ranging from assault to a car accident can have profound
effects on our body and nervous system. Clients suffering from
unresolved trauma frequently have somatic complaints and difficulty
regulating their bodily responses. This can occur in one of two
ways:
In hyperarousal, a person has a high level of anxiety along with
rapid heart rate and pulse. These people have difficulty calming
their emotions. Intrusive images, smells and body sensations from
the original traumatic event can arouse the same emotions years
later. For one client, the smell of a specific fragrance in the
midst of an assault years later would arouse feelings of panic
similar to that experienced in the original traumatic event. This is
how the body becomes a primary entry point for traumatic
information.
The opposite of a hyperarousal response is when a person’s range of
emotions is limited to numbing — or feeling “dead”. Traumatic event
and events afterward arouse no reaction and a person has difficulty
experiencing any emotions. The spouse of a traumatized person may
complain of lack of emotions and affection from their partner.
In both cases, Sensorimotor psychotherapy integrates traditional
“talking cures” with focus on bodily based emotional states. The
therapist trained in this approach helps the client regulate their
emotional states with grounding techniques and emotional regulation.
The goal is for clients to respond to events with a normal range of
tolerance. For example, after hearing a loud sound, the client now
knows how to calm down instead of responding by panic and anxiety.
Through counseling, Lisa learned deep breathing techniques to calm
the central nervous system. She learned to watch for stressful
situations and to become more aware of her body. She discovered how
to identify the first signs of anxiety and fear in her body and to
verbalize her bodily reactions. Lisa also learned to become aware of
when her body was sending a signal of an injury versus a “body
memory” of the prior injury. That is, her body remembered the
original injuries she sustained in the accident even though her
physical injuries had healed years ago. Now, she learned to relax
the tensed muscles in her body by a series of yoga movements.
In learning to become more aware of bodily responses and reactions,
clients learn to increase their observations about physical
reactions. They also learn new physical reactions, which often are
empowering and opposite of the trauma reaction. For example, a
person who witnessed a fire as a child and used a fetal position to
self-soothe and continues to do so years later when stress level
increases is taught movements that counteract that initial movement.
The client may experiment with opening his or her arms instead of
folding them. An observation is made to see if the new movement
changes the client’s emotions and cognitions. Practicing new
physical movement can change the beliefs that one has held for
years.
Lisa worked with her therapist in learning new body movements: when
she felt like she was “freezing”, she practiced moving in a way that
encouraged the opposite feelings of paralysis. She worked on
relaxing her muscles and moving her body when levels of anxiety
increased. Lisa noted that her emotions and thought patterns also
changed as she found success in moving her body when she was
anxious. Her fears about dying and feeling that she was helpless
subsided and she felt empowered. In short, Lisa was able to make a
full recovery by becoming more aware of her body, using healing
movements to fight body memory along with traditional talking
psychotherapy.
Sensorimotor psychotherapy has added a new dimension to the
treatment of trauma. Therapists trained in this approach have become
more effective in making body-mind connections and helping clients
to heal by increasing body awareness. Clients can now find new
physical actions that empower them to live more fulfilling lives.
Sirpa Lahtinen-Gorman is a
Licensed Professional Counselor. She has a private practice in Eagle
River. You can contact by
www.alaskatherapy.com or calling #720-1878.
