Body-oriented trauma psychotherapy represents an effective approach to treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), developmental trauma and other trauma symptoms.

Body-oriented Psychotherapy for Shock and Developmental Trauma

How Does Body-Oriented Trauma Therapy Work?

Body-oriented procedures such as Bodynamic® and Somatic Experiencing® work with physical sensations and emotions in order to process trauma. – It is not necessary to go into the story or relive the past experience, one largely stays in the here and now.

A prerequisite for working through trauma is relative safety. Therefore, as soon as the environment is relatively safe, stabilisation and resource building is started. In addition, self-regulation skills and essential ego functions are built up. After that, trauma processing can begin.

Subsequently, the physical discharge of the trauma takes place through the application of body-oriented psychotherapy methods. Relief of trauma symptoms often accompanies reorganisation of the nervous system.

In addition, the consequences of the traumatisation have to be dealt with cognitively in order to enable a new meaning making and a coherent integration of the experiences into one’s own biography. Therefore, in addition to the body-oriented methods, cognitive methods are used that enable a re-evaluation of the traumatic event.

Ultimately, the trauma must also be understood as an opportunity for personal growth and maturation. Post-Traumatic Growth is about integrating into your personality the immense resources that helped you through the difficult situation.

Body-Oriented Work with Shock and Developmental-Trauma

Integrated Trauma Therapy – Bodynamic®, Somatic Experiencing® & NARM®

Step 1: Stabilisation & Safe Environment

First of all, stabilisation within the personal life environment must be ensured:

• We need safe places and safe people – i.e. physical and social safe havens.
• We need sufficient safety from the perpetrators of the previous traumatisation.
• We need stability in our roles and in our professional and personal circle

In addition, there is psycho-education – i.e. clarification of how psychological traumatisation occurs, what the consequences are, how the treatment can be carried out, which concrete practical steps are taken in therapy.

First step is to enhance real safety and create a basic cognitive understanding.

Step 2: Build Internal Resources

After or parallel to this, there is a step-by-step build-up of resources particularly with the methods of Bodynamic®:

• Learning to experience your own body as a safe place again (work with the body-ego / work with body sensations)
• Learning to deal with emotions and high energy states.
• Build up elementary ego functions such as grounding and centering
• Learning to set boundaries and protect personal space.

Bodynamic uses gentle, precise engagement of specific muscles in contact to activate the body’s innate impulses, that may have been interrupted during overwhelming events. This includes for example pushing, withdrawing, or reaching-out movements.

The second step is to improve safety in the body and learn to deal effectively with changing conditions.

Step 3: Trauma Discharge & Emotional Completion

Trauma may leave body and / or emotions in a state of unfinished response. Somatic Experiencing (SE) and NARM offer complementary ways to resolve physiological activation, and reconnect with authentic emotional experience.

Biological Completion – Cautious Trauma Discharge

• Somatic Experiencing proposes that many symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) arise because the body could not complete its instinctive defensive responses – i.e. fight, flight, or freeze.
• “Biological completion” refers to allowing a slow, titrated discharge of survival energy that was locked in the nervous system. The discharge of high activation of the nervous system is an essential step toward alleviating PTSD symptoms.
• Rather than reliving the trauma, SE guides clients to track small sensations, impulses, and micro-movements, letting the body naturally complete protective actions that were interrupted during the original event, e.g. a slight push, a turn, or a step. This careful, step-by-step discharge helps the autonomic nervous system reestablish regulation and restores a sense of internal safety.

Emotional Completion – Processing Emotions

• NARM focuses on the relational and emotional dimensions of trauma, particularly developmental and attachment trauma. Emotional completion here means helping clients reconnect with emotions (e.g. anger, sadness, fear, shame) without collapsing into them or disconnecting from them.
• Instead of reactivating traumatic stories, NARM emphasizes processing from a responsible adult perspective: Being present with self-awareness, self-compassion, and understanding how survival strategies (e.g., disconnection, self-blame, control) shaped emotional experience.
• Emotional Completion in NARM involves allowing previously unavailable feelings to be sensed, understood, and integrated, creating new capacity for connection with oneself and others.

Through gentle trauma release, the body can begin to return to the normal rhythm of activity and relaxation.

Step 4: Post-Traumatic Growth

Post-traumatic growth promotes the following aspects of personal development:

• New meaning and new believes
  • New meanings make it possible evaluate one’s experience and actions / non-actions in a different way. You can also start let go of limiting decisions resulting from the trauma and form new believes about yourself and the world.
• Become aware of and integrate trauma resources
  • In the traumatic situation, automatic or instinctive survival mechanisms take over, making it possible to survive in the situation. Awareness and acceptance of these resources can contribute to a new sense of safety.
• Spiritual growth
  • Positive resources can often be tapped during trauma processing and personal growth – including a connection to a higher power.
• Positive integration into identity
  • Identity development is about stepping out of the victim identity and being able to see yourself as an active designer of your life and your relationships for the present and future.

There is no guarantee of post-traumatic growth, especially if post-traumatic stress disorder has already developed. In this case, the first priority is to alleviate the symptoms.

With post-traumatic growth, it becomes possible to integrate the shock experiences into one’s personality and life story and to grow from it.

Body Oriented Trauma Therapy – FAQ – Questions & Answers