• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

Make an Appointment

Viva Center, Washington DC

A Happy Mind for a Better Life

Header Right

Make an Appointment

  • Mental Health/COVID-19
    • Free Mental Health Resources
    • In This Together/Juntos En Esto
    • Depression/Mood
    • Anxiety
    • Relationships
    • Trauma
  • Therapies
    • EMDR
    • Brainspotting
    • Body-Based Therapies
    • Talk Therapies
    • Mindfulness & Expressive Arts Therapies
    • Therapy Costs
  • Professional Offerings
    • Join Our Team
    • Trauma-Informed Clinical Practice: Certificate Program
    • Join the Holistic Professionals Group
    • Toastmasters
    • Events
  • About
    • Our Therapists
    • Our Leadership
  • Blog
  • Mental Health/COVID-19
    • Free Mental Health Resources
    • In This Together/Juntos En Esto
    • Depression/Mood
    • Anxiety
    • Relationships
    • Trauma
  • Therapies
    • EMDR
    • Brainspotting
    • Body-Based Therapies
    • Talk Therapies
    • Mindfulness & Expressive Arts Therapies
    • Therapy Costs
  • Professional Offerings
    • Join Our Team
    • Trauma-Informed Clinical Practice: Certificate Program
    • Join the Holistic Professionals Group
    • Toastmasters
    • Events
  • About
    • Our Therapists
    • Our Leadership
  • Blog

Header Right

Make an Appointment

Mind-Body Approaches to Trauma Recovery

Mind-Body Trauma

What is integrative (mind-body) medicine?

We used to think that our mental, emotional, and physical health were completely separate. If you wanted to treat one, you didn’t have to consult with the others. Yet as our knowledge has advanced, we’ve learned that this old myth is far from true. This has led to the rise of integrative, or mind-body, medicine.

The word “integrative” refers to the interdependency of our systems, including our mind, body, environment, and more. Thanks to growing proof of its effectiveness, mind-body medicine has gained popularity nationwide.

Mind-Body Approaches and Trauma

In mental health, more therapists are providing body-oriented psychotherapy. These methods allow them to work with the mind and body in response to trauma

While we may think of trauma as an emotional experience, we now know it can have major physiological effects. When we experience a traumatic event, our body essentially records it in our nervous system, creating a physical memory. It does this with the goal of protecting us and helping us be more prepared in case the trauma happens again.

Even when we don’t consciously remember what happened to us, our bodies carry their physical memories. This is called “implicit” or “body memory.”

This is why “triggers,” or reminders of a traumatic event, can cause bodily responses like rapid breathing or dizziness. This occurs when we see, hear, or otherwise experience a sensory cue that subconsciously reminds us of the traumatic experience. For example, a car backfiring may remind us of a gunshot.

As you can imagine, this can cause problems. When our body is triggered by a stimulus like the aforementioned car backfiring, it sends the brain into survival mode. This occurs even when there is no real threat to our safety. It can cause a host of unpleasant symptoms, like the ones described above.

It’s not surprising that many trauma survivors become disconnected from their bodies to avoid being overwhelmed by the feelings associated with the trauma. Yet while the body can act as a source of great distress for survivors, it can also hold the keys to healing.  

Want to discuss mind-body approaches with a professional?

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

In their book on Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP), Pat Ogden and Janina Fischer posit that “since the movement of our bodies is inextricably linked with our emotions, beliefs, and a general sense of competency, working with posture, movement, gesture, and our senses can directly support our well-being.”

In other words, SP is a method of treatment that looks to the body to identify and change a person’s response to triggers.

Let’s return to the backfiring car example. A veteran returning from a combat zone may become nauseous or numb whenever she hears a car backfiring. An SP therapist would help her learn skills for first tolerating these sensations, and then gradually reducing them. As a result, the veteran begins to feel less overwhelmed and safer in her body.

Trauma-Informed Yoga

Combining yoga with psychotherapy enables clients who have experienced trauma to soothe their nervous systems through movement, breathing, and meditation.

A trauma-informed or trauma-sensitive approach to yoga is different from traditional yoga in a few key ways, says Lenna Jawdat. Jawdat is a psychotherapist who, in addition to working in talk-based modalities, leads trauma-sensitive yoga classes.

Trauma-informed yoga involves “gentle exploration of the body through different movements, with a focus on how the movement feels to the individual.” says Jawdat. Unlike traditional yoga, the goal is more about becoming comfortable in one’s own body rather than getting in an intense workout or mastering an Instagram-ready pose.

Additionally, trauma-informed yoga takes emotional health and security into account during every step of the process. “To maintain a sense of personal safety, I don’t do any hands-on assists and students are arranged in a circle so that everyone can see each other at all times,” Jawdat explains. While these adjustments may seem irrelevant to an uninformed practitioner, they can make all the difference for someone coping with traumatic symptoms.

Sensory Approaches

Liz Piren, MA, LMT uses sound healing to treat trauma among other approaches. Sound healing uses instruments and therapists’ voices to synchronize the brain’s right and left hemispheres, creating a state that is calming to the nervous system.  

Piren explains that when working through trauma, the addition of sound and the vibration of the instruments can facilitate the release of difficult emotions. Some of the additional benefits of sound healing include reduced stress and increased awareness and positive outlook.

Many clinicians also work with visual, audio, and other sensory cues to work through traumatic symptoms (Piren also uses floral essences, a method based on scent).

Try them all!

You can learn more about these and other approaches at our regular workshops, trainings, and open-houses. To make sure you’re the first to hear about upcoming events, sign up for our mailing list here.

*

Regina Tosca, therapist
Regina Tosca, LICSW

Regina Tosca, LICSW, is a therapist at the Viva Center in Washington, DC. She works with people experiencing grief and loss, including the loss of companion animals, as well as those who experience grief and trauma from their work in animal welfare.

Related Posts

Changing the Narrative Can Change Your Life: How EMDR Rewires Deeply Held Beliefs

Compulsory Monogamy: A Discussion on Professional Applications of Non-Monogamy

Grappling with Grief and Loss

The Power of Integrative Healing: Hannah Braune-Friedman

Accepting a Changing World: Moving Beyond the Resurgence

Multilayered Therapeutic Healing from Trauma and Oppression: Raven Jenerson

Category: HappeningsTag: body-based therapy, happy brain happy body, holistic, Mind-Body, ptsd, regina tosca, sensorimotor, therapy, trauma, trauma-informed

Previous Post: «Mental Health TV Mental Health on TV
Next Post: How To Get a Stronger Relationship? Gratitude »

Footer

Location

1633 Q St., NW Ste 200
Washington, DC 20009

12644 Chapel Rd Ste. 207
Clifton, VA 20124

Upcoming Events

Feb 16
9:00 am - 10:00 am Recurring

Toastmasters

Feb 17
9:00 am - 10:30 am

Intuitive Painting: Following Your Heart Into Mystery

Mar 2
9:00 am - 10:00 am Recurring

Toastmasters

View Calendar

Free Mental Health Resources

Resilient Brain Project

Live Empowered

Sign up for our monthly newsletter, updates and resources to support your healing journey today.

Subscribe Today

 

For appointments, click here.

For questions, email us at info@vivapartnership.com

Site Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2023 The Viva Center • All Rights Reserved • Privacy Policy