Brain-Body Approaches to Trauma

In our fast-moving therapeutic landscape, many of us still cling to the idea that healing trauma is only about talking. But trauma lives in our nervous systems, in our bodies, and in the patterns that connect our brain and sensations. When we say brain-body trauma therapy, we mean an approach that honors this wisdom and works at a deeper level.

What is Brain-Body Trauma Therapy?

Brain-body trauma therapy refers to healing models that focus on the interplay of the nervous system, embodied sensation, and our lived experience of trauma. Instead of seeing trauma only as a cognitive event, these approaches recognize how patterns live in the body: in dissociation, freeze-responses, hypo- and hyper-arousal, and implicit memory. By engaging both brain and body; we invite integration of thought, feeling, sensation, and action.

Key Concepts:

1. Accessing what talk alone can’t reach: Because trauma often bypasses or overrides the thinking brain, simply talking about it is only part of the pathway (Porges, 2011). Somatic and brain-body interventions help reach the non-verbal, implicit memory layers.

2. Completing the nervous system’s response: Trauma often gets “stuck” in the nervous system (freeze, collapse, dissociation). Brain-body therapy supports completion and integration of these physiological responses so clients feel more grounded, alive, and embodied (Levine, 2010)..

3. Neuroplasticity: When the brain-body is engaged in healing, new neural pathways can form. Therapies like Brainspotting and Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) support this shift. For example, the brain is especially receptive to change in the days and weeks following a KAP session.

   
   

How It Looks in Practice: Therapist + Client View

The Client’s Journey:

• Clients may or may not initially be able to identify where the body holds tension, dissociation, hypo/hyper states.

• Somatic skills can be taught and practiced: grounding, orienting, movement, breath. A possible intention is that these practices become part of a daily routine.

• Embodied psychotherapy: through Brainspotting, parts work, or felt-sense inquiry; the client begins engaging with the deeper material that was previously implicit.

• When working in altered states: preparation for the altered state, set and setting for the journey itself, integration work that includes brain-body elements (sensation tracking, brainspotting, movement, embodied reflection, ect.) to anchor insights.

• Ongoing integration and tracking: applying insights into daily life, using personalized brain-body practices, monitoring shifts in activation and resourcing, and embedding new neural patterns.

  
  

Therapist’s Lens

• Noticing nervous system cues and physiological responses.

• Letting go of an agenda: sessions are client-led, and silence is not viewed as a problem or space to be filled.

• Holding the somatic field: guiding clients into felt-sense awareness; helping track body responses, parts, resources.

• Facilitating integration: bridging the session work with outside practice; supporting clients to use somatic resources and neural-pathway building.

• Therapist self-awareness and self-care: the therapist's nervous system affects the client's nervous system.

Some Considerations:

1. Developing interoceptive awareness may be a foreign concpept: Support the client (or yourself) in noticing the body’s messages: “What’s happening in and/or around the body when I feel ___?” Over time, these felt cues become rich data for therapy.

2. Use Brainspotting (or similar) to process the deep material: The eye-position link, combined with somatic awareness, can access implicit trauma material without the potential for re-traumatization when having to talk about it (Grand, 2013).

3. Plan for integration: Especially if working with altered states (e.g., KAP), plan to process material that surfaced within 24-72 hours. Use the neuroplastic window to anchor new patterns.

4. Embodiment and pacing: Healing is not only about moving “forward”. Over-activation, dissociation, or re-traumatization can occur and must be met with compassion and care. Adjust pace, integrate internal resources, and honor the client’s internal system.

   
   

FAQs

Q: Is brain-body trauma therapy only for “complex” trauma?A: No. While it is especially powerful for developmental trauma, dissociation, and nervous-system dysregulation; the principles of mind-body integration apply to a wide range of trauma presentations (single-incident, relational, medical, childhood, ect.).

Q: How do I know if Brainspotting or KAP is appropriate?A: It depends on the client’s readiness, nervous system regulation, therapeutic alliance, and robust preparation. For some clients, more somatic-based or embodied talk therapy may be the starting place.

Q: What exactly is the “neuroplastic window” after a KAP session?A: The neuroplastic window is the period of heightened brain-body receptivity following a ketamine or psychedelic-assisted session (Ly et al., 2018; Dore et al., 2019). During this time, neural circuits are more open to change, making the integration work especially potent.

Here are some resources to support your brain-body journey:

• Download our Free Somatic Technique Cards 

• Download our Free Self-Brainspotting with a Body Resource Guide

• Check out our Resource Shop

• Schedule a session for Brain-Body Therapy or Professional Consultation.

References:

• Dore, J., Turnipseed, B., Dwyer, S., Turnipseed, A., Andries, J., Ascani, G., Monnette, C., Huidekoper, A., Strauss, N., Wolfson, P., & Glue, P. (2019). Ketamine assisted psychotherapy (KAP): Patient demographics, clinical data and outcomes in three large practices administering ketamine with psychotherapy. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 51(2), 189–198. https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.2019.1587556

• Grand, D. (2013). Brainspotting: The revolutionary new therapy for rapid and effective change. Sounds True.

• Levine, P. A. (2010). In an unspoken voice: How the body releases trauma and restores goodness. North Atlantic Books.

• Ly, C., Greb, A. C., Cameron, L. P., Wong, J. M., Barragan, E. V., Wilson, P. C., Burbach, K. F., Zarandi, S. S., Sood, A., Paddy, M. R., Duim, W. C., Dennis, M. Y., McAllister, A. K., & Olson, D. E. (2018). Psychedelics promote structural and functional neural plasticity. Cell Reports, 23(11), 3170–3182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2018.05.022

• Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton.