What is Sensorimotor Psychotherapy?

 

Sensorimotor psychotherapy (SP) is named for the deep part of the brain in use during the therapy.  It is a very gentle and respectful body-centered therapy that allows client and therapist to work beneath the level of emotions and right at the mind-body connection.  There is vast literature documenting the complexity of the trauma response, including changes in the body's physiology and body systems such as the autonomic nervous system (ANS), the brain's information processing system, the limbic system, hormonal systems, and the immune system.  During SP, attention is given to the physiological signs that a person has been traumatized to bring about change at the deepest level of all:  the somatic level. 



Here are some examples of how trauma "lives" in the body:

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  A heightened startle reflex, or being jumpy at the slightest noise or touch


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  Automatically drawing away from touch


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  Chronic tension


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  Breath-holding, shallow breathing


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  Palpitations


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  Sweating not brought on by heat


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  Wide, darting eyes, scanning the surroundings for danger, or the opposite--"fixing" the eyes (not moving or blinking) for periods of time, with highly constricted pupils 


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  Numbness


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  Restlessness, urges to move around a lot or keep busy


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  Tunnel vision, or narrowing of the visual field--sometimes to the point where it's like looking through a fog-like haze


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  Visual "snapshot" images of the trauma


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  Inability to speak in certain situations (like "the cat has their tongue")


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  Freezing up, or inability to move--even when on high alert


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  Inability to set boundaries or detect "red flags"


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  Heightening of the senses (hearing, seeing, touch, smells, tastes)


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  Still hearing, seeing, tasting, sensing, or smelling aspects of the original trauma--even though they are no longer happening


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  Exhaustion, lethargy (being a "couch potato"), a tendency to collapse


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  Difficulty concentrating


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  Inability to absorb new information


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  Trembling, shaking


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  Arching backward or collapsing as the usual posture

The above examples are ways that the autonomic nervous system (ANS) gets out of whack when a person is traumatized.  Slowly and gently tracking the sensations associated with these signs will reveal where the person got stuck at the moment of trauma, allow for reintegration of somatic resources at the exact points they are needed to get you past that point, and allow completion and integration of the experience to occur.  In other words, it changes how you experience what happened, so you develop a felt sense of completion.  That it's over and done with.  In the past.



Examples of missing somatic resources that can be reintegrated after being dissociated (split off) during trauma:

 

Missing Resource	When Traumatized
Being able to take a deep breath	Holding one's breath or shallow breathing
Movement	Freezing
Release of muscle constriction	Muscle constriction
Being able to see and take in one's current surroundings	Eyes fixating (locking in place), visual images in the "mind's eye"
Being present in the here-and-now	Being "there, then"

 

As your felt experience changes, so do your emotions and thoughts.

 

Would you like to try a little experiment?  Those of you that are severely traumatized may not want to try this on your own. 



First, read this paragraph in its entirety.  Try out what it says, then come back and resume reading.  Here's the experiment:  Physically place yourself in a position so that you look like someone who's depressed. Hang out with that for awhile.  Notice what your thoughts are like, and how you feel.  When you have done it for what seems like the right amount of time, come back and resume reading.  Ready?  Go!

What did you notice? 



Now for part two.  Do this like before, reading the paragraph through first.  Assume a position of strength.  It can be any position you like, such as taking on the posture of a confident person, an authoritative person, or perhaps a member of the military standing at attention.  Once again, hang out with it for awhile and notice what happens. Here we go!