"After years and years of working in this and grappling with this, the conclusion that many of us are coming to is that in order to help these animal, frozen, inappropriate, fight / flight / freeze responses to come to an end, you need to work with people's bodily responses. You need to help their body to feel like it's over." Bessel van der Kolk, MD

Over the past several years, many therapists have found that working with clients to identify where and how they hold trauma in their body and helping them to release it can be far more effective than traditional talk therapy alone. They've learned that somatic approaches can help trauma survivors to befriend their body, which they so often have come to see as the enemy.

In this three-part series, researchers and clinicians share their perspectives on the nature of trauma, including recent research on heart rate variability and the role of the social engagement system. They describe trauma's impact on mind and body, and the most effective tools for helping clients heal. Presenters demonstrate a variety of somatic techniques in excerpts from model therapy sessions. Body-oriented practices such as yoga and Impact Model Mugging are discussed, and ways of working with at-risk children and survivors of war and natural disasters are shown.

Presenters include Bessel van der Kolk, Peter Levine, Pat Ogden, Bill Bowen, Janina Fisher, and Stephen Porges.

*Includes TRAINER'S GUIDE (see below)

BODY-ORIENTED TRAUMA THERAPY I: Clinical Perspectives, 45 minutes
Examines the nature of trauma and its long-term effects, including recent research.
Topics include:
Trauma and the Fight-Flight-Freeze System
Trauma Memory Is Not Cognitive
Intervening on a Body Level
Body-Oriented Therapy
Safety During Therapy Sessions
Developing Mindfulness and Other Resources
Window of Tolerance, Boundaries, and Touch
Pleasure and Joy
*Click here to VIEW CLIP

BODY-ORIENTED TRAUMA THERAPY II: TREATMENT MODALITIES, 52 minutes
This program describes and demonstrates somatic techniques in excerpts from model therapy sessions. Topics include:
Accessing the Body
Boundaries, Grounding, and Posture
Demo Session One: Janina Fisher, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Demo Session Two: Peter Levine, Somatic Experiencing Psychotherapy
Demo Session Three: Bill Bowen, Psycho-Physical Therapy

BODY-ORIENTED TRAUMA THERAPY III: CHILDREN AND GROUPS, 45 minutes
This program shows a range of body-oriented group work with children, teens, and adults.
Topics include:
Different Professional Backgrounds
Working with Children
Project Joy
Trauma Drama: Urban Improv Intensive
Classroom/Campus-Based Intervention
Impact Model Mugging
Black Lotus Yoga Project
Crisis Response: Indonesian Tsunami
*Click here to VIEW CLIP

***THE TRAINER'S GUIDE
The 51-page trainer's guide includes objectives, reproducible viewer handouts, review and discussion questions, and a resource list. The appendices include two journal articles, described below.