What is sensorimotor psychotherapy?

Sensorimotor psychotherapy is a form of treatment developed by psychologist Pat Ogden in patients who have survived traumatic events. Neuroimaging studies show that post -traumatic individuals are involved in less function with higher brain and greater Amygdale activity, which is part of the brain that acts as an alarm center for the body. These traumatized patients will be reflected in hyper-entered states in which they exaggerate to less stress, to hypnovised states in which they are unable to take steps when they should. Classic examples range from a soldier who immerses under the table every time they hear a loud noise to the shell of a shock that cannot protect or do nothing but wander around. Sensorimotor psychotherapy helps patients to re -involve memories of trauma and related physical defense mechanisms such as diving under the table, so they are able to respond normally to regular daily stimuli.

For example, imagine a middle -aged businesswoman who was OPHe raped as a child close to a family friend. After a quarrel with a male collaborator, he can begin to experience seizures of panic, insomnia and poorly controlled rage with increased blood pressure, uncontrollable shock and rapid speech. As the first step in her sensorimotor psychotherapy, the therapist will strive to increase the understanding of the patient about how she was involved in the subconscious level in the same physical defense mechanisms she used during her rape, which triggered fleeting memories of rape and experienced the same level of emotional Turmoil. It can then be trained to remember the time when she felt strong, and tuned to how her body feels during this memory. This allows the patient to consciously experience the state of peace and strength in her body, to which he may return at will.

The second phase in the psychotherapy of the sensorimotor could teach the woman to actively change from the negative to the positive state even in the discussion of a traumatic event. This requires to make a patientKa tuned to the body's reactions and actively examined how the body's reaction associated with a distant event. The therapist can then direct the patient to closely focus on the body's response, without memories. For example, when the patient states that she feels as if she couldn't breathe, she only focuses on sitting slowly and slowing slowly. Through sensorimotor psychotherapy, a woman can learn in the third phase that she can separate the body's reaction from bad memories, talk about rape without actively re -experiencing, and learn to modify her reactions to the body so that her reactions remain well defined.