Mind-Body Therapies for Trauma Healing

Prepared by: Allison Fischman, MPH Candidate

While trauma and mental health impacts, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), were historically viewed as purely psychological, research over the last decade or so has shown that traumatic experiences have profound impacts not just on mental health, but on physical health, as well. Toxic stress in childhood, or the experience of prolonged trauma, adversity, abuse, or mistreatment, contributes to high allostatic loads. Allostatic load is cumulative “wear and tear” on the body’s neurological and endocrine (hormone) systems that disrupts normal functioning. Over time, chronic stressors interfere with the body’s ability to regulate its systems, including stress, immune, and other responses.



With his landmark 2015 book The Body Keeps the Score, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk changed the landscape of trauma healing. He asserted that the brain and body are connected, and when trauma occurs, not only do physical symptoms result, but the connection between mind and body is disrupted. Trauma interferes with one’s ability to be in the present. However, neuroplasticity, or the ability of the brain to “re-wire” and change its activity in response to stimuli, allows for neural pathways formed by traumatic experiences to be overridden. Trauma healing methods can retrain the brain to form new connections to heal trauma.


Despite the widespread popularity of Dr. van der Kolk’s work, several disconnects remain. Western medicine has yet to embrace the sort of alternative therapeutic modalities that The Body Keeps the Score and other similar work maintain are crucial to trauma healing. This may be due, in part, to a failure to recognize that alternative healing methods are not new and unproven. Mind-body therapies have been used in traditional medicine and practices in China, India, Tibet, and other countries and cultures for thousands of years. Research on trauma is just starting to test the effects of these traditional healing practices on physiological systems. In this overview, I will briefly explore how trauma interacts with body and mind, then outline several promising modalities for mind-body trauma healing identified through current academic research on trauma and chronic stress.

Resources

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma (2015) by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.


“The polyvagal theory: New insights into adaptive reactions of the autonomic nervous system” (2009) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3108032/


“The embodied mind: A review on functional genomic and neurological correlates of mind-body therapies” (2016) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0149763416303256


“Somatic experiencing: using interoception and proprioception as core elements of trauma therapy” (2015) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4316402/


“Randomized Effectiveness Trial of a Brief Course of Acupuncture for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder” (2014) https://journals.lww.com/lww-medicalcare/fulltext/2014/12001/randomized_effectiveness_trial_of_a_brief_course.13.aspx


“A critical analysis of chromotherapy and its scientific evolution” (2005) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16322805/


“A future perspective for regenerative medicine: understanding the concept of vibrational medicine” (2018) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5859346/


“Classification of Electrophotonic Images of Yogic Practice of Mudra through Neural Networks” (2018) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29755225/


“Somatic Experiencing for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Outcome Study” (2017) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5518443/


“Somatic Experiencing® for patients with low back pain and comorbid posttraumatic stress symptoms – a randomized controlled trial” (2020) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30466429/


“Movement-based embodied contemplative practices: definitions and paradigms” (2014) https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00205/full


“Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART): a Review and Research to Date” (2017) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28290061/

Acupuncture/Acupressure

By Tyler Evans • August 30, 2024
Like mudras, acupuncture and acupressure tap into certain points of the body to activate connections between the brain and the body. In ancient Chinese medicine, the insertion of acupuncture needles along certain energy points is used to improve and balance Qi, or the life force and energy circulating through the body. One study reported that acupuncture increased levels of endorphins and serotonin, hormones that lower pain perception and increase feelings of well-being. Acupuncture has also been shown to reduce PTSD severity and improve depression, pain, and other aspects of physical and mental health function. Acupressure targets points on the body without the use of needles.

Vibrational Medicine

By Tyler Evans • August 30, 2024
Vibrational medicine practices tap into the flow of energy within the body. Cells throughout the body are in communication with each other and with the brain. Practices emerging from ancient Chinese medicine and ancient Indian Ayurveda, like acupuncture, acupressure, and yoga, can help reconnect the body and mind to facilitate healing.

Mind-Body Therapies

By Tyler Evans • August 30, 2024
Mind-body therapies include practices such as yoga, meditation, mindfulness, qi gong, and types of controlled breathing. Many studies have shown that mind-body therapies can modulate the immune system/inflammatory responses and brain function related to attention, emotion regulation, and learning. Mind-body therapies facilitate stress reduction, which can improve health outcomes by lessening allostatic load, reducing harmful effects to the immune and nervous systems. Mind-body therapies, over time, can combat the effects of chronic stressors. The image below illustrates the neurophysiological systems impacted by mind-body therapies.

Healing Trauma

By Tyler Evans • August 30, 2024
Recovering from trauma is not simple or easy. However, with dedication, practice, self-love, and compassion, people who have experienced trauma can heal and live a fuller life. Critical to healing from trauma is relying on others for support. This may be difficult for those who have experienced trauma, but if there are people with whom you can be in community, perhaps others who have experienced trauma or a trusted healthcare provider, social connection is key. Dr. van der Kolk reviews steps for trauma recovery. These steps include finding ways to become calm, learning to maintain that calm in the face of stressors and triggers, finding ways to live life fully, be in the present, and engage with others, and being authentic and truthful with yourself (not keeping secrets, including how you have managed to survive trauma). These steps overlap and do not occur in a particular order. van der Kolk also discusses the importance of talking openly about trauma, learning to inhabit your body, and self-leadership to reconnect fragmented parts of yourself. To move through these steps and heal, ancient medicine and healing practices provide us with a wealth of knowledge.

Trauma Pathways

By Tyler Evans • August 30, 2024
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