Leading psychiatrist recommends Bodywork Therapy for Trauma
Bessel van der Kolk’s life changing book for some ‘ The Body Keeps the Score’ discussed how life’s traumas become embedded in the body. The physiology of our bodies store these memories as they were unable to be fully processed at the time. This storage can result amongst other ailments, chronic fatigue, PTSD, Fibromyalgia and hypersensitivity to the world around us. We try to carry on regardless and our bodies do an amazing job in ensuring our survival but sometimes it gets to the point where we need to do things differently.
What Therapies does Bessel Van Der Kolk recommend for Trauma?
There are a variety of ways that people can return to health. Often more than one therapy or a variety of different support networks are needed. He believes that the body needs “experiences that deeply and viscerally contradict the helplessness, rage or collapse that result from trauma”.
Some of his recommendations include eye-movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), yoga and bodywork/somatic therapy which includes Craniosacral Therapy and Feldenkrais. What is really important is finding someone who supports you to feel safe and secure. Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy training ensures that this inherent safety need is met and is trauma informed.