The experience of Basic Body Awareness Therapy and its transfer to daily life amongst Danish military veterans with PTSD

Abstract

IntroductionThe prevalence of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among Danish military veterans is estimated to be around 10%, and treatment primarily consists of recommended psychological trauma-focused therapy. AimThe aim of the study was to explore veterans’ experiences of their body and its potential transfer of that experience in their daily life after BBAT. MethodsA hermeneutic-phenomenological qualitative study using semi-structured individual interviews was used. A slightly modified Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was applied in the data analysis. The participants were four Danish military veterans with PTSD who had completed 12 individual sessions of BBAT in addition to psychological trauma-focused therapy. ResultsAll participants found the BBAT treatment sessions calming and reported the overall treatment was a positive experience. Three participants experienced increased body awareness and were able to apply the exercises and principles of BBAT in their daily lives to varying degrees. All participants estimated the benefits would have been greater with more sessions. ConclusionBBAT showed potential for enhancing the bodily awareness of military veterans with PTSD experience and their ability to apply that awareness in their daily life. The degree of transfer of this skill to everyday life appeared to be dependent on the participants’ mentalizing capacity. Implications of this studyThe results indicate a benefit in using body-oriented therapies such as BBAT in the treatment of military veterans with PTSD, as a supplement to trauma-focused treatment although it is hard to distinguish which treatment had which effect or if the combination of psychotherapy and BBAT had a joint effect. Future studies are needed due to the limited research in this field.