The sequelae of embodied trauma – Latest movie release as sensorimotor psychotherapy treatment metaphor

Abstract

In recent years there is a growing number of trauma practitioners, from different modalities, who have increasingly come to recognize, understand and orient their treatment strategies and interventions further towards the physical and physiological manifestations of their clients’ traumatic experience. In this paper the authors utilize the words ‘movie sequence’ as metaphor throughout to specifically illustrate the sequential unfolding of physiological traumatic activation in the body. This becomes interrupted, stuck, like a bad movie scene at the point of overwhelm in memory. This truncation results in the repetitive hyper- or hypo-arousal state of nervous system dysregulation, with their multitude of distressing symptoms re-occurring in response to triggering stimuli in the present. Focusing this discussion paper around the movie sequence analogy enables the authors to weave together key concepts of how the body gets interrupted in trauma, but also manages unpalatable experience through dissociation analogous to movie censorship. Sequencing can ultimately resolve trauma with treatment interventions, focused to move bodily activation through to completion, with phrase ‘latest movie release’ used to portray restoring of nervous system equilibrium. To demonstrate the theme of sequential unfolding, the authors make use of three different clinical examples, using sensorimotor sequencing interventions to illustrate aspects of what may commonly occur for individual clients, despite their differences and their unique traumatic experiences. The intended result is to stimulate further integration of clinical insights, for a range of therapists, when thinking into the unique presentation of bodily phenomena for each of their own clients, in relation to their problematic memories. This will likely lead to greater awareness, new resources, refinement of skills, and better precision when choosing from available interventions.