Before thoughts and before feelings, there is shock.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is an emerging trauma treatment developed by Scottish psychiatrist Frank Corrigan. DBR moves the focus of trauma treatment from our thoughts or feelings about the events onto the very moment when we become aware something bad is happening. In this moment, we are shocked by what is happening to us or around us.
Even before we register shock, we orient to the threat. When something grabs your attention, like a loud noise or an angry facial expression, your brain gets your body ready to respond. Even if you don’t actually move, a part of the brain called the superior colliculi tells the muscles in your neck, around your eyes, or in your forehead to tense up, just in case you need to turn your head, widen your eyes, or squint to clearly identify this potential threat. Focusing on this orienting tension acts as an anchor, preventing overwhelm and dissociation and allowing more processing to occur.
Before shock, there is orienting to the threat.
The four steps to Deep Brain Reorienting:
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​Identify the "Activating Stimulus." This is the "oh no" moment where you realized something was wrong.
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Build focus with an exercise that makes it easier to identify the orienting tension. Called the "Where-Self," this exercise helps you connect to your position in space. The great thing about this exercise is that it is not a grounding exercise, which keeps it from triggering depersonalization or dissociation.
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Identify the orienting tension, which will be located somewhere around the eyes, in the forehead, or in the neck.
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Identify the sensations related to shock by slowing down the experience to a manageable level. This is part of what prevents overwhelming feelings to cause dissociation and interrupt processing.
I'm so excited about this treatment option for distress that won't budge.
As a therapist who specializes in dissociation, I am very familiar with those trauma-based core beliefs that seem like they won't budge. I feel clients' frustration as they say, "I get it intellectually, but I can't seem to really get it on a deeper level." With time and patience, working through the thoughts and feelings, labelling those old beliefs, and testing out new behaviors will get that knowledge in. But it can be slow and frustrating for sure.
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To see if there is anything else that can help, I've trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) and investigated IFS (Internal Family Systems) and SE (Somatic Experiencing). Each of these has been promoted for trauma treatment, and they definitely work for some people. I've not found them effective for my clients with dissociation and severe anxiety. Sometimes they make things worse.
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When the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) started sharing information about DBR, I was instantly interested. A new trauma processing therapy that didn't trigger dissociation? I had to know more. ​I went through the first level of training, and I was blown away by DBR. It works exactly as the neurological models presented by Frank Corrigan predict it should. And, even in a highly dissociative participant, it did not trigger dissociation. She was able to process an old traumatic belief that had been stuck for years.
DBR works both in standard 50-minute appointments or as a therapy intensive.
DBR can be used in regular 50-minute sessions or in the longer intensive format. Some clients may prefer the intensive format as it allows us to go a long way in one sitting. Others may prefer to dip into DBR weekly or biweekly and build their success over time.
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Like EMDR, DBR can be an add-on to regular therapy. If you are working with another clinician but would like to add DBR to your treatment, I will be happy to coordinate with your therapist to add one or more DBR intensives to your usual treatment.
Is DBR right for you?
You have been in therapy for trauma and have hit a spot that "won't budge" with your usual treatment.
You have tried EMDR but found the processing led to flooding with emotions and overwhelm instead of relief.
You understand that while I am an experienced trauma specialist, I am learning DBR and may not have all the answers at this time.
DBR with me might be a good option if:
You do not have a need for trauma treatment. DBR is not the right therapy for every mental health concern.
You jump out of your skin whenever you have a strong feeling. DBR does require you to sit with some physical sensations which may be uncomfortable.
You have unstable dissociative identity disorder or an unstable personality disorder as I am not trained to this level at this time.
DBR with me may not be the right choice for you if:
