Deep Brain Reorienting
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is a new type of therapy that follows a sequence of events that happen in the brain after something overwhelming or traumatic occurs; tension, shock, emotion, and calm. It is generally experienced as an effective and gentle process for alleviating traumatic symptoms. Frank Corrigan, an established psychiatrist in the U.K. with a passion for neuroscience, developed DBR to treat clients who didn't respond to other types of trauma therapies. He began teaching this method to other therapists in 2018.
While not all types of therapies work for everyone, most people find DBR helpful. It is helpful for both single incident trauma, such as a car accident, and relational trauma or challenges, such as not having emotional needs met during childhood or a high-conflict relationship in adulthood. People who may not identify as having experienced trauma, but instead have faced significant disappointment, loss or other challenges, often benefit from DBR.
People frequently report DBR sessions lead to feeling less bothered by life's stresses and more connected to their bodies. DBR also often helps people to feel more compassion and understanding towards themselves.
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You might want to try DBR if you:
-Notice a pattern of strong emotions that make getting through day-to-day life challenging
-Are bothered by trauma symptoms such as dissociation, ruminating thoughts, insomnia or persistent tension in the body
-Have found other trauma therapies overwhelming or not effective, or a previously helpful therapy isn't working anymore
-Don't have clear memories of what happened or prefer not to say out loud what happened, but want a sense of freedom from the challenges of the past​
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Starting with Strong Reactions in Everyday Life
When we are frequently reacting with strong emotions like anger or fear in our everyday life, sensations and feelings happen so quickly in our body, they can form a familiar pattern. For example, every time we see an angry face we brace our shoulders, experience a moment of panic and feel our stomach drop. This reaction feels immediate. Perhaps we have learned ways to override and manage this response, but this reaction makes navigating conflict when someone is angry very stressful.
Following the Sequence of the Deep Brain
When we slow down this sequence of sensations and feelings using Deep Brain Reorienting, we have the opportunity to resolve this long-standing pattern in the brain and body. And over the course of a few sessions, we may feel less stuck in this familiar pattern of responses.
Working Below the Thinking Brain
Following these deep brain sequences, we are working underneath the cognitive and narrative levels of the brain and working with very early cognitive patterns. This means that the healing brought about by DBR may have significant positive impacts in many areas of your life. In the example above, perhaps the reaction to anger has lessened, allowing for more connection to self when encountering others who are angry at home, at work and out in the world.
What is a DBR Session like?
The sessions begin with a discussion of what you would like to focus on. Generally, a good target is a moment in the past few weeks when you felt some strong emotions. The therapist will then guide the client to orient to where their body is located in the room. This will help you to start connecting with the deep brain.
After this, the therapist will invite you to return your focus to the target and to notice any orienting tension. The orienting tension will begin the DBR sequence. If there are many sensations at once, the therapist may help the client choose which sensation best follows the sequence.
If at any time the sensations or feelings become overwhelming or dissociation begins, the therapist is present to guide and support you. Generally, at the end of the session, the tension and emotions decrease in intensity and a sense of calm or a new perspective may emerge.
While this therapy is new, there is already some promising research. A study from 2023 provided 8 sessions of DBR to people with trauma symptoms which resulted in a significant reduction of symptoms.
Want to explore this type of therapy?
If you are a current client, ask me about incorporating DBR into our work together.
If you are a new client, email me at info@justinelittle.com