Brief Crisis Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Part 2: Oscillation
In the second blog in this series on Brief Crisis Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, I will be exploring how Sensorimotor therapy techniques can help promote integration of difficult experiences. In the aftermath of disasters, research demonstrates that early support and integration can be helpful in reducing the risk of posttraumatic disorder and other trauma related disorders (O’Donnell et al,). When we encounter a life-threatening situation, our sympathetic nervous system is activated in preparation to fight, flee, freeze, or collapse. Trauma is stored in the body and must be released somatically. Key to maintaining mental wellness in the face of life’s challenges is the ability to integrate traumatic memory into the ongoing narrative of life. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy offers a gentler, richer way to integrate trauma, using the body as a source of wisdom.
By incorporating somatic awareness and exploring slowly through the Sensorimotor technique of oscillation, I help clients to process the traumatic event while also helping them to resource their nervous systems. One of things I most appreciate about Sensorimotor Psychotherapy is how the interventions gently invite the processing to unfold while ensuring that the client’s nervous system doesn’t get flooded or overwhelmed.
Oscillation is a technique of processing that involves 1.) choosing a sliver of memory to process, 2.) identifying three resources to use while processing the memory sliver, 3.) moving back and forth between the sliver of memory and the resource. This allows for the client to state within the “window of tolerance” and integrate the traumatic memory (Ogden & Fisher, pg 511, 2015).
In the Brief Crisis Sensorimotor Psychotherapy model, one of the first objectives is to begin to integrate the traumatic memory. By guiding the client through the oscillation technique, I help the client increase coping resources and begin to proactively integrate the memory.
This intervention also promotes cognitive flexibility as the brain is moving between two states as the memory of the event is processed. My work in the field of trauma therapy and my more recent studies in the field of Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy highlights the key role cognitive rigidity plays in mental health concerns. This pattern of pendulation then is a tool to use throughout the therapy and something clients can learn to implement on their own.
In one example, a client had just narrowly escaped a natural disaster while camping with her family. In using the oscillation technique the client was able to oscillate between a resource (a tropical beach vacation) and the memory of driving away. By going slowly and inviting in the regulation of the resource, the client discovered a sense of awe and pride as she recalled the clarity she had in choosing the direction to turn to escape the disaster. In this way, the oscillation technique offered the client the regulation to discover key details of the event that led to a more confident sense of self. As a result the client noticed lengthening through the spine, an increased capacity to breathe, and the internal message “I can trust my gut.”
References:
O’Donnell, M. L., Pacella, B. J., Bryant, R. A., Olff, M., & Forbes, D. (2020) Early Intervention for Trauma-Related Psychopathology. In D. Forbes, J. I. Bison, C. M. Monson, & L. Berliner, Effective Treatments for PTSD: Practice Guidelines from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (pp. 117-131). Guildford Press.
Ogden, P., & Fisher, J. (2015). Sensorimotor psychotherapy: Interventions for trauma and attachment. (D. Del Hierro & A. Del Hierro, Illustrators). W W Norton & Co.