Trauma and the Body

On the Couch with Dr Tracie Rogers

A few years ago I was introduced to the work of psychiatrist and trauma expert, Bessel van der Kolk by my colleague Sachelle LeGall-Singh. Bessel's work emphasizes that human memory is a sensory experience or as he would say it, "The body keeps the score". In our 2-part discussion on Trauma and the Body, Sachelle and I discuss body-based approaches to treating with the impact of trauma on the body. What happens to the mind, also happens to the body and there are several body-based therapeutic approaches that seek to release emotional pain in the body. These include creative arts therapies (dance/movement, music and drama therapies) as well as yoga, meditation and cranio-sacral therapy. Sachelle is a clinical psychologist and cranio-sacral therapist, and in this segment of our discussion, she speaks to this approach to releasing emotional pain that gets trapped in the body.