It has been developed mainly for the treatment of attachment shock; but it can also be applied to the processing of other unresolved traumatic experiences.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR)
is a trauma psychotherapy
The indication that past events continue to have an impact is that there are clinically significant symptoms which would not be present if the experiences had not occurred.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR)
is a trauma psychotherapy
is a trauma psychotherapy
It has been developed mainly for the treatment of attachment shock; but it can also be applied to the processing of other unresolved traumatic experiences.
The indication that past events continue to have an impact is that there are clinically significant symptoms which would not be present if the experiences had not occurred.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR)
is a trauma psychotherapy
is a trauma psychotherapy
It has been developed mainly for the treatment of attachment shock; but it can also be applied to the processing of other unresolved traumatic experiences.
The indication that past events continue to have an impact is that there are clinically significant symptoms which would not be present if the experiences had not occurred.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR)
is a trauma psychotherapy
is a trauma psychotherapy
It has been developed mainly for the treatment of attachment shock; but it can also be applied to the processing of other unresolved traumatic experiences.
The indication that past events continue to have an impact is that there are clinically significant symptoms which would not be present if the experiences had not occurred.
DBR Background
There are well-researched trauma psychotherapies which offer hope of full recovery as they are not dependent on top-down management of symptoms. These transformational approaches rely on the human brain having an inherent ability to find healing from emotional trauma when the memory of the initiating event is approached in a specific way.
However, it can often be difficult to get to the core of an adverse experience to liberate this healing flow. Sometimes it is difficult because returning to the event is emotionally overwhelming and there is a protective tendency to turn attention away from the memory as soon as possible. Sometimes there is a more evident dissociation from the present-day experience through numbing, blanking out, shutting down, or switching into a self-state like that which occurred at the time of the original trauma. Sometimes there has been a shock – before the emotions became intense – which replays so fast that it is easily missed during treatment. More commonly it is because the original experience that was so disturbing has been covered in layers of thoughts and feelings and distressing re-experiencing. It may also have been compounded by relational problems which themselves were precipitated by the continuing distress.
DBR Development
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) aims to access the core of the traumatic experience in a way which tracks the original physiological sequence in the brainstem, the part of the brain which is rapidly online in situations of danger or attachment disruption. There may be threat and attachment wounding together when, for example, an experience of abandonment in infancy activates age-appropriate fears for survival.
The first structure capable of initiating a movement response is the superior colliculus (SC), which can direct eye movements. The SC also prepares the head for turning by bringing in tension in the muscles of the neck. This orienting tension, although often fleeting and unnoticed, is a major component of DBR. The focus in a DBR session on face and neck tension arising from turning attention to the memory of the traumatic event, or to whatever has been the present-day trigger, gives an anchor in the part of the memory sequence that occurred before the shock or emotional overwhelm that is leading to the continuing symptoms. Deepening awareness into this orienting tension provides an anchor for grounding in the present so that the mind is neither swept away by the high intensity emotions, nor diverted into a compartment holding a self-state frozen in time in which contact with the present is lost. Although the theory is simple the practice of DBR can be difficult. It does not work for everyone. Therapists who will find it most useful are those who use transformational trauma therapy approaches that are body-based, or “bottom-up”. These approaches do not rely on restructuring of thoughts or meanings at a complex verbal level for “top-down” control of symptoms, nor do they rely on exposure for establishing cortical control of fear responses.
DBR Development
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) aims to access the core of the traumatic experience in a way which tracks the original physiological sequence in the brainstem, the part of the brain which is rapidly online in situations of danger or attachment disruption. There may be threat and attachment wounding together when, for example, an experience of abandonment in infancy activates age-appropriate fears for survival.
The first structure capable of initiating a movement response is the superior colliculus (SC), which can direct eye movements. The SC also prepares the head for turning by bringing in tension in the muscles of the neck. This orienting tension, although often fleeting and unnoticed, is a major component of DBR. The focus in a DBR session on face and neck tension arising from turning attention to the memory of the traumatic event, or to whatever has been the present-day trigger, gives an anchor in the part of the memory sequence that occurred before the shock or emotional overwhelm that is leading to the continuing symptoms. Deepening awareness into this orienting tension provides an anchor for grounding in the present so that the mind is neither swept away by the high intensity emotions, nor diverted into a compartment holding a self-state frozen in time in which contact with the present is lost. Although the theory is simple the practice of DBR can be difficult. It does not work for everyone. Therapists who will find it most useful are those who use transformational trauma therapy approaches that are body-based, or “bottom-up”. These approaches do not rely on restructuring of thoughts or meanings at a complex verbal level for “top-down” control of symptoms, nor do they rely on exposure for establishing cortical control of fear responses.
DBR Clinical Applications
It is well-recognised that traumatic experiences can lead to the development of the full syndrome of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with its characteristic intrusive features, such as flashbacks and nightmares, and attempts to avoid triggers to further distress.
In more complex forms of PTSD there may be more derealisation and depersonalisation, consistent with the brain’s attempts to avoid being overwhelmed by shock and horror, and by intense affects of fear, rage, grief, or shame. The more dissociative forms of PTSD occur when there has been early life attachment disruption preceding other traumatic experience. Dissociative disorders may arise from early life separation experiences experienced as painful and unresolved even when there has been no later abuse. The pain of aloneness may be an internal driver of defensive and affective responses and may thus contribute to difficulties in regulating emotions. Any such difficulty may lead to efforts to control distress through substance abuse, eating disorders, or self-harm – or it may be expressed through troublesome anxiety or mood disturbance. It is not so much the clinical presentation which is important for DBR – but whether there is an underlying event or experience at the origin of the distress.
Hypothetical basis of DBR
The hypotheses have been described in a paper published in the journal Medical Hypotheses by Frank Corrigan and Jessica Christie-Sands:
Corrigan, F.M., Christie-Sands, J. (2020). An innate brainstem self-other system involving orienting, affective responding, and polyvalent relational seeking: Some clinical implications for a “Deep Brain Reorienting” trauma psychotherapy approach. Medical Hypotheses, 136, 109502.
View paper
Upcoming training schedule
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Basic Training and Advanced Attachment Workshops
Friday 23 September 2022 and Saturday 24 September 2022
9:00 am to 4:30 pm Eastern Time – FULLY BOOKED
Two-day online workshops presenting the basic training for Deep Brain Reorienting (Day 1) and an advanced workshop on attachment (Day 2).
Who should attend?
This workshop is for regulated mental health professionals with at least a Master’s degree in the mental health field (e.g. psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and registered social workers) who have experience with providing trauma treatment psychotherapies to adult clients.
Hosted by Centre for Trauma and Stress, Ontario.
For information and registration please go to https://sarniatraumaandstress.com/for-professionals/
Working with dynamic orienting tension in Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) using insights from the Alexander Technique (AT)
An online workshop on the synergistic use of DBR and AT with Dr Frank Corrigan and Martin Warner
Saturday 8 October 2022
11:00 am to 6:30 pm BST (GMT+1)
Who should attend?
This workshop is for mental health professionals trained in DBR.
Register
Complex dissociative disorders: how to treat traumatic attachment
with Frank Corrigan, Costanzo Frau, Dolores Mosquera, Daniela Rabellino, Bethany Brand and Colin Ross.
Saturday 15 October 2022
9:00 am to 6:00 pm Italian Time
For information and registration please go to https://psychologycourses.club/complex-dissociative-disorders/
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Basic Training and Advanced Attachment Workshops
Friday 21 October 2022 and Saturday 22 October 2022
9:00 am to 4:30 pm Eastern Time – FULLY BOOKED
Two-day online workshops presenting the basic training for Deep Brain Reorienting (Day 1) and an advanced workshop on attachment (Day 2).
Who should attend?
This workshop is for regulated mental health professionals with at least a Master’s degree in the mental health field (e.g. psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and registered social workers) who have experience with providing trauma treatment psychotherapies to adult clients.
Hosted by Centre for Trauma and Stress, Ontario.
For information and registration please go to https://sarniatraumaandstress.com/for-professionals/
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Online Workshop with Frank Corrigan
Day 1: Introduction to DBR
Friday 28 October 2022
9:30 am to 5:00 pm BST (GMT+1) – FULLY BOOKED
Who should attend?
This workshop is for mental health professionals; psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and other health practitioners who have experience of working with early adversity and trauma.
Register
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Online Workshop with Frank Corrigan
Day 2: Advanced DBR – Healing Attachment Pain and Attachment Shock
Saturday 29 October 2022
9:30 am to 5:00 pm BST (GMT+1) – FULLY BOOKED
Who should attend?
This workshop is for mental health professionals who have completed Day 1 DBR introductory training; psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and other health practitioners working with early adversity and trauma.
Register
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Online Workshop with Frank Corrigan
Advanced DBR Training – Healing Attachment Pain and Attachment Shock
Sunday 6 November 2022
9:00 am to 5:30 pm Italian Time – FULLY BOOKED
This one-day online advanced training (Training Avanzato) is for Italian speakers; Frank Corrigan’s segments will be conducted in English with Italian translation. The day includes pre and post workshop teaching components presented by Diego Giusti.
Who should attend?
This workshop is for Italian speaking mental health professionals (psychiatrists and psychotherapists) who have completed DBR Basic training (DBR Corso Fondamentale with Evoluzione Psicologica) and are looking to move from theory to clinical application and practice.
For information and bookings please go to www.deepbrainreorienting.it/dbrta
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) online workshop with Frank Corrigan
Day 3: DBR – applications in dissociative and other complex trauma disorders
Friday 18 November 2022
9:00 am to 4:30 pm Eastern Time – FULLY BOOKED
This workshop is hosted by Centre for Trauma and Stress, Ontario.
Who should attend?
This workshop is for mental health professionals who have completed Day 1 DBR Basic and Day 2 DBR Advanced training.
For information and registration please go to https://sarniatraumaandstress.com/for-professionals/
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Online Workshop with Frank Corrigan
Advanced DBR Training – Healing Attachment Pain and Attachment Shock
Sunday 27 November 2022
9:00 am to 5:30 pm Italian Time – **ONE SPACE LEFT**
This one-day online advanced training (Training Avanzato) is for Italian speakers; Frank Corrigan’s segments will be conducted in English with Italian translation. The day includes pre and post workshop teaching components presented by Diego Giusti.
Who should attend?
This workshop is for Italian speaking mental health professionals (psychiatrists and psychotherapists) who have completed DBR Basic training (DBR Corso Fondamentale with Evoluzione Psicologica) and are looking to move from theory to clinical application and practice.
For information and bookings please go to www.deepbrainreorienting.it/dbrta
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) online workshop with Frank Corrigan
Day 3: DBR – applications in dissociative and other complex trauma disorders
Saturday 3 December 2022
9:30 am to 5:00 pm GMT
Who should attend?
This workshop is for mental health professionals who have completed Day 1 DBR Basic and Day 2 DBR Advanced training.
Register
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Basic Training and Advanced Attachment Workshops
Friday 20 January and Saturday 21 January 2023
9:00 am to 4:30 pm Eastern Time – FULLY BOOKED
Two-day online workshops presenting the basic training for Deep Brain Reorienting (Day 1) and an advanced workshop on attachment (Day 2).
Who should attend?
This workshop is for regulated mental health professionals with at least a Master’s degree in the mental health field (e.g. psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and registered social workers) who have experience with providing trauma treatment psychotherapies to adult clients.
Hosted by Centre for Trauma and Stress, Ontario.
For information and registration please go to https://sarniatraumaandstress.com/for-professionals/
Upcoming training schedule
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Basic Training and Advanced Attachment Workshops
Friday 23 September 2022 and Saturday 24 September 2022
9:00 am to 4:30 pm Eastern Time – FULLY BOOKED
Two-day online workshops presenting the basic training for Deep Brain Reorienting (Day 1) and an advanced workshop on attachment (Day 2).
Who should attend?
This workshop is for regulated mental health professionals with at least a Master’s degree in the mental health field (e.g. psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and registered social workers) who have experience with providing trauma treatment psychotherapies to adult clients.
Hosted by Centre for Trauma and Stress, Ontario.
For information and registration please go to https://sarniatraumaandstress.com/for-professionals/
Working with dynamic orienting tension in Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) using insights from the Alexander Technique (AT)
An online workshop on the synergistic use of DBR and AT with Dr Frank Corrigan and Martin Warner
Saturday 8 October 2022
11:00 am to 6:30 pm BST (GMT+1)
Register
Complex dissociative disorders: how to treat traumatic attachment
with Frank Corrigan, Costanzo Frau, Dolores Mosquera, Daniela Rabellino, Bethany Brand and Colin Ross.
Saturday 15 October 2022
9:00 am to 6:00 pm Italian Time
For information and registration please go to https://psychologycourses.club/complex-dissociative-disorders/
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Basic Training and Advanced Attachment Workshops
Friday 21 October 2022 and Saturday 22 October 2022
9:00 am to 4:30 pm Eastern Time – FULLY BOOKED
Two-day online workshops presenting the basic training for Deep Brain Reorienting (Day 1) and an advanced workshop on attachment (Day 2).
Who should attend?
This workshop is for regulated mental health professionals with at least a Master’s degree in the mental health field (e.g. psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and registered social workers) who have experience with providing trauma treatment psychotherapies to adult clients.
Hosted by Centre for Trauma and Stress, Ontario.
For information and registration please go to https://sarniatraumaandstress.com/for-professionals/
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Online Workshop with Frank Corrigan
Day 1: Introduction to DBR
Friday 28 October 2022
9:30 am to 5:00 pm BST (GMT+1) – FULLY BOOKED
Who should attend?
This workshop is for mental health professionals; psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and other health practitioners who have experience of working with early adversity and trauma.
Register
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Online Workshop with Frank Corrigan
Day 2: Advanced DBR – Healing Attachment Pain and Attachment Shock
Saturday 29 October 2022
9:30 am to 5:00 pm BST (GMT+1) – FULLY BOOKED
Who should attend?
This workshop is for mental health professionals who have completed Day 1 DBR introductory training; psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and other health practitioners working with early adversity and trauma.
Register
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Online Workshop with Frank Corrigan
Advanced DBR Training – Healing Attachment Pain and Attachment Shock
Sunday 6 November 2022
9:00 am to 5:30 pm Italian Time – FULLY BOOKED
This one-day online advanced training (Training Avanzato) is for Italian speakers; Frank Corrigan’s segments will be conducted in English with Italian translation. The day includes pre and post workshop teaching components presented by Diego Giusti.
Who should attend?
This workshop is for Italian speaking mental health professionals (psychiatrists and psychotherapists) who have completed DBR Basic training (DBR Corso Fondamentale with Evoluzione Psicologica) and are looking to move from theory to clinical application and practice.
For information and bookings please go to
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) online workshop with Frank Corrigan
Day 3: DBR – applications in dissociative and other complex trauma disorders
Friday 18 November 2022
9:00 am to 4:30 pm Eastern Time – FULLY BOOKED
Who should attend?
This workshop is for mental health professionals who have completed Day 1 DBR Basic and Day 2 DBR Advanced training.
For information and registration please go to https://sarniatraumaandstress.com/for-professionals/
This workshop is hosted by Centre for Trauma and Stress, Ontario.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Online Workshop with Frank Corrigan
Advanced DBR Training – Healing Attachment Pain and Attachment Shock
Sunday 27 November 2022
9:00 am to 5:30 pm Italian Time – **ONE SPACE LEFT**
This one-day online advanced training (Training Avanzato) is for Italian speakers; Frank Corrigan’s segments will be conducted in English with Italian translation. The day includes pre and post workshop teaching components presented by Diego Giusti.
Who should attend?
This workshop is for Italian speaking mental health professionals (psychiatrists and psychotherapists) who have completed DBR Basic training (DBR Corso Fondamentale with Evoluzione Psicologica) and are looking to move from theory to clinical application and practice.
For information and bookings please go to
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) online workshop with Frank Corrigan
Day 3: DBR – applications in dissociative and other complex trauma disorders
Saturday 3 December 2022
9:30 am to 5:00 pm GMT
Who should attend?
This workshop is for mental health professionals who have completed Day 1 DBR Basic and Day 2 DBR Advanced training.
Register
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Basic Training and Advanced Attachment Workshops
Friday 20 January and Saturday 21 January 2023
9:00 am to 4:30 pm Eastern Time – FULLY BOOKED
Two-day online workshops presenting the basic training for Deep Brain Reorienting (Day 1) and an advanced workshop on attachment (Day 2).
Who should attend?
This workshop is for regulated mental health professionals with at least a Master’s degree in the mental health field (e.g. psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists, and registered social workers) who have experience with providing trauma treatment psychotherapies to adult clients.
This workshop is hosted by Centre for Trauma and Stress, Ontario.
For information and registration please go to https://sarniatraumaandstress.com/for-professionals/