Dr. Frank Corrigan MD, FRC Psych

Throughout a career spanning over 30 years as an NHS Consultant Psychiatrist in Scotland, Frank combined his extensive clinical experience with research on the neurobiology of trauma and its underpinnings in major psychiatric disorders.

His research broadly explored the intersection between affective Neuroscience and the science of healing culminating in the development of Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR). This new and novel psychotherapeutic approach emphasises the importance of tracking a distinctive neurophysiological sequence embedded in ‘deep brain’ systems. One of the most unique aspects of DBR as a trauma-focused therapy, is the embodiment of a natural healing process that is consonant with the evolutionary process of the developing brain and nervous system.  

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Dr Andrew Harkin
MD, Consultant Psychotherapist and Trauma Specialist

“DBR theory is deceptively complex and the practice deceptively simple.” 

Dr Andrew Harkin
MD, Consultant Psychotherapist and Trauma Specialist

“DBR theory is deceptively complex and the practice deceptively simple.” 

Interview

Frank in conversation with psychologist Georgia Balogianni who was instrumental in bringing DBR to Greece. The introduction is in Greek and the conversation in English. May 2022

In my long journey as a trauma therapist, I was blessed to meet Frank. His approach is much more than a new model and a new protocol; it’s about understanding and opening new horizons in the trauma therapy field.

Publications

He is the co-author of

Neurobiology and treatment of traumatic dissociation
(Lanius, UF, Paulsen, SL, & Corrigan FM, Springer, New York, 2014)

and of The Comprehensive Resource Model
(Schwarz, L, Corrigan, F, Hull, A, & Raju, R, Routledge, London, 2017)
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Papers & Research

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.

The hypotheses underlying DBR were set out in a paper co-authored with Jessica Christie-Sands in Medical Hypotheses (2020, 136, 109502).

A randomized controlled trial of Deep Brain Reorienting: a neuroscientifically guided treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Published online 15 August by European Journal of Psychotraumatology. Volume 14, 2023 – Issue 2