Frequently Asked Questions About This Powerful Trauma Treatment
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is a gentle yet powerful new therapy that helps people heal from trauma by going straight to where it starts—in the deepest part of the brain, the brainstem. This is where our body first feels the shock of overwhelming experiences, even before we can think or speak about them.
Because DBR works at this foundational level, many people find that it leads to faster, deeper healing—especially for issues like PTSD, complex trauma, attachment wounds, and early life stress.
Below, you’ll find some common questions and answers about DBR to help you understand what the therapy involves and how it may support your healing journey.
What Does DBR Stand For, and What Kind of Therapy Is It?
DBR stands for Deep Brain Reorienting, a neuroscience-based trauma therapy that takes a gentle yet powerful approach to healing.
Here’s what makes DBR unique:
- Neuroscience-based and body-informed
DBR is grounded in the latest brain science and focuses on how the brainstem responds to trauma. It’s especially effective for trauma that feels overwhelming or hard to talk about. - Targets the brain’s trauma response at its source
DBR helps process trauma by working directly with the brainstem and midbrain, where the body first reacts to shock. This includes key brain areas like the Superior Colliculus, Locus Coeruleus, and Periaqueductal Grey—regions responsible for our instinctive survival responses. - Developed to treat early and complex trauma
DBR was created by Dr. Frank Corrigan, a Scottish psychiatrist who wanted to find a way to treat deep-rooted trauma—especially early attachment trauma, aloneness pain, and PTSD—without overwhelming clients in the process. - Designed to be gentle and well-tolerated
Many people find DBR easier to tolerate than other trauma therapies because it works beneath conscious memory and doesn’t require revisiting the details of traumatic events.
How is DBR different than other trauma therapies?
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) offers a unique and gentle approach to healing trauma by working directly with the deepest parts of the brain involved in early threat and attachment responses. Here’s how DBR stands apart from other trauma treatments:
- Works at the brainstem level
DBR targets the midbrain and brainstem—deeper areas of the brain where the body first registers shock and threat. This is underneath emotional and cognitive processing, which means clients often feel less overwhelmed during sessions. - Less emotionally distressing
Because DBR works below the emotional brain, most clients find it easier to tolerate, especially if they’ve had difficulty with more intense trauma therapies in the past. - No need to describe traumatic events in detail
One major benefit of DBR is that clients are not required to talk about or relive the specifics of their trauma. This helps reduce the risk of emotional overwhelm, dissociation, and therapy dropout. - Addresses both shock trauma and attachment wounds
DBR is particularly effective for early life trauma and attachment ruptures—those experiences that often happen before we have words to describe them. It helps process the body’s original responses without needing to recall the event. - DBR helps the lower parts of the brain know that the threat is over
Top-down approaches—like talk therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy are not effective for PTSD because they do not reach the lower brain. Clients often say, “My head knows that I am safe, but my body doesn’t seem to know it.” DBR helps to process the trauma stuck in the nervous system that continues to trigger our survival responses.
What types of traumas does DBR help to treat?
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is especially helpful for people who have experienced trauma that feels deeply rooted, overwhelming, or hard to put into words. Because DBR works at the level of the brainstem—where the body first registers shock and threat—it’s uniquely effective for a wide range of trauma experiences, including:
- Attachment trauma
DBR helps heal early relational wounds, including attachment ruptures, aloneness pain, developmental trauma and preverbal trauma that may have occurred before language developed. - Complex trauma and Complex PTSD (C-PTSD)
For those who have experienced repeated trauma or long-term emotional wounding, DBR can help untangle deep survival patterns that keep the nervous system stuck. - Recent traumatic events
DBR can be used soon after a traumatic experience to help prevent long-term symptoms by addressing shock in the nervous system before it gets “locked in.” - Traumatic shock
Whether the trauma is recent or from long ago, DBR helps the brain and body process the frozen energy of shock that often remains unresolved with talk-based therapies.
Is there research that supports the effectiveness of DBR?
Yes—DBR is supported by emerging research that shows promising results in helping people heal from trauma and PTSD. While it’s a newer therapy, the scientific evidence behind it is growing:
- Randomized Controlled Trial (2023)
In 2023, Dr. Ruth Lanius and her research team conducted a randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of DBR in treating PTSD. Participants who received just eight sessions of DBR experienced significant symptom relief. Many of them no longer met the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis after treatment. - Published research by DBR’s creator
Dr. Frank Corrigan, the psychiatrist who developed DBR, has authored several peer-reviewed articles on the theory and application of DBR, especially its use with early attachment trauma and dissociation. - Neuroimaging research in progress
Functional MRI (fMRI) brain scans are currently being developed to study the changes in brain activity before and after DBR treatment. This will help further validate how DBR impacts the brain at the neurological level.
These studies add to the growing body of evidence that DBR is a safe, effective, and innovative treatment for trauma. To read more about the research, click here.
Why Is It Important to Process and Clear Shock in Trauma Therapy?
In Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR), we understand that shock is more than just an emotional reaction—it’s a physical experience stored deep in the nervous system. Often overlooked in traditional talk therapy, unprocessed shock can keep trauma responses stuck in the body and continue to affect daily life.
Here’s why addressing shock is a key part of healing:
- Shock acts as an amplifier
When shock remains unresolved, it can intensify emotional and physiological reactions like anxiety, fear, hypervigilance, and panic—even when there’s no immediate threat. - Traditional trauma therapies may miss it
Many trauma treatments focus on memory, emotion, or cognition but don’t reach the level of the brain where shock is stored (the brainstem). This can leave the nervous system stuck in a survival loop. - Clearing shock allows the body to settle
DBR gently helps the body process and release the initial shock response, which often leads to a deeper sense of calm, safety, and relief from trauma-related symptoms. - Healing starts at the root
By clearing shock first, DBR creates a foundation for healing that makes it easier to work with other layers of trauma without becoming overwhelmed.
Processing shock can be a powerful first step toward lasting trauma recovery—and it’s one of the reasons DBR is such a uniquely effective approach.
What Is the Sequence My Therapist Will Follow During the DBR Process?
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is a carefully structured process designed to guide you through trauma healing at a deep, brainstem level. Here’s the sequence your therapist will follow during a typical DBR session:
- Identify the trauma memory to work on
The therapist will help you identify the specific trauma memory you’re working to heal. This is known as the activating stimulus, or the event that triggered the trauma response. - Lead a guided meditation for grounding
To prepare for the session, your therapist will guide you through a Where-Self meditation, a grounding technique that helps you connect with your present experience and create a sense of safety. - Identify the orienting tension
Your therapist will help you locate the orienting tension in your body. This is typically felt in the forehead, around the eyes, and at the base of the skull. It’s where your body instinctively reacts to the shock of trauma. - Support processing of the shock
You’ll be gently supported in processing the shock that’s held in your body. Your therapist will help you “be with” the body sensations as they arise and pass—much like waves of energy. You may keep your eyes closed while tracking sensations, but if it’s more comfortable, you can leave them open. - Identify and be with any emotions arising
As the shock processes, emotions may begin to surface. Your therapist will help you identify these emotions and support you in being present with them in a gentle, non-judgmental way. - Support new perspectives and healing
As you process the trauma, a new perspective often emerges—one that offers insight and healing. Your therapist will help you integrate this new understanding into your healing journey.
This step-by-step process allows DBR to gently guide your nervous system through trauma recovery, addressing both body and emotional responses while creating space for healing.
In most cases, Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is used as a stand-alone treatment. This is because DBR takes a very specific bottom-up approach, working directly with the brainstem—the part of the brain where shock, attachment trauma, and survival responses are first registered.
Here’s why DBR is typically used on its own:
- DBR works deeply and precisely
Unlike talk therapy or cognitive approaches, DBR targets the body’s instinctive responses at the brainstem level. Combining it with other methods too soon may interfere with the body’s natural healing sequence. - Less is more when working with the brainstem
Because DBR goes to the root of trauma, keeping the process simple and focused often leads to deeper, more sustainable healing. - An exception: DBR and neurofeedback
One complementary approach that pairs well with DBR is neurofeedback. Neurofeedback can help regulate the brain at a brainstem level, making the nervous system more receptive to DBR work. When used together, they can enhance the brain’s ability to process and integrate trauma.
Want to see how DBR and neurofeedback work together? Watch this video to learn more about this powerful combination.
What Should I Expect After a Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Session?
After your DBR session, you may notice some continued processing as your body and brain continue to integrate the work done during the session. Here’s what to expect:
- Continued processing of body sensations
Some clients experience lingering body sensations—similar to what was felt during the session, but generally to a lesser degree. These sensations may continue for a few hours or even a day after the session. It’s a normal part of the healing process, as your body continues to process the trauma. - Engage in self-care
After your DBR session, your therapist will encourage you to engage in self-care activities to support your well-being. These can include rest, hydration, light movement, or anything that helps you feel grounded and relaxed. - Grounding before leaving
Your therapist will ensure you feel grounded before leaving the session. Since DBR is a bottom-up approach, meaning it works at the brainstem level, you’ll generally avoid upper-level discussions, like debriefing or analyzing the session, immediately after. This helps keep the focus on the body’s natural healing process. - Long-term benefits over time
As you continue with DBR sessions, you’ll likely notice significant improvements, including:- Greater ease and reduced physical and emotional trauma responses
- Improved vitality and energy levels
- Enhanced connection to yourself and others
- Reduced cognitive distortions, reactions, and behaviors linked to trauma
- Increased self-compassion and a more balanced emotional state
The goal of DBR is to help you feel more grounded, calm, and connected to your true self as you heal from trauma, physically and emotionally.
Is Deep Brain Reorienting Right for You?
If you’ve been feeling stuck in your healing or struggling with the lingering effects of trauma, DBR might offer the deeper level of support you’ve been looking for. This approach is especially helpful for those who have tried other therapies without getting the lasting relief they hoped for. Because DBR works with the body and nervous system, many people find it to be a gentle, empowering experience—even when working through painful memories.
At Vancouver EMDR Therapy and Neurofeedback, we’re committed to offering cutting-edge trauma therapies like DBR in a safe, supportive environment. You don’t have to navigate healing alone.
Interested in learning more or seeing if DBR is a good fit for you?
We offer a free 15-minute consultation to answer your questions and help you take the next step.
Email, call or text us at 360-836-0050 to get started today.
