Somatic memory.br.engl.

B E Y O N D W O R D S
P R O C E S S I N G T R A U M A T I C M E M O R I E S
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D R . H E R B E R T G R A S S M A N N
Somatic MemoryPsychobiology of Trauma

Somatic Memory
Director Institut für Strukturelle Körpertherapie
and Founder of Somatic Memory
Member of DGK / EABP (European Association for Bodypsychotherapy),
Chair of the SRC
and IASI Board Member (International Association for Structural Integration)
Dr. Herbert Grassmann
Institut für Strukturelle Körpertherapie,
Jagdstr. 12 D – 90419 Nürnberg
www.somatic-memory.com

Embodiment
 Articles on Embodiment Research
 List of Researcher on EMBODIMENT SCIENCE (ES)
 Beyond Words: Processing Traumatic Memories
 SomaticMemory – Psychobiology of Trauma in Social
Transformation
SomaticMemory
Overview

Articles on Embodiment Research
 Research 101 for Body Psychotherapists: Cultivating a Somatically-Informed Research Mind Christine Caldwell, Rae Johnson
 Embodied cognition and body psychotherapy: The construction of new therapeutic environments Frank Röhricht , Shaun
Gallagher , Ulfried Geuter , Daniel D. Hutto
 The Body Can Change the Score: Empirical Support for Somatic Regulation in the Treatment of Traumatized Adolescents Elizabeth
Warner & Joseph Spinazzola & Anne Westcott & Cecile Gunn & Hilary Hodgdon (see : The Body Keeps the Score: Bessel van der Kolk)
 Body psychotherapy for the treatment of severe mental disorders – an overview. Frank Röhricht
 Body-Oriented Psychotherapy – the State of the Art in Empirical Research and Evidence Based Practice: a Clinical Perspective.
Frank Röhricht
 Defining Dissociation in Trauma. Nijenhuis, Ellert R. S. and van der Hart, Onno(2011)
 Somatoform Dissociation in Traumatized World War I Combat Soldiers: A Neglected Clinical Heritage. Onno van der Hart, PhD
 Basic Body Rhythms: From Individual to Interpersonal Movement Feedback. Sabine C. Koch, University of Heidelberg
 A Pilot Study of Body-Oriented Group Psychotherapy: Adapting Sensorimotor Psychotherapy for the Group Treatment of
Trauma. Judith I. Langmuir Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Shari G. Kirsh Women’s College Hospital, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada and University of Toronto Catherine C. Classen Women’s College Research Institute and University of Toronto
 The Reorganization of the Somatic Memory System. Herbert Grassmann and Christina Pohlenz-Michel
 TraumaSomatics-Access to the Present Moment Structural and Neurological Integration in the Light of Mindfulness. Herbert
Grassmann
 SOMATIC PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOTHERAPY. Eric Wolterstorff
 SOMATIC PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOTHERAPY. Pat Ogden
 EABP SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCH COMMITTEE MEMBERS

List of Researcher on EMBODIMENT SCIENCE (ES)
 Body activity and experiences are considered fundamental for the
exploration of self and other in dialogical enactments, and hence they are
regarded as important for diagnostic and therapeutic processes in
therapy
 Due to its experiential and enactive nature, the therapeutic relationship
in ES is centred around immediate and interactive self / body
experiences, involving body awareness, (at times) direct physical contact
(e.g. touch) and psychomotor expression
 The full range of expressive behaviours (posture, gestures, facial
expression, movement) is flexibly and dynamically engaged; these are
therapeutically utilised as required
 ES recognises and emphasises the importance of creativity and personal
resources/skills/capabilities for effective affect- and self-regulation

List of Researcher on EMBODIMENT SCIENCE (ES)
 Christine Caldwell, Ph.D., LPC, BC-DMT, NCC, ACS . Professor Psychology. United Kingdom
 Rae Johnson, Ph.D., RSMT, RSW (http://embodimentstudies.academia.edu/RaeJohnson)
 Frank Röhricht (frank.rohricht@eastlondon.nhs.uk) East London NHS Foundation Trust Centre
of Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex, UK
 Shaun Gallagher (s.gallagher@memphis.edu) Department of Philosophy, University of
Memphis, USA School of Humanities, University of Hertfordshire, UK School of Humanities
and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong, AU
 Ulfried Geuter (u.geuter@gmx.de) Institute of Movement Sciences University of Marburg,
Germany
 Daniel D. Hutto (ddhutto@uow.edu.au) School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of
Wollongong, AU School of Humanities, University of Hertfordshire, UK.
 Onno van der Hart, PhD http://www.onnovdhart.nl/
 Sabine C. Koch, University of Heidelberg
 Judith I. Langmuir Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
 Shari G. Kirsh Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada and University of Toronto
 Catherine C. Classen Women’s College Research Institute and University of Toronto
 Eric Wolterstorff. Waschington DC / USA
 Herbert Grassmann, Germany. Chair of the EABP SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCH COMMITTEE

Embodiment
While it is true that thoughts and beliefs are
affected by stress and trauma,
the Body is the primary location where
traumatic charge is held, where symptoms are
developed and where resolution is most
effective.

Embodiment
Describes that awareness needs a body,
therefore requires physical interaction.

Somatic Memory
Somatic
Memory
Protocol
Social Engagement
Family
Constellations
Body Memory
How to work
with it

Somatic Memory
Body Memory
How to work
with it

Memory is the ability of the
nervous system to keep, organize,
and retrieve recorded information.
SomaticMemory

„ The richness of life is made out of forgotten,
but shared memories “
Cesare Pavese, Handwerk des Lebens
SomaticMemory

SomaticMemory
"The miracle, if you experience it,
is never perfect.
Only the memory makes it so."
Erich Maria Remarque, Die Nacht von Lissabon„

SomaticMemory
“I can’t believe I’m going to be 80,” he told Hussey. “I feel like I just came
back from the war. I look in the mirror and I see this old guy.”

SomaticMemory
“When you look in the mirror every day, you recognize yourself, but when you go back and
look at a photo of yourself 20 years ago you say, ‘Wow, I really have changed.’”

How does our memory change?
Somatic Memory

The stored information is the result of conscious or
unconscious learning processes.
The ability to memory formation is an expression of the
plasticity of neural systems.
Somatic Memory

Split off memory
(drawn from the work by Lenore Terr)
1. True memory - An accurate recall of a real event
2. True memory with false detail - in remembering a real event,
the person may give one or more details which are not
accurate.
3. Absolutely false memory - The event which the person is
describing never took place.
4. Lying - Just what it sounds like. The person knows the
information is false but presents it as if it is true.
5. False memory with true details
6. State dependent memory

MPD - Multiple Personality Disorder
This was the term used in the preceding diagnostic manual (DSM-
III).
DID - Dissociative Identity Disorder
This is the term used in the current diagnostic manual (DSM-IV).
There is considerable debate among professionals about what
accurately defines the condition.
Dissociation - rather than "associating“, putting separate pieces
into a unified whole; dissociation simply refers to splitting off some
aspect of the person's awareness. Dissociation is a very normal
phenomenon, occurring everyday for ordinary people.

“Trauma has less to do with the conscious
memory as the
inability to calm the body.“
Bessel van der Kolk
Somatic Memory

Somatic Memory
An overwhelming event,
in which we see no solution
Definition Trauma

Experiences, especially when they are
overwhelming, change our nervous system
Peter Levine
Waking the Tiger
Somatic Memory

Arbeitsfenster
Hot
Symptoms
Mild stress High stress
Active, vigilant state. Body might be hot, itchy,
tight, uncomfortable, heart beat might be up a
bit. Life is mildly stressful. Driving in rush hour
traffic. Work happens in this state. Rest might
be difficult—trouble falling asleep, or calming
down. Motorcycle/sidecar stuck in drive,
unable to come to rest and idle. The system
is mildly stressed.
Hyper-alert, panicky, hysterical or raging,
a full fight or flight response. Body is
extremely uncomfortable; experiences
might include feeling of burning, very
itchy, constriction, severe cramping, fast
heart beat, shaking or trembling. Rapid
thoughts, rapidly changing and extreme
emotions. Happens when fighting or
fleeing, on roller coaster, in some peak
athletic performances, on a battlefield or in
some other potentially explosive situation.
Work happens in this state. Rest is very
difficult. Motorcycle/sidecar stuck in
overdrive, unable to slow. Nervous system
is strongly stressed.
Cold
Symptoms
Mild trauma Severe trauma
Somewhat of a stupor or fog with an
underlying feeling of panic or hysteria. Body
might feel heavy or fatigued, sensations of
simultaneous hot and cold, coolness, tingling,
numbness, shaking or trembling.
Is perceived as empty, flat or boring—if
perceived at all. Body might experience
lack of sensations, thoughts and
emotions.

Somatic Memory
Human Autonomic Nervous System States
0: Base state: Body is calm, relaxed, warm, alert. Life is calm.
Work and rest happens easily. Autonomic nervous system is at base
state. Like a motorcycle/sidecar idling.
1: Mild stress: Active, vigilant state. Body might be hot, itchy,
tight, uncomfortable, heart beat might be up a bit. Life is mildly
stressful. Driving in rush hour traffic. Work happens in this state.
Rest might be difficult—trouble falling asleep, or calming down.
Motorcycle/sidecar stuck in drive, unable to come to rest and idle.
The system is mildly stressed.

Somatic Memory
2: High stress: Hyper-alert, panicky, hysterical or raging, a full
fight or flight response. Body is extremely uncomfortable;
experiences might include feeling of burning, very itchy, constriction,
severe cramping, fast heart beat, shaking or trembling. Rapid
thoughts, rapidly changing and extreme emotions. Happens when
fighting or fleeing, on roller coaster, in some peak athletic
performances, on a battlefield or in some other potentially explosive
situation. Work happens in this state. Rest is very difficult.
Motorcycle/sidecar stuck in overdrive, unable to slow. Nervous
system is strongly stressed.

Somatic Memory
3: Mild trauma—dull and depressed: Somewhat of a stupor or
fog with an underlying feeling of panic or hysteria. Body might feel
heavy or fatigued, sensations of simultaneous hot and cold,
coolness, tingling, numbness, shaking or trembling. This state is
appropriate to a situation when the best solution might be to be
passive, so that an attacker might be less aggressive. E.g., when a
cat is playing with a mouse, if the mouse scampers, the cat will
pounce. If the mouse is still, the cat may become bored and leave.
This state also is appropriate after a trauma when it is important to
rest and gather one’s energy for a sudden outburst.

Somatic Memory
4: Severe trauma—disconnection: Is perceived as empty, flat or boring—if
perceived at all. Body might experience lack of sensations, thoughts and emotions.
Beneath this occasionally arise profound despair, dread or terror—eruptions of
fragments of #3 mild trauma state or the #2 severe stress state. Experience is of
emptiness, numbness, void. Blank, foggy, spacey, distorted vision or foggy vision,
maybe slight sensations of hot and cold simultaneously, numbness, shaking,
vibrating, along with sudden appearances of states #3 or #2. This state is
appropriate to a perceived threat that is not only overwhelming, as in a mildly
traumatized state, but where no solution is imaginable. The mere memory of the
traumatic event is overwhelming. Any conscious connection to the event would be
self-destructive, so the partial disconnection of the three different parts of
consciousness is extended and complete. The conscious part has no connection to
the memory or to any compulsion toward mastery that would shape behavior.
Motorcycle and sidecar have split completely apart. Sidecar coasts to a halt. There is
no awareness of movement. Nothing is happening. The motorcycle, disconnected
and racing in overdrive, represents the unconscious memory and compulsion to solve
the trauma. It is inaccessible to consciousness. The memory and mastery awareness
will remain inaccessible until solution to the trauma has been discovered or created.

Working window
Trauma Cold Symptoms
Working window Hot Symptoms
Resource Relaxation

Allan Schore
We can say today , that the support of
self-regulation is of central Importance
for the child's development, and it
looks as if the largest achievement of
the early period, is the ability to
regulate affects and emotions.
(Schore 2002).

Self-regulation
"Self-regulation is one of the crucial, if not the crucial
process during the development of Infancy to
adulthood. It's about maintaining an individually
perceived as controllable Stress level, which can be
maintained even under different Environmental
influences ".
(Hartmann et a. 2004)

The Sensorimotor Memory
of the body
 Reorganization of the body memory
 Reconstruction of overwhelming events
 Solution of sensorimotor fixation of
traumatic events (action pulses)
 Regulation of the body's energy system
(Restructuring of the orienting and protection reflex)

fear memory change our:
Orientation reflex : Ability to recognize danger in time
Protective reflex: Ability to respond appropriately to danger

semantic memory
Belief systems
episodic
memory
Events
procedural
memory
Habits
most chronified symptoms
Somatic Memory

episodic
memory
Events
Somatic Memory

1. Take the Stress – Trauma History Form
2. Pick one event that seems to only have stress and not trauma symptoms.
3. Tracking body sensations and emotions.
4. You will ask what body sensations is the client experiencing right now, right
after they have talked about the events. Not what they remember
experiencing, but right now.
5. Containment: Stay focused with the sensation until it got regulate in the body.
6. Go back to the event, have them say some more details about the event, until
start noticing symptoms, lay aside the event, contain again, track body
sensations and emotions.
7. End with Resourcing.
Protocol
working with the episodic memory

Stress – Trauma History Form
Category Victim / Savior / Observer / Perpetrator Body Sensation Resources
Procedures
Partial anesthesia, broken bones, dental, other hospital procedures
High Speed Threats
Falls, car/bike wrecks, hit by flying objects
Attacke
Persons or animals, rape, mugging, physical/sexual abuse, extreme verbal abuse
Natural Disaster
Fires, floods, lightning, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc
Cyclical Threat
Daily, weekly, seasonal, parent who drank every Friday night, holiday depression,
anniversaries, symptoms that arise regularly

Stress – Trauma History Form
Category Victim / Savior / Observer / Perpetrator Body Sensation Resources
Global Threat
Affects whole nervous system; threat from inside:
Hi fever, near drown, electroc. Full anesth. surgery drugs, poisoning, birth, in utero
Severe abandonment
Adoption, death, left alone
Survivor’s stress
Surviving a threatening event that others didn’t
Car crash, war, train wreck, natural disaster
Additional
Other times have been a victim of horrors, have observed horrors have perpetrated horrors
on others, or have saved others from horrors

The Empathic NERVOUS SYSTEM
The special of this work are the "ANS - relationship skills ".
These abilities get their "imprint" by "significant" events,
in which they are formed. Each ability has a special sense
of time and thus changeable.
Social Engagement
Strategies to work with memories

Social Engagement

Social Trauma
Developmental Trauma needs a
systemic solution
Familial traumas encourage the work with “roles and their attachment
strategies” under stress.
In this way, the individual receives a systemic relevance and only in
this overall view can be severe traumatization explain and solve
(family, socially and culturally).

Healing a familial or other
“in-group” trauma requires integrating
four posttraumatic roles
Savior
Observer
Perpetrator Victim
Social Trauma

Why we need Roles?
They help people pattern their relationships

53
We split up in Roles to protect our self

59

When we experience a familial—in-group,
or captivity—trauma, the memory of the
event is not just of our experience as an
individual.
Rather, we remember the scene, our
subjective perception of the experience
of all the actors present.
Social Trauma

The transference of memories
of significant people in our past
onto people in our present.
Memory
As our clients transfer: transference
As we transfer: countertransference
Social Trauma

Memory
Social Trauma
Each role remembers the whole scene
Savior
Perpetrator Victim
Observer

Memory
Social Trauma
Integrating each role from the whole scene
Traumatic transference and countertransference is
simpler, more powerful, and more dangerous than
normal transference and countertransference

Somatic memory.br.engl.

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