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nervous system and an unbalanced This suggests that a bottom-up walking, observing nature, eating,
nervous system blocks our capacity approach would be more effective gardening, and whatever can bring
for flexible, adaptive, stable than a top down one; focusing not us into the present with an outer or
functioning.” This impairs our on the conscious or thinking part of distal focus (Siegel, 2021b).
ability to integrate new information the brain (the neocortex), but on the Mindfulness can be simply going
(learning), think clearly under subconscious (limbic) part, and that for a walk in the woods or counting
stress, and maintain mutually can be accomplished via the body. with the use of your fingers. At a
rewarding relationships (Siegel, For example, yoga or tai chi have conference on mindfulness, a group
2021). proved very effective at helping went for a 15-minute walk in the
So, how do you achieve traumatized people become more woods and measurably increased
integration? Not by talk therapy aware of their bodies. In fact, yoga the length of their telomeres
alone. Although it does have a role, has proven “more effective than compared to those who didn’t go
it is not a central one. any medication that has ever been walking.
“Talk therapy might not have studied for PTSD” (van der Kolk, The experts in the NICABM’s
the hoped-for trickle-down effect 2021). 2021 Treating Trauma Master Series
to the subcortical brain where the agree that the healing process
responses to trauma in the body can Mindfulness and Meditation involves direct experience. Dr. van
be resolved” (Ogden, 2021). Other ways to integrate the lower der Kolk (2021) stated: “It’s not
And Dr. van der Kolk (2021) and upper parts of the brain are about understanding or figuring
says this, “We don’t know to what mindfulness and meditation. Both things out, because that’s not really
have proven to increase bodily
degree being able to put these deep awareness and increase the length where the trauma sits. Trauma
internal experiences into words will of telomeres. Meditation can be sits in your automatic reactions
change these brain patterns that get as simple as sitting quietly and and your dispositions and how
set by trauma. My hunch is not so observing your breath in and out, you interpret the world. In order
much or only to a limited degree.” to really rewire those automatic
perceptions, you need to have deep
experiences that contradict how
you are now disposed to think.
Figure 1. Functional Magnetic Resonance Imagery graphic showing You cannot do this abstractly; you
brain activity by measuring the levels of blood flow in our body for need to have experiences that
different emotions.
directly contradict how your body
is disposed.”
And Buczynski states (2021b):
“When we create a new experience
that contradicts the lesson that
part of the brain has learned from
trauma—that can change the way a
person with trauma history is wired
to respond.”

TACT and Trauma Treatment
Now that we’ve looked at
trauma and current effective
psychotherapeutic approaches
to healing trauma, how does
TACT relate? We can get a
general understanding from
what Dr. Ogden (2021) has stated,
“We’re never really working
with the memory. We’re always
working with the effects.” That is
exactly what TACT does: Helps
Source: Nummenmaa, Lauri, Enrico Glerean, Riita Hariand, and Jari K. Hietanen. “Bodily Maps of staff to manage the effects of
Emotions.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America. 2014. trauma by creating connection
through community (safety) and

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