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Research - Current Studies
NEW - 2009: Somatic Experiencing Treatment with Social Service Workers Following Hurricanes Katrina and RitaM.
Laurie Leitch, Jan Vanslyke, and Marisa Allen
In a disaster, social service workers are often survivors themselves. This study examines whether somatic intervention using a brief (one to two session) stabilization model now called the Trauma Resiliency Model™ (TRM), which uses the skills of Somatic Experiencing® (SE), can reduce the postdisaster symptoms of social service workers involved in postdisaster service delivery. The study was implemented with a nonrandom sample of 142 social service workers who were survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, two to three months after the disasters. Ninety-one participants received SE/TRM and were compared with a matched comparison group of 51 participants through the use of propensity score matching. All participants first received group psychoeducation. Results support the benefits of the brief intervention inspired by SE. The treatment group showed statistically significant gains in resiliency indicators and decreases in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Although psychological symptoms increased in both groups at the three to four month follow-up, the treatment group’s psychological symptoms were statistically lower than those of the comparison group.
Read full study >> 2009 SE outcome study in the Social Work Journal. The journal version of the article can be ordered in electronic or hard copy format from www.ingentaconnect.com
2008: Somatic Therapy Treatment Effects with Tsunami Survivors
Catherine Parker, Ronald M. Doctor, and Raja Selvam
This is an uncontrolled field study of the outcome effects of a somatically based therapy with tsunami victims in southern India. One hundred and fifty (150) participants, prescreened for trauma symptoms, received 75 minutes of somatic therapy and training in affect modulation and self-regulation. The results indicate a reliable and significant treatment effect at immediate, 4-week, and 8-month follow-up assessments. At the 8-month follow-up, 90% of participants reported significant improvement or being completely free of symptoms of intrusion, arousal, and avoidance. The results support the effectiveness and reliability of this modified version of Somatic Experiencing Therapy in working with trauma reactions and invite future controlled trials of this therapy.
Read full study >> SE Outcome study in Traumatology
2007:Somatic Experiencing Treatment With Tsunami Survivors in Thailand: Broadening the Scope of Early Intervention
M. Laurie Leitch
This exploratory study examines the treatment effects of brief (1 to 2 sessions) Somatic Experiencing with 53 adult and child survivors of the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Somatic Experiencing’s early-intervention model, now called Trauma First Aide, was provided 1 month after the tsunami. Survivor assessments were done pretreatment, immediately posttreatment, 3 to 5 days posttreatment, and at the 1-year follow-up. Results indicate that immediately following treatment, 67% of participants had partial to complete improvement in reported symptoms and 95% had complete or partial improvement in observed symptoms. At the 1-year follow-up, 90% of participants had complete or partial improvement in reported symptoms, and 96% had complete or partial improvement in initially observed symptoms. Given the small sample size and lack of an equivalent comparison group, results must be interpreted with caution. Nonetheless, the results suggest that integrative mind–body interventions have promise in disaster treatment.
Read full study >> SE Outcome study in Traumatology
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