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The Body Can Change the Score: Empirical Support for Somatic Regulation in the Treatment of Traumatized Adolescents

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Abstract

Traumatized adolescents have pervasive problems with self-regulation and often have difficulties in language-based treatment models. This paper provides preliminary empirical support for the efficacy of Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART), a treatment model which targets somatic regulation as an avenue to behavioral and emotional regulation. A case vignette illustrates the intervention model. Outcomes are presented from a quasi-experimental pilot study employing a matched control design comparing the additive benefit of SMART intervention to treatment as usual (TAU) in two adolescent residential treatment sites, with a polyvictimized sample. There were significant reductions in domains targeted by SMART: Internalizing symptoms on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and the Somatic Complaints and Anxious/Depressed subscales. In secondary analyses, a trend approaching significance was found on the Overarousal subscale of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder-Reaction Index (PTSD-RI). This pilot study suggests the contribution somatic regulation can make to stabilization and skills building in complex trauma treatment for adolescents.

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Acknowledgments

Jessica Frick, M.S.W., Alexandra Cook, Ph.D., Tara Sagor, L.I.C.S.W., Lauren Kadesh, L.I.C.S.W., and, in particular, Joseph Spinazzola, Ph.D., for guidance and support from the beginning. These data were presented as a poster at the 2012 annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

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  1. The Trauma Center at JRI, 1269 Beacon Street, Brookline, MA, 02446, USA

    Elizabeth Warner, Joseph Spinazzola, Anne Westcott & Hilary Hodgdon

  2. Commonwealth Psychology Associates, Boston, MA, USA

    Cecile Gunn

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  1. Elizabeth Warner
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  2. Joseph Spinazzola
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  4. Cecile Gunn
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Correspondence to Elizabeth Warner.

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Warner, E., Spinazzola, J., Westcott, A. et al. The Body Can Change the Score: Empirical Support for Somatic Regulation in the Treatment of Traumatized Adolescents. Journ Child Adol Trauma 7, 237–246 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-014-0030-z

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