Trauma Informed Touch Bodywork Session

Description

Touch can be intimidating to many trauma survivors; however, if applied with care, trauma-informed touch therapy proved to be an effective approach to dealing with past traumas and their consequences.  When people ask me what trauma-informed bodywork looks like, I usually explain that it’s a gentle, hands-on approach that helps the body (and nervous system) find its way back to regulation and safety. 

What a Session Might Look Like

Sessions usually begin with a simple, supportive touch — for example, a steady contact at the small of your back while you remain fully clothed and comfortably lying on a treatment table.

This touch helps support the the adrenal glands, located just above the kidneys, and help regulate stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol — key players in the body’s stress response. When these glands can “settle,” the body starts releasing long-held tension and stress hormones that may have been stuck in the system after prolonged periods of bracing or overwhelm.

When the adrenals are overworked, the body stays in a chronic fight-or-flight state. By helping them find balance, we remind the body how to access its parasympathetic response — the “rest and restore” mode — instead of constantly preparing for danger.

In practice, this might look like my hand resting quietly under your lower back for 10–15 minutes on one side, then the other. There’s no manipulation or movement — just gentle, steady contact that gives your system space to unwind at its own pace. I’ll often check in to see what you’re noticing, since this work is more of a collaborative process than something I do to you. 

Deeper Layers of Regulation

Once your adrenal system begins to regulate over time (which can take several sessions depending on your history, nervous system and physiology), we can explore other forms of trauma-informed touch.

For example:

• Brain stem holds can calm the nervous system and restore a sense of safety.

• Fascia work helps release tension in the connective tissue just under the skin — a place where emotion and stress are often stored.

When fascia is tight or “activated,” it can contribute to feelings of agitation, anxiety, or even physical sensations like chest pressure or a creeping sense of fear. The mediastinum fascia, which wraps around the heart and lungs, is especially sensitive — calming this area can bring a deep sense of ease and spaciousness to the breath and chest.

• Viscera work supports trauma healing by gently engaging the organs — where deep-seated “gut reactions” and stress responses often live. By helping the viscera release stored tension, this work can improve emotional regulation, support healthy organ function, and allow for a greater sense of presence and ease in the body.

Releasing Protective Patterns

Many of us live in bodies that are unconsciously bracing — jaw tight, shoulders rounded, chest tense, breath shallow. These are protective patterns that once helped us survive but now keep us stuck in chronic tension.

To support release, I often integrate movement-based approaches like Craniosacral Therapy or  Bio Touch Healing.  These gentle methods help the nervous system recognize safety through movement and awareness, softening patterns of holding and protection.

Why It Works

By working directly with the body, trauma-informed touch helps regulate the nervous system faster than talk alone. Once your body feels calmer and safer, talk therapy (if part of your process) becomes much more effective — because the body and mind are finally speaking the same language.

What is Trauma Informed Touch Therapy for Trauma?

Touch therapy for trauma is a specialized approach that uses physical contact to promote healing and recovery. This method recognizes the profound impact that touch can have on our emotional and physical well-being, especially for those who have experienced trauma.

The Science Behind Trauma Informed Touch Therapy

Research shows that appropriate, therapeutic touch can significantly reduce stress hormones like cortisol while increasing oxytocin (often called the “bonding hormone”). These changes can help trauma survivors feel more relaxed, connected, and emotionally regulated.

Massage Therapy: is a common Therapy technique.  This involves manipulating soft tissues to reduce muscle tension and promote relaxation. A 2019 study suggested that massage therapy may be able to reduce the symptoms of PTSD, including difficulty falling or staying asleep.

How Trauma Informed Touch Therapy Benefits Trauma Recovery

• Reducing Anxiety and Stress

Touch-based interventions provide significant benefits for trauma survivors, offering a powerful tool for healing. This review identifies touch-based interventions in the treatment of PTSD and examines the role of touch with this population.

• Promoting Emotional Regulation

Touch therapy plays a crucial role in emotional regulation. This biochemical boost helps trauma survivors manage their emotions more effectively and experience greater emotional stability.

• Rebuilding Trust and Boundaries

For many trauma survivors, rebuilding trust and establishing healthy boundaries are essential steps in the recovery process. Recent studies involving therapeutic, direct touch with trauma survivors show an increase in participation by populations engaging in psychotherapy to relieve symptoms.

• Enhancing Body Awareness

Touch therapy significantly enhances body awareness and self-connection, which are often disrupted by traumatic experiences. This improved body awareness helps trauma survivors feel more grounded and present in their daily lives. 

To heal from the trauma, we must become familiar and safe enough to go to our bodies, feel what is there and allow it to move and change. Unfortunately, humans have become so cognitively advanced that our brains will take us away from our body processes. What results is a brain that overrides what the body is calling for at any given moment.  Trauma develops when we are horrified and unable to escape, move, or fight.  Our bodies may want to flee, but something holds us back.  It may be a thought or a duty you have to stay in the face of danger.  It may be embarrassing to move or to fight, or maybe you have been taught it’s not your place. Perhaps you were too young to know. There are a million reasons we freeze and cannot process trauma and specific experiences the way our bodies want to. Regardless, our comfort and growth in familiarity with our bodies, sensations, and emotions are what can move us through the trauma. 

In my practice when working with trauma. We only go to where your nervous system can go.  There is no reason to push into stories and get aroused to the point that we are reliving an event or triggered into a state of fight/flight/freeze response.  We go slow and work on attuning to the body and its needs in the given moment.

• I go only at the pace your body’s system can handle.  We want to use the resources you have and build them up to create resilience and empowerment to tackle the rest.
• Therapy does not have to be a focus on all that is wrong in your life. We can become familiar with what is “right” in order to address the “wrongs” with more strength and resilience.
• You do not need to re-tell your trauma to heal; this is not an exposure therapy based model of therapy.
• The healing process is gradual and your body communicates when it’s ready.  Here we let your body lead!
• It is a strong held belief, and based on fact, that you have all you need to heal held within you.  We will learn to trust that.
• I practice with compassion and respect for your life experiences; you are the expert on your life.
• I look to integrate and create connection in body, mind, heart and spirit to help you feel whole.
• I know PTSD, anxiety, and depression do not have to be a permanent condition.  These should only be temporary.

Awareness and mindfulness of ourselves brings us to what matters most in our lives.  We can find this with the courage we have within and we can do this together. Because healing is a gradual process and your body knows when it’s ready, we allow your body to guide the session. The first 15 minutes are $30, with additional time billed at $2 per minute thereafter.

We will schedule 30 minutes to start and build from there.

*Divine Direction does not claim to cure any medical conditions. If you have any concerns please consult with a licensed health care provider prior to booking.