Psychoeducation Series: Therapy and the Brainstem
The brainstem contains the foundation for all other functions in the brain and body. It takes care of everything our bodies do on autopilot, from breathing and heart rate to physiological stress responses and sleep patterns. When it has experienced trauma, the brainstem learns that it must keep the mind and body on high alert. It expects danger and tries to protect the system by activating your fight/flight/freeze response, but in doing so it disrupts the regular, automatic functioning that it’s usually responsible for. This can look like disrupted sleep or digestive issues, elevated stress and anxiety, dissociation, and hypervigilance.
As we grow, we build our brains from the bottom up. When an infant baby is born, her sub-cortical and cortical structures aren’t very developed yet, but her brainstem is pretty much fully on board. The brainstem thrives on rhythm, repetition, and relationality— think of a newborn baby being rocked, bounced, and soothed.
We can bring those soothing techniques into the therapy room to help the brainstem heal from abuse, neglect, and trauma. Traditional talk therapy can’t help the brainstem heal, because the brainstem doesn’t speak English or any other language: the brainstem speaks in movement, touch, rhythm, and sensory fragments. Therapies for the brainstem might include rhythmic movement such as drumming or tapping the fingers, breathing exercises, EMDR, and other somatic therapies. In the context of a warm, positive therapeutic relationship, these techniques can help the brainstem relearn what it feels like to be safe, increasing physiological regulation and building a strong foundation for the ongoing process of healing.
Olorunlowu, D. R., Olorunlowu, G. D., & Owonifa, P. M. (2025). Impact of emotional trauma on brainstem: Unlocking the effects on neural pathways. Progress in Brain Research, 293, 99-125.
Perry, B. D., & Dobson, C. L. (2013). The neurosequential model of therapeutics. Treating complex traumatic stress disorders in children and adolescents: Scientific foundations and therapeutic models, 249-260.
