Books / Trauma, body & expressive
Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy
In Trauma and the Body (2006), Pat Ogden, Kekuni Minton and Clare Pain describe sensorimotor psychotherapy, an approach that attends to bodily experience alongside thoughts and emotions in psychotherapy.
Book details
Author of listed edition: Pat Ogden, Kekuni Minton and Clare Pain
Edition: 1st edition (2006)
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Edition year: 2006
Language and origin: English (United States / Canada)
ISBN: 9780393704570
Form and genre: Treatment Manual & Clinical Guide
Level: Advanced
Historical era: 1980–2009 · Evidence-Based, Trauma & Integrative Era
Covers: Cognitive, emotional and sensorimotor dimensions of experience; Arousal and the window of tolerance as a clinical concept; Observation of bodily experience in psychotherapy; The authors’ treatment model and somatic resources
APA 7th reference: Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the body: A sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy. W. W. Norton & Company.
What it is & historical context
Published in 2006, this book presents sensorimotor psychotherapy as a body-oriented approach to psychotherapy. The publisher describes its integration of attention to bodily experience with cognitive and emotional aspects of treatment.
Core clinical themes & arguments
The publisher lists topics including dimensions of information processing, arousal, defensive responses and somatic resources. These are elements of a clinical model; the description does not establish a universal biological explanation for traumatic experiences.
Clinical practice, reception & legacy
The authors propose ways for therapists to attend to bodily sensations and movement in clinical work. The publisher’s account is not an independent comparison of treatment outcomes, and it does not establish that verbal or cognitive therapies generally fail.
Reader level & educational scope
This advanced entry provides educational orientation. The publisher descriptions and a library catalogue were consulted; the books and clinical studies were not reviewed. It does not assess comparative effectiveness or recommend treatment.
Paired academic and clinical scholarship
Paired work: Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment (Pat Ogden and Janina Fisher, 2015)
Reference: Ogden, P., & Fisher, J. (2015). Sensorimotor psychotherapy: Interventions for trauma and attachment. W. W. Norton & Company.
A later clinical guide by Ogden and Fisher, described by the publisher as including interventions and educational material for clients.
Source-mapped claims and evidence notes
Claim 1: The authors present an approach that includes attention to the body alongside cognitive and emotional experience. (The publisher describes the approach; the full book was not reviewed for this entry.) [Source 1: Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the body: A sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy. W. W. Norton & Company.]
Claim 2: The book discusses the window of tolerance and the modulation of arousal. (These are concepts in the authors’ framework. The publisher description does not establish that any intervention is necessary or effective for every person.) [Source 1: Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the body: A sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy. W. W. Norton & Company.]
Sources and inspection notes
Supports: Publisher description and publication details; the full book was not reviewed and clinical effectiveness was not independently assessed.
Supports: Catalogue record for the authors, first edition, publication year and ISBN.
Supports: Publisher description of the later clinical guide; its full text was not reviewed.