Just a moment
A gentle, brainstem-level approach developed by Dr. Frank Corrigan for processing shock and attachment trauma — without overwhelming the system.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is a relatively new therapeutic approach developed by Dr. Frank Corrigan, a Scottish psychiatrist and trauma specialist. It works with the brainstem — the oldest, deepest part of the brain — to access and process the initial orienting response that occurs in the first moments of a traumatic event, before the conscious mind has time to register what's happening.
Most trauma therapies work with the cortex (thoughts, narratives) or the limbic system (emotions, memories). DBR goes deeper. It targets the pre-affective, pre-cognitive response — the moment your brainstem detected something was wrong, before you had a feeling about it, before you had a thought about it. That orienting response often gets locked in the body as tension in the head, neck, or face, and it can drive chronic hypervigilance, dissociation, and emotional reactivity for years.
The method is gentle. There is no prolonged exposure, no reliving of traumatic events, no requirement to tell your story in detail. Instead, we work slowly with the subtle physical sensations associated with the orienting response — a tightness behind the eyes, a pulling in the neck, a pressure at the base of the skull — and allow the brainstem to complete what it started.
Sessions are typically 50 to 75 minutes. We begin with grounding and a check-in. When we move into DBR work, I'll guide you to bring gentle attention to the area around your head and neck — not to the trauma itself, but to what your brainstem did in response to it. You might notice a subtle tension, a pulling, a sense of alertness. We stay with that. Slowly. Gently.
The processing is often quiet and internal. Some people feel a softening, a release of tension they didn't know they were holding. Some feel tired afterward. Some feel unexpectedly clear. There is no catharsis required — the shifts tend to be subtle but deep, and they accumulate over time.
DBR can be offered as a standalone modality or integrated into broader therapeutic work, including counselling or equine-assisted therapy.
They share some surface similarities — both are somatic, both work with trauma processing — but they operate at different levels of the brain. EMDR primarily engages the limbic system and cortex. DBR works with the brainstem, targeting the pre-conscious orienting response. For some clients, DBR reaches material that EMDR didn't fully resolve.
No. DBR does not require you to narrate your trauma. You may share context if you choose to, but the processing itself works with bodily sensation, not story. This makes it particularly suitable for people who find talking about trauma retraumatising.
It varies. Some clients notice shifts after two or three sessions. Others benefit from longer-term work, especially if the trauma is complex or developmental. We'll talk about pacing and fit as we go.
If something on this page resonated, reach out. There's no pressure and no commitment — just a conversation about whether this might be a fit.