Changing the Score the Body Keeps: Somatic Therapies for Adverse Childhood Experiences

  • 6,766

    Total downloads

  • 41k

    Total views and downloads

Submit your idea

You will be redirected to our submission process.

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

The link between physical and emotional symptoms has been understood for over a century. Psychiatrist Abram Kardiner studied "shell shock" for the US Army after WWI. In his book 'The Traumatic Neuroses of War' he wrote that the “nucleus,” or center of traumatic stress was a “physioneurosis” rooted in the body. Though science in Kardiner’s time knew little about stress hormones, gene regulation, brainwaves, or heart rate variability, and the diagnosis of PTSD was half a century in the future, he and many of his contemporaries understood the physical impact of traumatic events. In 1977, Hochberg mentioned that in the 1920s, Freud's colleague psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich coined the term “muscular armor” based on his observations that emotional trauma can result in rigidity in certain regions of the body, and that when resolution was found, those areas of the body relaxed.

After WWII, leading psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Joseph Wolpe worked with combat veterans. He tried many different treatment methods, rigorously documenting whether or not they resulted in a reduction in the distress experienced by patients when recounting traumatic memories. Wolpe (1969) found "the talking cure" in which he had previously believed was "not ineffective, but actually harmful" to his patients. Wolpe observed that recounting painful memories often made them more intense, which may have coined the term "retraumatization" decades later. The one method Wolpe found effective was diaphragmatic breathing, which kept patients "in the body" and resulted in the attenuation of psychological distress. This reinforced the idea that somatic stimulation, addressing psychological distress using physiological means, had a role in the treatment of trauma.

Early pioneers also sought an anatomical basis of this interplay between body and emotions. Charles Darwin (1882) believed that the “pneumogastric nerve,” which we now call the vagus nerve, played a role in emotional regulation. He hypothesized that, “Heart, guts and brain communicate intimately via the ‘pneumogastric’ nerve, the critical nerve involved in the expression and management of emotions in both humans and animals. When the mind is strongly excited, it instantly affects the state of the viscera, so that under excitement there will be much mutual action and reaction between these, the two most important organs of the body”.

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) studies showed us that this relationship scales. The greater the number of childhood insults, the greater the risk for diseases such as cancer, cardiac events, COPD, diabetes, and hepatitis (Felitti et al., 1996). This relationship is, however, complex and influenced by various factors. Psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk reminds the conceptual idea of the complex interactions between physical and emotional well-being in his book, ‘The body keeps the score’; the best-selling medical book of the past decade.

In the past three decades this has led to increasing research into somatic treatments for PTSD. Supplementing established psychological techniques (such as exposure and cognitive processing) with physiological interventions (such as yoga, eye movements, diaphragmatic breathing, massage, neurofeedback, nutrition and acupressure) which has been shown to enhance therapeutic outcomes. Some methods such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), yoga therapy and Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) have established a research literature comprising hundreds of clinical trials, including dozens of randomized controlled studies and meta-analyses.

The complexity of somatic interventions and their outcomes means that firm conclusions cannot be drawn. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that we can change the score the body keeps. For this reason somatic interventions have been recognized as efficacious by various official bodies, including the US Veterans Administration, the US National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices, the UKs National Institute for Clinical Excellence, and the World Health Organization. In addition, the mechanisms of action of somatic therapies such as vagal regulation, stress hormone reduction, epigenetic gene regulation, the alteration of neural signaling evident in EEG, MRI and MEG scans, increased heart rate variability, and neurogenesis, have now been mapped.

This Research Topic has four primary objectives. The first is to report current studies of these methods. The second is to further illuminate the physiological mechanisms of action of somatic therapies. The third is to review the research literature and derive lessons for the translation of these findings into effective patient care. The final objective is to project the future trajectory of research and implementation and hypothesize about the contribution that the widespread adoption of these therapies might make to alleviating the burden of disease. Changing the score the body keeps in millions of people has the potential to make a significant contribution to public health.

Keywords: PTSD, somatic therapy, emotion, physiology, trauma, Adverse Childhood Experiences

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Impact

  • 41kTopic views
  • 33kArticle views
  • 6,766Article downloads
View impact