Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR): A Gentle, Brain-Based Approach to Healing Trauma
Trauma is often talked about as something we remember—images, thoughts, or stories from the past. But many trauma responses begin long before conscious thought or narrative memory comes online. They start deep in the brain, in systems designed to keep us alive.
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is a relatively new, neuroscience-informed therapy that works with these earliest, most automatic trauma responses. Rather than focusing on retelling traumatic events, DBR gently helps the nervous system complete unfinished survival responses that were interrupted during moments of shock or threat.
What Is Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR)?
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is a trauma therapy developed by psychiatrist and trauma researcher Scottish psychiatrist Dr. Frank Corrigan, M.D. It is grounded in affective neuroscience and focuses on the brainstem and midbrain—areas of the brain involved in orienting, arousal, and survival.
DBR is based on the understanding that traumatic experiences often begin with a moment of unexpected threat or shock. Before we feel fear, panic, or terror, the brain first registers:
“Something is happening”
“I need to orient to this”
If the nervous system is overwhelmed at that early stage, the orienting response can become frozen or incomplete. DBR works directly with this pre-conscious moment, allowing the brain and body to reorganize and settle—often without needing to relive the trauma in detail.
How DBR Understands Trauma
In DBR, trauma is not seen primarily as a cognitive problem or even an emotional one—it is a disrupted physiological process.
When a sudden threat occurs, the brain typically moves through a sequence:
Orienting response (turning toward or noticing the stimulus)
Arousal (activation of the nervous system)
Emotional response (fear, rage, panic, grief)
Action or resolution
In traumatic situations, this sequence is often interrupted—especially at the orienting or shock stage. The nervous system remains “stuck,” leading to symptoms such as:
Hypervigilance
Chronic anxiety
Startle responses
Emotional numbing
Dissociation
Somatic symptoms with no clear cause
DBR helps the nervous system return to that earliest moment and gently complete what was left unfinished.
What Happens in a DBR Therapy Session?
DBR sessions are typically slow, focused, and highly attuned to the client’s internal experience.
Rather than asking clients to describe traumatic events in detail, a DBR therapist might invite them to:
Notice a subtle body sensation
Track a moment of tension or stillness
Become aware of a feeling of “something about to happen”
The therapist helps the client stay with very small, moment-to-moment experiences, particularly sensations in the head, neck, chest, or upper body—areas closely linked to orienting and arousal systems.
Clients are never pushed to relive trauma. In fact, DBR often works before emotions like fear or sadness fully arise. This makes it especially gentle for people who feel overwhelmed by traditional trauma therapies.
How DBR Is Used in Therapy
DBR can be helpful for a wide range of concerns, particularly those linked to shock or sudden threat, including:
Single-incident trauma (accidents, assaults, medical trauma)
Developmental trauma
Attachment trauma
PTSD and complex PTSD
Chronic anxiety or panic
Persistent somatic symptoms
Because DBR works at such an early level of processing, it can be effective even when clients struggle to put their experiences into words.
What Makes DBR Different from Other Trauma Therapies?
DBR shares some similarities with other bottom-up approaches (like EMDR or Somatic Experiencing), but there are key differences:
Minimal narrative: Clients do not need to recount traumatic memories in detail.
Pre-emotional focus: DBR works before strong emotions emerge.
Very slow pacing: The therapy honors the nervous system’s natural timing.
Deep brain focus: Attention is placed on midbrain and brainstem processes rather than cortical interpretation.
Many clients describe DBR as surprisingly subtle but deeply impactful—often noticing shifts in tension, posture, breathing, or overall sense of safety.
Who Might Benefit Most from DBR?
DBR may be particularly helpful for people who:
Feel overwhelmed by trauma processing
Experience shutdown, numbness, or dissociation
Have tried talk therapy without significant relief
Carry trauma primarily in the body rather than as clear memories
That said, DBR is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It is often integrated with other therapeutic modalities depending on a client’s needs, goals, and readiness.
A Gentle Path Toward Regulation and Repair
At its core, Deep Brain Reorienting respects the wisdom of the nervous system. It assumes that trauma responses are not signs of weakness or pathology, but intelligent survival strategies that were never given the chance to fully resolve.
By working patiently and precisely with the brain’s earliest responses to threat, DBR offers a compassionate pathway toward healing—one that emphasizes safety, agency, and deep physiological regulation.
