The Importance of Affective-Kinetic Realities in the Experience of Trauma and in Trauma Therapy (original) (raw)

2020, Journal of Trauma and Acute Care, vol. 6 no.1:87

In keeping with its epistemic derivation from Greek, the Oxford English Dictionary defines trauma as “A wound, or external bodily injury in general.” That definition has expanded and even shifted toward a more mental understanding of trauma, and correlatively toward “managing” those who are trauma-afflicted (1) or teaching them to “cope” with what has happened (2), whether a matter of shock, for example, on hearing of the death of a loved one or being in a car accident (1-2), or a matter of stress in terms of an overwhelming work load (3). The literature may prescribe therapy, but therapeutic help beyond strictly mental psychological help is warranted. Indeed, whatever its particular nature, trauma is bodily felt, which means that trauma is experienced in ways that affect the whole person, not simply his/her mental condition. A Jungian perspective on the unity of mind and body vindicates this basic understanding of trauma. The perspective leads to a detailed consideration and analysis of the startle reflex as both a whole person response and a temporal microcosm of experienced trauma. As such, it suggests a form of therapy anchored in movements directly antithetical to those of the startle reflex, thus offering a basis not only for exploring why movement is therapeutic, but for initiating integral mind-body forms of therapy. Keywords: Trauma therapy; Kinesthesia; Mind-body unity; Startle reflex; Dynamic congruency

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