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For many people, the journey to healing after trauma doesn’t start with a diagnosis or a tidy referral pathway. It starts with a feeling.
A tightness in the chest that won’t shift. A tendency to startle at nothing. Exhaustion that sleep doesn’t fix. A sense of being on guard — even when, on paper, everything is fine.
Talking can help. But for a lot of people, it isn’t enough on its own. That’s because trauma isn’t stored only in memory. It’s held in the body.
Body-based approaches work with that layer directly. At The Forbes Clinic, we offer a range of online, trauma informed therapies that work with the nervous system. These aren’t frontline mental health services. They’re integrative approaches for people who are ready to go deeper. Or for those who have found that talking alone hasn’t moved things far enough.
What Is Psychological Trauma?
Psychological trauma is the lasting effect of an experience that overwhelmed the nervous system’s ability to process what happened. It isn’t defined by the event itself. It’s defined by what it leaves behind.1
Some trauma comes from a single event — an accident, a sudden loss, a medical emergency. Some builds up over time, through repeated experiences of fear, neglect, or violation.
What both have in common: the nervous system stays in a state of threat long after the danger has passed.
As psychiatrist and trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk writes:
“Trauma is not the story of something that happened back then. It’s the current imprint of that pain, horror, and fear living inside people.”2
Types of Trauma
Not all trauma looks the same. Knowing the type can help point toward the most useful kind of support.
Acute trauma
Comes from one event — a crash, a violent incident, a sudden bereavement. The nervous system stays on high alert, even once the event is over.
Childhood trauma
Includes abuse, neglect, loss, or instability during early life. Because the nervous system is still forming in childhood, early trauma can shape how a person relates to safety, their own body, and other people — well into adulthood.3
Complex trauma (C-PTSD)
Complex Post Traumatic Stress develops through repeated or prolonged harm. Often the trauma was experienced in situations where escape didn’t feel possible, such as coercive relationships or chronic abuse. It tends to involve deeper patterns: emotional dysregulation (difficulty managing strong feelings), shame, and trouble trusting.4
Developmental trauma
Refers to harm during critical windows of brain development, usually early childhood. It can have far-reaching effects on emotional regulation, physical health, and cognition.5
Vicarious trauma
Affects people who support others through traumatic experiences — carers, healthcare workers, emergency responders. Sustained exposure to others’ distress leaves its own mark on the nervous system.
How Trauma Affects the Nervous System
To understand why body-based approaches can help, it’s worth understanding what trauma does to the nervous system.
Polyvagal Theory — developed by neuroscientist Stephen Porges — describes how the nervous system responds to threat in a hierarchy. First, we try to connect and seek safety. If that fails, we move into fight-or-flight. If that isn’t possible either, we shut down.6
In trauma, the nervous system can get stuck in one of those survival states. It keeps responding as if danger is present — even when it isn’t.
This isn’t a flaw. It’s the body doing what it learned to do to survive.
But those survival responses — the constant scanning, the shutdown, the reactivity — can make everyday life much harder long after the original threat has gone.
As van der Kolk documents in The Body Keeps the Score, trauma reshapes brain regions that govern self-awareness, emotional regulation, and interoception (the ability to sense what’s happening inside the body).2 That’s part of why cognitive approaches, while valuable, don’t always reach the full depth of what needs to shift.
What Makes Body-Based Approaches Different?
Conventional trauma therapies — including Trauma-Focused CBT and EMDR, both recommended by NICE for PTSD7 — work primarily through memory processing. They revisit and reprocess traumatic events in a structured way. For many people, these are highly effective.
Body-based approaches start somewhere different. Instead of the story, they start with the nervous system. With the physical states, sensations, and patterns of activation that trauma leaves behind.
A 2021 scoping review in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology found evidence of positive effects from somatic (body-based) approaches on trauma symptoms.8 A systematic review and meta-analysis of body- and movement-based interventions found significant improvements across multiple studies.9 One randomised controlled study found effect sizes between 0.94 and 1.26 — indicating large, meaningful change.8
For people who find it re-traumatising to revisit the past, or who have done significant cognitive work and are looking for the next layer, body-based approaches offer a different route in.
Body-Based and Integrative Approaches at The Forbes Clinic
The Forbes Clinic offers trauma-informed, body-based and integrative approaches online across the UK.
These are not crisis services. They’re best suited to people who are not in acute mental health crisis and who are ready to do nervous system-level work — with or without previous therapy experience.
All services sit alongside — not instead of — conventional healthcare and primary mental health support.
TRE® (Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises) — Maria Trindade
TRE® uses a series of exercises to activate the body’s natural tremoring response. Tremoring is a neurogenic reflex — a physical mechanism the nervous system uses to discharge built-up tension and stress. It’s a natural process seen across mammals. TRE® works with it deliberately.
Crucially, TRE® doesn’t require revisiting past memories. It doesn’t involve talking about what happened. It works at the level of the body.
A study of East African refugees found significant reductions in trauma symptom severity among those who completed TRE®, compared to those who didn’t.10 Research has also shown benefits for stress, sleep quality, and physical symptoms.11
Maria Trindade offers TRE® online to adults across the UK. It’s particularly suited to those with a history of childhood trauma, birth trauma, grief, or traumatic events who want a body-first approach.
Not suitable for those with epilepsy, seizures, or pregnant people. You may need permission from your GP if you have been diagnosed with a severe psychiatric condition.
Felt Sense Polyvagal Therapy (FSPM) — Hannah Westphal
The Felt Sense Polyvagal Model (FSPM) was developed by therapist Jan Winhall. It draws on Polyvagal Theory and Eugene Gendlin’s Focusing method — a practice built around the body’s felt sense (the subtle physical awareness of how something feels, before it becomes words).
FSPM helps clients learn to recognise their own nervous system states. And, gently, to shift them.
It’s entirely present-focused. No need to revisit the past. The programme builds practical tools for regulation — skills clients carry forward into daily life.
Hannah Westphal offers the FSPM programme as a 12-week virtual programme for adults. It’s well-suited to those working with trauma, addiction, shame, or grief who want nervous system-informed support without memory-based processing.
Not ready to commit to the full programme? A single NeuroPsychoeducation session with Hannah is a low-commitment starting point. An introduction to nervous system awareness that can stand alone or lead into the fuller work.
Not suitable for those with personality disorders, dissociative disorders or Schizophrenia
EFT Tapping — Dafni Serdari
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) — often called tapping — combines cognitive processing with gentle stimulation of acupressure points. It works both top-down (through thought and language) and bottom-up (through the body). That dual action is what distinguishes it from purely talk-based approaches.
NICE has identified EFT as a research priority for PTSD, noting “promising evidence for clinical benefits… on improving self-rated PTSD symptomatology.”12 A 2023 updated systematic review and meta-analysis in Frontiers in Psychology found large effect sizes for EFT in reducing PTSD symptoms — comparable to other established approaches.13
Dafni Serdari offers EFT online for adults. She has particular experience with sexual trauma, grief and loss, and supporting those navigating serious health diagnoses.
Not suitable for those with strong emotional avoidance, dissociative disorders, or severe unmanaged trauma.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) — Dr Ayeisha Malik
ACT is an evidence-based psychological approach. It builds psychological flexibility — the ability to sit with difficult thoughts and feelings without being controlled by them. Rather than trying to eliminate distress, it works with acceptance and values-based action. Whilst ACT is not considered a body-based approach, it may be another beneficial tool for those recovering from trauma.
For trauma, ACT targets experiential avoidance — the tendency to push away painful feelings and memories. That avoidance often keeps trauma symptoms going long after the event itself.
A 2024 meta-analysis found ACT produced significant reductions in trauma symptoms compared to control groups.14 A systematic review found it particularly suited to addressing the avoidance patterns that maintain PTSD.15
Dr Ayeisha Malik offers ACT online for adults, with particular experience in chronic pain, complex illness, and clients who feel stuck or unable to move forward.
Not suitable for those with unprocessed complex trauma, dissociative disorders, or severe cognitive impairment.
Is Online Trauma Therapy Effective?
Yes. The research supports it.
UK clinical studies confirm that online trauma-informed therapies achieve equivalent outcomes to in-person delivery — with sustained benefits at 12-month follow-up.16
For those across the UK who can’t access specialist in-person support, or who find working from their own space more conducive to this kind of work, online is a genuine and evidence-backed option.
Is This Right for Me?
These approaches suit adults who:
- Have a history of trauma and are not currently in acute mental health crisis
- Are looking for body-based, nervous system-level support — with or without previous therapy experience
- Are open to working with the body, sensations, and present-moment awareness
- Want to complement, deepen, or continue work they’ve started elsewhere
These services are not a substitute for frontline mental health care. If you’re in acute distress, experiencing suicidal thoughts, or in the early stages of a mental health crisis — please contact your GP or a crisis service first.
Not sure where to start? Get in touch and our Clinic Support team will support you to find the right practitioner for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between body-based trauma therapy and talk therapy?
Talk therapy works with narrative — the story of what happened, and how you think and feel about it. Body-based approaches work with the physical layer — the nervous system patterns, sensations, and states that trauma leaves in the body. Many people find both complement each other. Others come to body-based work because talking alone hasn’t moved things far enough.
Can trauma therapy really be done online?
Yes. Research shows that online delivery of trauma-informed approaches achieves equivalent outcomes to in-person therapy for most people.16 Working from your own space can also make body-based and nervous system work feel more accessible.
What is complex trauma (C-PTSD)?
Complex PTSD develops through repeated or prolonged harm — usually in situations where a person felt unable to escape. It differs from single-event PTSD in that it tends to involve deeper patterns of emotional dysregulation, shame, and relational difficulty. Several approaches at the clinic are well-suited to supporting those with complex trauma, though careful matching with the right practitioner matters.
Do I have to revisit my trauma to heal?
Not with all approaches. TRE® and FSPM are both entirely present-focused — no need to revisit or verbalise past experiences. EFT and ACT involve some engagement with thoughts and feelings, but neither requires detailed re-telling of events.
How do I know which approach is right for me?
It depends on what you’re navigating, where you are in your healing, and how you relate to body-based work. If you’re unsure about where to start, get in touch and our Clinic Support team can point you toward the approach and practitioner most suited to your needs.
References
- American Psychological Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). APA Publishing.
- van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking.
- Felitti, V.J., et al. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258.
- Herman, J.L. (1992). Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence. Basic Books.
- Perry, B.D., & Szalavitz, M. (2006). The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog. Basic Books.
- Porges, S.W. (2022). Polyvagal Theory: Current Status, Clinical Applications, and Future Directions. Autonomic Neuroscience, 236.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2018). Post-traumatic stress disorder (NICE guideline NG116). NICE.
- Kuhfuß, M., et al. (2021). Somatic experiencing – effectiveness and key factors of a body-oriented trauma therapy: a scoping literature review. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12(1).
- Metcalf, O., et al. (2019). Body– and Movement–Oriented Interventions for PTSD: A Systematic Review and Meta–Analysis. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 32(4), 592–601.
- Metzger, I., et al. (2023). The Effect of TRE on Trauma Symptoms in East African Refugees. Open Journal of Psychiatry.
- Lauche, R., et al. (2021). Tension and trauma releasing exercises for people with multiple sclerosis – An exploratory pilot study. Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2018). PTSD — EFT research recommendation. NICE.
- Stapleton, P., et al. (2023). EFT for treating PTSD: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 14.
- Landy, L.N., et al. (2024). Effects of ACT on trauma-related symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science.
- Bisson, J., et al. (2020). The emerging role of ACT in trauma and stressor related disorders. Frontiers in Psychology.
- Turgoose, D., et al. (2018). Optimising the delivery of trauma therapies: Systematic review of internet-delivered trauma therapies. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 24(9), 609–622.
The Forbes Clinic of Integrative Medicine offers virtual-first integrative healthcare across the UK. The services described in this article are complementary and integrative in nature. They are not a substitute for frontline mental health assessment, crisis support, or conventional medical care. If you are in acute distress, please contact your GP or call a crisis line.