Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Therapy
Sometimes a difficult experience can bring up a reaction before you have time to make sense of what is happening. You may notice tension, a sudden jolt, feeling frozen, or an emotion that seems to arrive very quickly.
Deep Brain Reorienting, or DBR, is a trauma therapy approach that pays close attention to these early responses and slows the process down enough to notice what is happening.
In-person DBR therapy in Toronto and Thornhill • Virtual DBR therapy across Ontario
What Is Deep Brain Reorienting?
DBR was developed by psychiatrist Dr. Frank Corrigan as an approach for working with trauma and difficult experiences.
The approach pays attention to some of the earliest responses that can occur when something feels threatening or overwhelming. Rather than beginning with a detailed retelling of an experience, we may briefly bring one important moment to mind and notice what happens next.
Much of the work involves slowing down and following what you actually notice rather than trying to make a particular response happen.
A subtle shift in attention or tension that can happen as your system notices something important.
Orienting
What Are We Paying Attention to in DBR?
DBR is structured, but the session does not need to feel technical. I will guide you through what we are paying attention to and give you time to notice what is happening.
These responses can look different from person to person. You do not need to identify each part perfectly.
Shock
A brief sense of impact or disruption that may occur before the full emotional response develops.
Emotion & Response
Fear, anger, grief, an urge to move away, or another response that may emerge afterwards.
What Can a DBR Session Look Like?
A DBR session can be fairly quiet. We begin by helping you stay connected to the present before briefly bringing one part of a difficult experience to mind.
I may ask what you notice physically, whether anything changes, or what seems to happen next. There is no particular sensation or response you are expected to have.
We move slowly enough to notice what is happening without needing to retell the entire experience.
When Might DBR Be Considered?
DBR may be considered when a difficult or traumatic experience still brings up reactions that feel sudden, intense, or difficult to put into words. It may be one option when your response seems to happen before you have had time to make sense of it.
Difficult or traumatic memories
Reactions that seem to happen very quickly
Strong emotional or physical reactions to reminders
Experiences involving shock or fear
Feeling frozen or shut down around certain reminders
Experiences that are difficult to talk through in detail
Having one of these experiences does not automatically mean DBR is the right approach. We can consider what is happening and whether DBR or another therapy approach may be useful.
DBR & EMDR
How Is DBR Different From EMDR?
Both DBR and EMDR can be used when difficult past experiences continue to affect you, but they approach the work differently.
DBR
DBR pays close attention to early responses such as orienting tension and shock. The work often involves slowing down and noticing what happens as those responses unfold.
EMDR follows an eight-phase model and, during processing, uses bilateral stimulation such as guided eye movements while working with aspects of a difficult experience.
EMDR
Neither approach is automatically a better fit. Which one we use can depend on what you are experiencing, what feels manageable, and what seems most useful for the work we are doing.