Body-oriented therapy in sexual abuse recovery: A pilot-test comparison

SummaryThe purpose of this study was to examine the effects of body-oriented therapy, as an adjunct to psychotherapy, for women in recovery from childhood sexual abuse. A two-group randomized design was employed. Eight women were recruited from a community sample and randomly assigned to an experimental group or wait-list control group. The experimental condition involved eight 1-h weekly sessions of body-oriented therapy, a combination of bodywork and the emotional processing of psychotherapy. The study examined changes in somatic and psychological symptoms, and the subjective experience of the intervention using a mixed method approach. Methods included interview, written questionnaire, and self-report outcome measures of psychological symptoms, dissociation, post-traumatic stress, and physical symptoms. Pre–post comparison of the two groups revealed remarkable decreases on SCL-90 global score, PTSD, number and severity of physical symptoms, and a trend toward decreased dissociation for the experimental compared to the control group. Qualitative results revealed the positive impact of body-oriented therapy on sense of inner security and psychotherapeutic progress.