Support for a neurobiological view of trauma with implications for art therapy

Three lines of research support the concept that trauma is primarily a nonverbal problem: (a) evolutionary survival responses; (b) brain imagery studies of human responses to trauma cues; and (c) the relation of alexithymia to posttraumatic dissociation. Based on these research findings the authors offer a neurobiological view of psychological trauma that points the way to use art therapy as a primary means of treating posttraumatic symptoms.