The Mind-Body Connection:Therapeutic Massage and Mental HealthKaren M. Lane, LMT

April 24,2015

NAMI Wisconsin Annual Conference Marriott West Middleton, WI

What is Therapeutic Massage

Therapeutic massage is a general term that describes any type of massage modality that helps relieve pain, reduce stress, and work on a specific problem

The manual manipulation of soft tissues including skin, muscles, ligaments, and tendons.

The Science

While many benefits of massage are still disconcertingly uncertain and hotly debated (by some), there are two truly proven ones. Massage researcher and psychologist Dr. Christopher explains that the only truly confirmed benefits of massage are its effects on mood and sleep.

The Science

massage reduces depression

massage reduces anxiety

Improves sleep

Reduces blood pressure

Decreases cortisol

Increases serotonin and dopamine

Increases oxytocin (the trust hormone)

Massage and Reducing Trauma Responses

http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Cortisol_Decreases_and_Serotonin_and_Dopamine_Increase_Following_Massage_Therapy.pdf

The release of oxytocin into the blood steam is thought to have important effects, both psychological and physiological. Some results from recent studies, include:

Autism – Children with autism have been found to have significantly lower levels of oxytocin, as well as hyperactivity in the amagdyla where most oxytocin receptors are located. Studies on individuals with autism have shown a reduction in repetitive behaviors when oxytocin was introduced intravenously.

Massage and Reducing Trauma Responses

Increasing Trust – Human subjects given oxytocin via a nasal spray, displayed a higher level of trust – twice as often as the control group. In one study, small doses of inhaled oxytocin reduced the wariness of strangers in volunteers, while another appeared to make them more empathetic and generous with their money.

Reducing Anxiety – Clinical trials using oxytocin sprays have been shown to reduce anxiety and ease symptoms of shyness. It seems to reduce timidity and may help to increase confidence, leading to improved healthy social interaction.

Somatic Therapy

the study of the mind/body interface, the relationship between our physical matter and our energy, the interaction of our body structures with our thoughts and actions.

The primary relationship addressed in somatic psychology is the person's relation to and empathy with their own felt body.[ It is based on a belief, from the principles of vitalism, bringing sufficient awareness will cause healing.

Somatic Therapy

There is increasing use of body-oriented therapeutic techniques within mainstream psychology (like EMDR, EFT, and Mindfulness practice) and psychoanalysis has recognized the use of somatic resonance, embodied trauma, and similar concepts, for many years.

Somatic Theory of Trauma

Physiological changes (e.g., muscle tone, heart rate, endocrine release, posture, facial expression, etc.) occur in the body and are relayed to the brain where they are transformed into an emotion that tells the individual something about the stimulus that they have encountered. Over time, emotions and their corresponding bodily change(s) become associated with particular situations and their past outcomes.

When making decisions in the future, these physiological signals (or ‘somatic markers’) and its evoked emotion are consciously or unconsciously associated with their past outcomes and bias decision-making towards certain behaviors while avoiding others. For instance, when a somatic marker associated with a positive outcome is perceived, the person may feel happy and motivate the individual to pursue that behavior. When a somatic marker associated with the negative outcome is perceived, the person may feel sad and act as an internal alarm to warn the individual to avoid a course of action. These situation-specific somatic states based on, and reinforced by, past experiences help to guide behavior in favor of more advantageous choices and therefore are adaptive.

Douglas Robinson

In 2005 Robinson began writing a series of books exploring somatic theory in different communicative contexts: modernist/formalist theories of estrangement

Focus of refugee populations

Focus on colonization (historical trauma)

Focus on intergenerational trauma

Somatic Theory

In Robinson's articulation, somatic theory has four main planks:

the stabilization of social constructions through somatic markers

the interpersonal sharing of such stabilizations through the mimetic somatic transfer

the regulatory (ideosomatic) circulation or reticulation of such somatomimeses through an entire group in the somatic exchange

the "klugey" nature of social regulation through the somatic exchange, leading to various idiosomatic failures and refusals to be fully regulated

In addition, he has added concepts along the way: the proprioception of the body politic as a homeostatic balancing between too much familiarity and too much strangeness

Somatic markers are associations between reinforcing stimuli that induce an associated physiological affective state. Within the brain, somatic markers are thought to be processed in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex

So What Does that Mean?

In plain language- one does not need an external stimulation to illicit a trauma response. The body remembers or as Bessel van der Kolk describes, “the body keeps the score.”

Trauma specific therapy must incorporate the person’s felt sense of the body to fully address the trauma injury as trauma is a whole body experience, not just the frontal cortex experience or interpretation of the event(s).

Somatic Markers AKA Trauma Response

Bessel van der Kolk- “The Body Keeps the Scrore”

Peter Levine- “Waking the Tiger” Somatic Experiencing Institute. Trauma is worked through not only by talk therapy, but without somatic experiencing; healing is incomplete.

Trauma Touch Therapy- Christine Smith. Began exploring the use of massage to treat psychological trauma-related releases she noted when working with clients. Works with the body’s felt sense to address trauma.

Closing Thoughts on the Mind-Body Connection

Oxytocin, the “bonding chemical” is released. This helps create a trusting therapeutic bond without words. Trust can be established by safe touch

Restores the body’s felt sense

Release of serotonin which helps with depression

Reduces stress and lowers blood pressure and blood sugar (always ask the client if they have recently taking injectable insulin!)

Massage can be incorporated into any mental health treatment plan.

Thank you!

Karen Lane, LMT can be reached at:

The Massage Garage

15 West Bracklin Street

Rice Lake, WI 54868

comfrey2001@yahoo.com

715-312-0050