The Body Can Change the Score: Empirical Support for Somatic Regulation in the Treatment of Traumatized Adolescents

Traumatized adolescents have pervasive problems with self-regulation and often have difficulties in languagebased treatment models. This paper provides preliminary empirical support for the efficacy of Sensory Motor Arousal Regulation Treatment (SMART), a treatment model which targets somatic regulation as an avenue to behavioral and emotional regulation. A case vignette illustrates the intervention model. Outcomes are presented from a quasiexperimental pilot study employing a matched control design comparing the additive benefit of SMART intervention to treatment as usual (TAU) in two adolescent residential treatment sites, with a polyvictimized sample. There were significant reductions in domains targeted by SMART: Internalizing symptoms on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and the Somatic Complaints and Anxious/Depressed subscales. In secondary analyses, a trend approaching significance was found on the Overarousal subscale of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder-Reaction Index (PTSD-RI). This pilot study suggests the contribution somatic regulation can make to stabilization and skills building in complex trauma treatment for adolescents.