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Somatic Experiencing Treatment With Tsunami Survivors in Thailand: Broadening the Scope of Early Intervention

Foundation for Human Enrichment, Niwot, Colorado, l.leitch{at}comcast.net

This exploratory study examines the treatment effects of brief (1 to 2 sessions) Somatic Experiencing with 53 adult and child survivors of the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Somatic Experiencing's early-intervention model, now called Trauma First Aide, was provided 1 month after the tsunami. Survivor assessments were done pretreatment, immediately posttreatment, 3 to 5 days posttreatment, and at the 1-year follow-up. Results indicate that immediately following treatment, 67% of participants had partial to complete improvement in reported symptoms and 95% had complete or partial improvement in observed symptoms. At the 1-year follow-up, 90% of participants had complete or partial improvement in reported symptoms, and 96% had complete or partial improvement in initially observed symptoms. Given the small sample size and lack of an equivalent comparison group, results must be interpreted with caution. Nonetheless, the results suggest that integrative mind—body interventions have promise in disaster treatment.

Key Words: mind—body psychotherapy • disaster • tsunami • cross-cultural research • Somatic Experiencing • Trauma First Aide • integrative treatment • brief treatment

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				C. Parker, R. M. Doctor, and R. Selvam Somatic Therapy Treatment Effects With Tsunami Survivors Traumatology, September 1, 2008; 14(3): 103 - 109. [Abstract] [PDF]