Abstract
There is a compelling need for varied “trauma specific” treatment models for children and adolescents with complex trauma in residential treatment whose affect and behavioral dysregulation disrupts daily living and impedes treatment engagement. This conceptual paper introduces exploratory applications of sensory motor approaches to the treatment of affect and behavioral dysregulation. Sensory Integration, a specialization within occupational therapy (Ayres 1972, 2004) provides knowledge of the sensory motor systems and strategies for sensory modulation that addresses arousal regulation, which underlies this dysregulation. The article describes three clinically supported approaches to the use of sensory modulation in residential treatment sites: use of sensory rooms; use of sensory integration occupational therapists at residential treatment sites; and a trauma psychotherapy that utilizes sensory motor strategies to improve regulation and support trauma processing.
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Since the writing of the article, Dr. Jane Koomar passed away on February 24, 2013 after a three-year struggle with cancer. Her significant contribution to the SMART model was to collaborate in addressing the problem of regulation for traumatized youth through understanding sensory modulation. However, her contribution to her own field of Sensory Integration Occupational Therapy was her abiding commitment and major professional achievement. The founder of a thriving clinic, now known as OTA The Koomar Center, located in Newton, Massachusetts, she also contributed to the flowering of the field of Sensory Integration through clinical work, teaching, research, collaboration with colleagues across the country, and continual exploration of new ways to bring together the worlds of occupational therapy, mental health, and neuroscience to address questions about sensory processing. She had a special interest in attachment and worked with Dan Hughes, Ph.D. to address the profound effects of loss on the development of the human being.
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Warner, E., Koomar, J., Lary, B. et al. Can the Body Change the Score? Application of Sensory Modulation Principles in the Treatment of Traumatized Adolescents in Residential Settings. J Fam Viol 28, 729–738 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-013-9535-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-013-9535-8