From Somatic Experiencing to felt safety: assessing the effects of a body-oriented intervention in adults with various degrees of child maltreatment.

Résumé

Child maltreatment (CM), i.e. neglect and abuse of children by their caregivers, has been linked to reduced psychological safety and a sense of disrupted body boundaries (DBB), both of which have been proposed to impair social functioning. However, evidence-based interventions to increase psychological safety and to reduce DBB are lacking. We conducted two experiments across two separate studies. Study I examined the effect of a brief (60-minute) body-oriented intervention, derived from Somatic Experiencing (SE), on psychological safety. Study II investigated the effect of the same intervention on DBB. In both studies, adults with varying levels of CM exposure, based on total self-report scores across subtypes, were randomized to an SE group or to a psychoeducation control group. Study I included participants with a lack of psychological safety ( = 89); Study II included participants with DBB ( = 55). In Study I, compared to controls, the SE group showed an increase in psychological safety ( = -.95,