Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is a gentle, neuroscience-based trauma therapy offered at AG Counseling in Creve Coeur, Missouri. It helps clients resolve posttraumatic stress, attachment wounds, betrayal trauma, and dissociation by guiding awareness through the brain’s natural orienting, alarm, and defensive sequences. DBR allows the body to complete responses that were frozen at the time of trauma—without overwhelm or re-traumatization.  

 DBR was developed by psychiatrist Frank Corrigan, MD, as a bottom-up approach to trauma processing. It focuses on the very first milliseconds of a threat response—the orienting reflex—and tracks the natural order of brainstem activity: orienting, alarm, defensive affect, and seeking or attachment turn. By guiding clients to follow these impulses in order, DBR allows shock and defensive emotions to release from the body, supporting regulation and relief.  

When the brain perceives danger, deep brain regions like the superior colliculus and periaqueductal gray react instantly. Tiny muscular tensions may appear around the eyes, forehead, or neck as the orienting system turns toward the source of threat. A split second later, the midbrain’s alarm network triggers defensive states such as fear, bracing, or freezing. DBR works by helping clients locate and stay with the small orienting anchor in their body—often a pinpoint area of tension—while allowing the next body impulse to unfold naturally. This sequence mirrors the brain’s innate order of healing and leads to spontaneous calm and reconnection. 

In a DBR session, we begin by identifying a focus—either a recent trigger or a memory that feels charged. Clients are guided to notice a small orienting tension (for example, behind the eyes or in the neck) and to stay connected to it while observing the next internal shift. As the process unfolds, the nervous system may move through sensations of alarm, emotion, or body shock such as chills, tightness, or trembling. When these survival responses complete, a natural sense of seeking or connection often arises—what DBR calls the attachment turn. Sessions typically end with feelings of grounding and relief.

 DBR is well suited for individuals who have experienced developmental trauma, attachment ruptures, betrayal trauma, or chronic PTSD. It has shown promising outcomes in the first randomized controlled trial, where eight video-based sessions significantly reduced PTSD symptoms compared to waitlist controls, with improvements maintained at three-month follow-up. DBR can also help with dissociation, freeze responses, and somatic distress linked to early trauma or relational wounds.  

Unlike top-down therapies that rely heavily on cognition, DBR accesses the body’s deepest layers of memory before language. This allows trauma to resolve at the level where it first registered—the brainstem and autonomic nervous system. By following the body’s exact sequence of orienting to threat, activating alarm, and resolving defensive states, DBR minimizes overwhelm and supports deep integration. 

From a neuroanatomical perspective, DBR follows an identifiable sequence through subcortical systems:
• The superior colliculus initiates orienting and head/eye movement.
• The periaqueductal gray (PAG) signals alarm and coordinates defensive responses.
• Brainstem pathways activate fear and anger circuitry, often perceived as shock sensations.
• Once defense completes, the ventral vagal and social engagement systems mediate the 

   return to connection.
Clinically, this means DBR helps the client’s body complete unfinished survival responses and restore attachment safety. 

 While EMDR and somatic approaches also integrate body and memory, DBR differs in its precision and pacing. It does not use bilateral stimulation or scripted sets. Instead, the therapist helps the client maintain contact with the body’s innate orienting signal and track micro-changes at the level of the brainstem. This direct access to the body’s implicit sequence makes DBR especially effective for clients who become overwhelmed in cognitive or exposure-based therapies.  

• OK so now I don't get so reactive in these types of situations anymore.
• I can feel more compassion towards myself
• I can't believe I had that much shock in my body.
• My body now identifies that it wasn't my fault.

• Does DBR work online? Yes. The first randomized controlled trial of online DBR demonstrated significant reductions in PTSD symptoms and low dropout rates. 

• How many sessions are typical? Treatment varies, but many clients notice meaningful relief after several sessions. DBR is usually integrated with other modalities such as EMDR or IFS. 

• Is DBR re-traumatizing? No. DBR reduces overwhelm by anchoring attention to small body sensations and proceeding slowly, at the nervous system’s natural pace. 

AG Counseling integrates DBR with other modalities like EMDR, attachment-based work, and polyvagal-informed therapy to support recovery and healing. Our Creve Coeur location serves clients throughout the St. Louis and Olivette areas. Contact AG Counseling to learn how DBR can support your healing journey.