Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Therapy
Healing from the Inside Out
Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is a neuroscience-informed, body-based therapy that gently helps you resolve pain held deep in the nervous system — especially the kind rooted in shock, disconnection, and early relational trauma.
DBR offers a way to finally soften those protective patterns that kept you safe in the past, but feel limiting now.
What Is Deep Brain Reorienting?
Developed by psychiatrist Dr. Frank Corrigan, DBR is designed to support healing by following the brain’s natural order of processing distress — starting in the deep brain, where automatic survival responses like shock and bracing first occur.
These early responses often don’t involve memory or language. Instead, they show up as patterns:
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Shutting down or going numb in conflict
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Overreacting to small things without knowing why
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Feeling emotionally flat, foggy, or overwhelmed
DBR helps you process those internal signals before the emotional overwhelm takes over — making healing possible, without retraumatization.
GROUNDING IN THE "WHERE SELF"
We begin with a unique form of grounding — helping you notice where your body is in the present moment, not just what’s around you.
How DBR Works
TRACKING ORIENTING TENSION
As you turn your attention to a moment previously identified as just preceding the shock of an upsetting experience, your therapist will help you notice subtle tension in specific muscles of your head. This is called orienting tension and it provides an anchor for the work that follows.
CLEARING SHOCK, FEELING EMOTION
Staying with this orienting tension — without rushing — allows your body to slowly process shock. This is the freeze or overwhelm that often occurs before emotion even arrives. When this clears, emotions like fear, sadness, grief, or anger can come forward gently and safely.
Your therapist is right there with you throughout — creating a calm, supportive space for whatever arises.
What DBR Can Help With
Shutting down in stressful moments
Feeling anxious "for no reason”
Persistent tension or internal bracing
Emotional numbness or fogginess
Unprocessed grief, abandonment, or trauma
Relational patterns that feel confusing
Interested in Learning More?
Book an exploratory consultation or call us for more information about Deep Brain Reorienting at Arbor Cove Therapy, LLC. You can also learn more about Deep Brain Reorienting online.