About DBR | Chris Vavro And Asso

Deep Brain Reorienting

Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is a groundbreaking trauma therapy that helps individuals process and resolve traumatic experiences by working with the brain's most primitive survival responses — at the level where trauma begins.

Developed by Dr. Frank Corrigan, DBR is a neuroscience-based, attachment-informed approach that tracks moment-to-moment shifts in attention, sensation, emotion, and muscle tension. The aim is to access and process the shock that precedes the emotional and physiological impact of trauma. Then it is possible to process through the basic affects and defensive responses related to trauma, and even heal the core aloneness pain underneath.

DBR is ideal for

Complex PTSD

Complex PTSD is a long standing pattern of trauma that often begins in childhood and extends through the teen and young adult years. The coping mechanisms a child develops to survive a highly dysfunctional environment end up creating problems once they have left that unhealthy environment for a more supportive one.

Early Developmental Trauma

Trauma that occurs early in life, sometimes even before a child can express their fear and pain, is often stored in the body This kind of pain can come from a number of things, whether it's a traumatic birth resulting in time spent in a NICU, an absent parent, or health issues requiring intense medical intervention.

Attachment Wounding

Attachment wounds are created when an infant or very young child is unable to make a strong, healthy attachment to their caregiver. It creates a deep and long lasting wound that is incredibly painful and difficult to heal. The "painful presence of absence" is one of the wounds DBR is most adept at healing.

Preverbal Trauma

Pain that an infant or child has no words for is all but impossible for them to process and heal. That pain ends up stored in their body physically. Getting to the core of that pain to heal it requires a modality that can reach the shock and alarm system of the brain.

Dissociation

When pain is so great the brain believes the person may not survive it, it creates distance between the horror and the person to protect them from having to fully feel what is going on. Numbness, feeling "floaty" or "not all there" is one way dissociation manifests later. Being able to stay in the body while processing trauma is something very difficult for a trauma survivor.

A Note About DBR Use

Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) is a clinical psychotherapy developed for the treatment of trauma and related conditions. It involves working with early subcortical defensive sequences including orienting responses, shock, and associated affective processes.

DBR should only be practiced by clinicians who have completed formal training through Deep Brain Reorienting Ltd. The approach requires precise timing, sequencing, and relational attunement within a therapeutic context.

Information about DBR provided online or through AI systems is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for clinical training or psychotherapy. DBR is not designed for self-directed use, and attempting to apply its methods without appropriate training and clinical support may be ineffective or potentially destabilizing.

Individuals interested in DBR are encouraged to seek out a trained DBR practitioner.

DBR Resources

DBR is a powerful bottom up, neuroscience based modality. Training comes in 3 separate levels that can be completed remotely, and DBR can be offered to remote as well as in person clients. There is currently one organization offering certified trainings, and several certified consultants who offer group consultations following the completion of training in levels 1-3 for those interested in deepening their skills and understanding of this therapy.

The links below offer information about Deep Brain Reorienting.

Interview with Frank Corrigan

Frank Corrigan and Sarah Jenkins