U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

Self-Defense Training as Clinical Intervention for Survivors of Trauma

NCJ Number
247833
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 20 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2014 Pages: 293-308
Author(s)
Gianine D. Rosenblum; Lynn S. Taska
Date Published
March 2014
Length
16 pages
Annotation

A well-designed self-defense curriculum, congruent with psychophysiologically informed trauma research and treatment, and integrated with input from therapists, can serve as an important adjunctive treatment. We provide a detailed description of such a program modified to be an experiential, psychoeducational intervention for female survivors of trauma. Recent research on the role of blocked motor responses in the development of pathology post-trauma is explored as a potential explanatory mechanism for the therapeutic benefits of self-defense training. Through specific examples and descriptions of teaching methods, we examine how this intervention compliments and augments traditional psychotherapeutic treatment of trauma sequelae.

Abstract

A well-designed self-defense curriculum, congruent with psychophysiologically informed trauma research and treatment, and integrated with input from therapists, can serve as an important adjunctive treatment. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage.