Trauma Renegotiation, an explanation:

Trauma Renegotiation, an explanation:

Trauma renegotiation is a process used in somatic and trauma-informed therapies to help a person reprocess and release traumatic experiences without becoming overwhelmed or retraumatized. Rather than re-living the trauma, the goal is to re-pattern the nervous system’s response to it. This concept is often associated with Somatic Experiencing (SE), a body-based approach developed by Dr. Peter Levine.

 What Trauma Renegotiation Is

• A gentle revisiting of the trauma in a safe, titrated (incremental) way.
• Not reliving the trauma, but rather changing your relationship to it.
• Allows the completion of fight/flight/freeze responses that were interrupted.
• Builds regulation and resilience in the nervous system.

How It Works (Core Elements)

Resourcing

• Establish inner or outer resources (safe people, places, memories, sensations) to create safety.

Titration

• Explore trauma bit by bit — just a small “droplet” at a time — to avoid flooding.

Pendulation

• Move attention gently between discomfort (trauma activation) and comfort (resources) to help the body discharge energy.

Completion

• Help the body complete instinctual survival responses (e.g., running, defending, crying) that were suppressed during the traumatic event.

Integration

• The client becomes more capable of staying present, feeling empowered and less controlled by the trauma memory.

Approaches That Use Trauma Renegotiation

• Somatic Experiencing (SE)
• Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
• Internal Family Systems (IFS), to some degree
• EMDR (though more structured, shares similar goals)

• NARM (Neuro Affective Relational Model)

Example (Simplified)

A car accident survivor who froze during the crash may, through renegotiation, begin to sense the impulse to move, cry, or scream — and allow those impulses in a safe setting. As they do, the trapped survival energy is released, and the traumatic memory becomes less charged.

Great. Here’s a step-by-step example of trauma renegotiation using a Somatic Experiencing approach. Let’s use a car accident as the trauma (you can substitute it for any traumatic experience).

Trauma Renegotiation — A Step-by-Step Example

Client Case: Sarah was in a car accident a year ago. She was not physically hurt, but she still feels anxious while driving and has nightmares.

1. Establish Safety & Resourcing

Therapist: “Let’s start by finding something in your body or life that feels safe or neutral right now. Can be a memory, a person, or a pet.”

Client (Sarah): “I feel calm when I think of sitting by the fireplace with my dog.”

→ This becomes her resource state — she can return to it anytime if she becomes overwhelmed.

2. Titration: Entering the Trauma Gently

Therapist: “Can you bring to mind the moment just before the accident? Don’t go to the crash yet. Just notice what comes up in your body.”

Client: “I was driving down a familiar road. I remember the sunlight. My hands on the wheel.”

→ We’re staying with a small, tolerable piece of the memory. Not diving into the full event.

3. Tracking Sensations

Therapist: “As you remember that, what do you feel in your body?”

Client: “My chest feels tight. My hands are a little cold.”

→ The therapist helps her stay with these sensations without judgment or overwhelm.

4. Pendulation: Moving Between Trauma & Resource

Therapist: “Let’s pause there and come back to the fireplace with your dog. Notice how that feels.”

Client: “Warmer. I can breathe better.”

→ We’re helping the nervous system oscillate between activation and regulation — this builds resilience.

5. Unfinished Defensive Responses

Therapist: “If your body had been able to respond in the moment of the crash, what do you think it would have wanted to do?”

Client: “I want to push the steering wheel away. I want to yell.”

→ This is the incomplete survival response. We allow it to express in a safe, symbolic way.

Therapist: “Let your arms slowly move in that pushing motion, if that feels okay.”

Client: [pushes gently] “I feel a little shaky… but also like I’m taking back control.”

6. Completion & Integration

The shaking is a sign of the nervous system discharging energy. Sarah may then feel a release, followed by calmness or tears.

Therapist: “Let’s give your body time to process that. What are you noticing now?”

Client: “My breath is deeper… I don’t feel frozen anymore.”

→ Over time, she no longer gets overwhelmed by the memory. The trauma is renegotiated.

The Result?

Sarah still remembers the accident, but she no longer gets hijacked by it. Her nervous system now registers it as a past event, not a present danger. Her symptoms (like anxiety while driving) diminish or disappear.

Shervan K Shahhian