Author(s)

Jan Parker¹, Brenda Shook², Demaris Washington³, Barbara English⁴, Charles Tatum⁵

¹Department of Counseling and Social Work, National University, San Diego, USA.
²Department of Social Sciences and Psychology, National University, Sacramento, USA.
³Department of Counseling and Social Work, National University, Los Angeles, USA.
⁴Living Ubuntu, Costa Mesa, USA.
⁵The Department of Psychology and Social Sciences, National University, San Diego, USA.

Evidence-based studies utilizing body-oriented techniques with traumatized populations are virtually absent in the literature. In this study, we report the effects of Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) on trauma-related symptoms in a community sample of East African refugees resettled in the United States. The Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) was used to assess symptom severity prior to and after eight weeks of performing the TRE. Results showed a reduction in symptom severity for 36 out of 40 HTQ items, and a significant reduction in overall average symptom severity for the treatment group relative to a delayed treatment control. Statistical analyses of these items showed that for the treatment group, but not the controls, there was a significant reduction in symptom severity as well as the number of symptoms. It was concluded that TRE is an effective means of improving the trauma-related symptoms in East African refugees.

Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises, Trauma-Related Symptoms, Bioenergetic Analysis, Somatic Psychotherapy, PTSD, Trauma and Stress-or-Related Disorders

Parker, J. , Shook, B. , Washington, D. , English, B. and Tatum, C. (2024) The Effect of Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) on Trauma Symptoms in East African Refugees. Psychology, 15, 77-91. doi: 10.4236/psych.2024.151006.