Insights from the treatment room #4

When What’s Helpful Starts Working Against Us:
There is someone I work with who, as soon as they lie on the treatment table, begins to shake at even the smallest provocation. In this situation, it isn’t a fear response but seems to be an overused pattern to discharge. This person has been regularly practising a technique called Trauma Release Exercises (TRE), developed by Dr. David Berceli—something that they shared had been previously profoundly supportive for them.

What is TRE?
Dr. Berceli developed TRE as a way to support large groups of people after natural disasters, or those living in conflict zones where one-to-one therapy wasn’t possible. His work is based on the observation that adults often learn to suppress their natural shaking response after trauma or prolonged stress. When our fight-or-flight response is activated, chemicals such as adrenaline, norepinephrine, cortisol, and vasopressin flood the system. Berceli’s research suggests that when we inhibit the body’s instinctive trembling, these hormones are not adequately discharged from the system. TRE’s sequence of seven exercises is designed to fatigue large muscle groups so the body can access its natural shaking response and complete the cycle.

In my practice, I’ve seen spontaneous shaking arise in a few people without any induction. When this happens naturally, it can be disconcerting for people but they often describe feeling deeply rested afterward, as if they’ve set down weights they didn’t realize they had been carrying.

This particular case however, illustrates something important: even practices that support us deeply at one point in our lives can create its own limitation. In this situation, TRE had become such a familiar pathway that the body defaulted to it automatically without discrimination—almost as a reflexive rejection to throw any discomfort from the body. Instead of supporting regulation and resilience, the pattern began to override the body’s capacity to tolerate any uncomfortable experience. What once helped was now, unintentionally, constricting their growth demand.

Recognizing how valuable it is to allow the body’s natural responses after trauma, or a chronically stressful period, I found myself wondering whether in this case, a few minutes of dancing or celebrating each day could offer the system a different way of processing.

A gentle note:
This reflection is based on one isolated case and is not meant to diminish the work of Dr. Berceli or the people who may benefit from TRE. Instead, it’s a chance to stay curious about how practices evolve in our lives. Even the most effective techniques can begin to work against us if they’re overused or no longer facilitate self-mastery. When techniques are used to override us, or our ability to respond, it is time to re-evaluate. Being willing to adjust is often part of how we continue to grow and heal.