The Catalysts of Healing

Mechanisms of Action in Trauma Treatment

We’ve explored how Memory Reconsolidation (MR) allows our brains to update and heal from past traumas. But what actually triggers this profound process? The answer lies in what are known as Mechanisms of Action (MoA). Broadly defined, an MoA is any form of stimulation or catalyst that influences our memory system, consciousness, or present state of awareness, thereby enabling shifts in mind states to occur. These MoA are the engines driving various trauma resolution therapies.

Let’s look at how MoA manifest in established trauma therapies:

• In EMDR Therapy: the primary MoA is Dual Attention Stimulus (DAS) or Bilateral Stimulation (BLS). This typically involves alternating eye movements, auditory tones, or tactile sensations.
• Brainspotting (BSP): utilizes the MoA of visually orienting towards a reflexive cue or “spot” while maintaining focused mindfulness and attention.
• Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR): focusing on the oriention process (tension in the body) while exploring the experience with mindful attention.

A compelling argument within the field is the universality of MoA, suggesting they are inherent to the human experience and mimic natural life processes. This perspective implies that many everyday activities can function as MoA, potentially facilitating spontaneous healing. Consider walking or running, which involve bilateral stimulation akin to EMDR; playing musical instruments; engaging in conversation; listening to background music or noise; mindfully gazing out a window; creating art; drumming; or even the act of reading, which involves eye movements. Even silence, when consciously attended to, can act as an MoA. The crucial element is that if a state of conscious or unconscious focused attention is achieved, individuals can intentionally or unintentionally engage in their own healing processes. Therapy, in this view, essentially mimics the natural passage of time and the experience of cause and effect, where present experiences are felt in contrast to past ones, constantly making MR available if one is willing to activate disturbed or conflicting feelings.

When an MoA is present and actively stimulating a shift in consciousness, it creates an altered state of consciousness (ASC) and, crucially, a dual attention state of awareness. This dual attention, characterized by being “here and not here at the same time”, generates the necessary contrast between “what is believed” and “what is”. This contrast is precisely what allows for memory resolution or reconsolidation to occur. The interplay between conscious attention (mind) and unconscious attention (body) is the generative force behind this resolution.

There’s a scholarly debate regarding the precise function of MoA. One perspective suggests that MoA “taxes” the working memory system, causing it to “let go” of the traumatic memory. Another view posits that MoA facilitates a grounding mechanism, enabling individuals to safely witness and feel stuck emotions that were encapsulated at the time of the trauma. O’Brien (2023b) suggests that both perspectives hold truth, as both are predicated on dissociative responses. For instance, “distraction” can be seen as an avoidance tactic rooted in dissociative processes, while “taxation” of working memory can produce a dissociative stress response or altered awareness. However, clinical experience suggests that conscious “letting go” is less common than an unconscious recognition of new learning, leaning towards the grounding mechanism as more accurate.

Beyond specific techniques, the therapeutic alliance and dual attunement with the practitioner are considered fundamental and traditional MoA, present in healing practices since the dawn of humankind. In this context, the practitioner acts as a grounding agent, enabling the client to witness their own MR process. Psychedelics, as a distinct MoA, offer a unique pathway by providing a “ride to the unconscious” when conscious access is limited, or by bringing unconscious material directly into conscious awareness.

The extensive list of “everyday” activities that function as MoA implies that humans are constantly engaging in self-healing processes, often unconsciously. This perspective reframes healing as an ongoing, inherent aspect of human experience, not solely confined to formal therapeutic interventions. However, there is a dissociative effect. If these common activities naturally facilitate the core mechanism of trauma resolution (e.g, mindful dissociation (dual attention states and recovery intention)), then it suggests that humans are inherently equipped for and constantly engaging in self-healing and that the type of dissociation is a key to resolution outcomes (O’Brien, 2023a). A study showed that 6 years after a tsunami a community was found to still have active PTSD symptoms (as cited in O’Brien, 2023a), but the shared lost and rebuilding had brought the communities closer than before so thriving was the outcome. However, healing did not happen because the symptoms were still present; therefore, unless one is able to say that they can look back at memories without a negative charge today, then psychological healing has not happened, to the degree that one might expect for someone being functional. This understanding challenges the medicalization of distress and healing, indicating that many “coping mechanisms” or even leisure activities might be unconscious attempts at memory reconsolidation. Where dissociative logic gets interesting is when reenactments are the seat of consciousness trying to resolve their traumas by “unconsciously” performing memory reconsolidation (O’Brien, 2023b), suggesting that there is a consciousness to the unconscious (e.g., the body that keeps the score and the one that knows the score are different). It also suggests that fostering environments and practices that encourage these natural MoA could be a widespread public health strategy for resilience and well-being, extending beyond formal therapy.

In our next post, we’ll delve into the fascinating neurobiology of psychedelics themselves, exploring how these ancient compounds interact with our modern brains to facilitate such profound shifts.

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References

O’Brien, A. (2023a). Addiction as Trauma-Related Dissociation: A Phenomenological Investigation of the Addictive State. International University of Graduate Studies. (Dissertation). Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/

O’Brien, A. (2023b). Memory Reconsolidation in Psychedelics Therapy. In Path of the Wounded Healer: A Dissociative-Focused Phase Model for Normative and Pathological States of Consciousness: Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/courses/addiction-as-dissociation-model-course/

O’Brien, A. (2023c). Path of the Wounded Healer: A Dissociative-Focused Phase Model for Normative and Pathological States of Consciousness: Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/

O’Brien, A. (2024a). Healer and Healing: The re-education of the healer and healing professions as an advocation. Re-educational and Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/

O’Brien, A. (2024e). Path of the Wounded Healers for Thrivers: Perfectionism, Altruism, and Ambition Addictions; Re-education and training manual for Abusers, Activists, Batterers, Bullies, Enablers, Killers, Narcissists, Offenders, Parents, Perpetrators, and Warriors. Re-Education and Training Manual and Guide. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/

O’Brien, A. (2025). American Made Addiction Recovery: a healer’s journey through professional recovery. Albany, NY: Wounded Healers Institute. Retrieved at woundedhealersinstitute.org/