Somatic Therapy
What is Somatic Therapy?
Scientific research has proven, as humans, we store memories, experiences and emotions on a cellular level. Which means, it’s not all in your head, rather in your body too as it “keeps the score.” Therefore, Somatic Therapy is a body-based therapeutic approach that engages body awareness as a powerful tool and intervention for change, to help you heal on a cellular level.
“Somatic” coming from the word SOMA meaning the body in its wholeness experienced from within.
Heart palpitations while sitting on the couch watching a movie? You might have experienced or know someone whos noticed a feelings of body anxiety even in the absence of anxious thoughts. It’s also why you may find yourself not feeling very safe in your own skin in certain occasions, times of year or in certain environments, even if there is no logical reason. Often, our body is reminded of something even when your mind does not, and is sending an alert, a pause, or even a danger signal.
Initially, somatic therapies were created to help trauma survivors finally experience relief from their trauma symptoms such as flashbacks, difficulty sleeping, dysregulated eating patterns and chaotic relationships and lifestyles. However, over the last number of years, somatic therapy has been effective in helping individuals who struggle with all kinds of stressors and has been effective in helping them finally experience relief, hope, and enjoyment.
Accessing the root of the issue with an integrative approach to Healing
Therapies which focus on talking, learning skills or solely rely on the psychodynamic relationship without somatic, mindbody awareness or trauma interventions can be helpful up until a certain point. Then it can become re-traumatizing repeating the story over and over again.
You may sense that you are doing all the right things, going to therapy, ready all the books, but somehow you aren’t feeling relief, instead theres stuckness. Your distress is carved in your body, not in your mind.
In certain instances, the brain and body have been wired based on experiences, leaving the body with unconscious, deeply-rooted beliefs that are not accessible by cognitive approaches such as “I am not enough”, “I’m alone”, or “I won’t ever heal”, many times, the person may not even be aware of the beliefs they carry until confronted with a struggle related to it.
My teacher Dr. Peter Levine, founder of Somatic Experiencing and Dr. Pat Ogden, founder of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy have researched, introduced, and trained an integrative whole-body approach to therapy, to help clients access the somatic beliefs and release experiences that have been held in the body. These approaches have helped clients experience long term relief.
Helpful Somatic Tools
Somatic approaches are used to engage the relationship between an individuals mind, body, and behavior. Somatically trained practitioners use tools to help calm their clients’ nervous system, and create more ease and regulation for the healing process. Below you will find some key concepts used in somatic therapy sessions and read more about each here:
Somatic Awareness
Resourcing
Grounding
Felt Sense Language
Movement
Co-Regulation & Self Regulation
Titration & Pendulation
Boundary Setting
