What Is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic therapy is a form of body-centered therapy that explores the connection between the mind and body to aid in healing. It focuses on how the body expresses deeply painful or distressful experiences and uses mind-body techniques to help individuals recover from trauma and other emotional issues, such as grief or attachment ruptures.
Unlike traditional talk therapies, which primarily engage the mind, somatic therapy starts with the body. Practitioners use various physical techniques, such as mind-body exercises, movement, and mindfulness, to release pent-up tension and address the physical manifestations of stress and trauma. This approach can help alleviate conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, and self-esteem/self-worth challenges.
Somatic therapy proposes that our body holds and expresses experiences and emotions, and that traumatic events or unresolved emotional issues can become “trapped” inside. By focusing on the body, somatic therapy aims to drain these emotions of their power, relieve the body of unwanted symptoms, and encourage healing without the need to understand “why”.
Why Trauma Lives in the Body
Trauma can have a profound impact on the body, and this is often referred to as “somatic memory” or “body memory.” When a person experiences a traumatic event, the body’s stress response is activated, releasing hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones prepare the body to either fight, flee, or freeze in response to the threat. While this response is crucial for survival, it can also lead to long-lasting changes in the body.
Here are a few reasons why trauma can live in the body
- Nervous System Activation: Trauma can cause the nervous system to remain in a heightened state of alertness, even long after the event has passed. This can lead to symptoms such as hypervigilance, anxiety, insomnia, and difficulty relaxing.
- Muscle Tension: During a traumatic event, muscles may tense up as part of the body’s protective response. This tension can become chronic, leading to pain and discomfort.
- Memory Storage: The brain stores memories of traumatic events differently than non-traumatic ones. These memories can be fragmented and stored in the body as physical sensations, such as pain or tension.
- Emotional Expression: Emotions related to trauma, such as fear, anger, or sadness, can manifest physically. For example, someone might experience a headache, tight chest or stomach pain when recalling a traumatic event.
- Immune System Impact: Chronic stress from unresolved trauma can weaken the immune system, making the body more susceptible to illness and vulnerabilities.
Techniques Used in Somatic Therapy
Some tools and techniques of somatic therapy include body scans, breathwork and mindfulness, grounding, pendulation and titration of sensations, Yoga Nidra guided meditation, and completing a physical response or movement that was not allowed during the distressful event.
Body scans are a mindfulness practice that involves paying close attention to the sensations in different parts of your body, usually in a systematic way from head to toe or vice versa. The goal is to develop greater awareness of your physical state and to help you connect with the present moment, often including breathwork and awareness.
Grounding can help relieve dissociation and bring the person back to the present moment, and pendulation and titration are concepts used in somatic experiencing, a therapeutic approach developed by Dr. Peter Levine to help individuals process and heal from trauma. These techniques are designed to gently guide the body and mind through the process of releasing stored trauma without overwhelming the individual.
Yoga Nidra is a tool that guides individuals into a state of deep relaxation and conscious awareness, allowing them to access the subconscious mind and promote healing and stress relief
Benefits of Somatic Therapy
- Release of stored trauma
- Reduced anxiety
- Restore balance
- Greater body awareness
- Emotional regulation
- No need to know the “why” or the “root” of the distress
Who Can Benefit from Somatic Therapy?
Individuals of all ages who have trauma, chronic stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, or difficulty feeling safe in their bodies, as well as anyone interested in creating a stronger mind-body connection and improving their health.
Combining Somatic Therapy with Other Approaches
Somatic therapy can be a valuable addition to a therapeutic plan, providing a holistic and integrative approach to healing. It can complement and work alongside other types of therapy, such as EMDR, IFS, CBT, and traditional talk therapy, by addressing the physical and emotional aspects of trauma and stress that may not be fully explored in traditional talk therapies.
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