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Home Therapeutic Approach Somatic Psychotherapy
Somatic Psychotherapy
Somatic (body) Psychotherapy
Integrative Mind/Body Psychotherapy

In traditional psychotherapy, cognitive and emotional elements are talked about, but the physical sensations – the physiological elements – are often neglected.  Trauma has a physiological effect on the body.  Many symptoms of trauma are somatically based, as I wrote about above, under Trauma.  Somatic or Mind/Body psychotherapy is probably the most important piece of trauma work.

There are many techniques that are used in therapy to heal trauma, and in all of them, a good therapist is careful to not  re-traumatize the client.  Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (physical sensations and movements such as motor impulses, muscular tension, trembling, changes in posture, breathing, etc) is one such technique.  In Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, unassimilated sensorimotor reactions to trauma are processed, but on a body level, not just on a cognitive or emotional level.  It is important that the therapist is able to bring the client’s awareness to their body and what they are feeling, because this also helps the client begin to have self-awareness and to learn to self-regulate their feelings, which leads to greater self-confidence and the ability to separate the past from the present and realize that the trauma was then, and this is now, and they are safe. By being aware of the feelings in your body, you can be aware of where triggers are coming from so you can learn what – and who – to avoid, and how to respond, rather that to react. By being aware of what is happening in your body, you can make connections between your mind and your body; recognize what is old, what is real, what is dangerous and what is safe.  You can move out of the fear into the present. Many people ask me if I practice Somatic Experiencing, as it has become a much popularized technique.  “Somatic Experiencing” is a term that was coined by Peter Levin in 1997, and is one of many techniques that tracks how the body processes physical sensation related to trauma.  The idea with Somatic Experiencing is that the person did not get an opportunity to fully “discharge” the trauma during the original episode, and by doing Somatic Experiencing, one can allow the body to “discharge” the trauma without having to relive the trauma or be re-traumatized.  I am not trained specifically in Somatic Experiencing, but I do work with somatic, or mind/body psychotherapy.

Other reasons it is important to be aware of your body is for your health.  If we take all of our stress and negative emotions, and deny them and just shove them somewhere, they don’t just go away – they go somewhere. That “somewhere” is usually our gut, or our head or our muscles, and that leads to chronic physical conditions, like irritable bowel syndrome, headaches, backaches, etc.  By being aware of what your feelings are, where you feel them and what happened that triggered the feeling, you will lead a happier, healthier life.