Somatic Therapy

What is Somatic Therapy?

You may have heard the term “somatic therapy” and wonder if it might be helpful for you.

Somatic therapy is body-centered psychotherapy. The root “soma” means “body.” Somatic therapists acknowledge and attend to the body and the ways in which the body and the mind are interrelated. 

Why look to the body to heal emotional issues? Aren’t our feelings “caused” by our thoughts? I’d like you to consider otherwise.

Children and traumatized adults (which is all of us), have limited resources as we try to cope with extreme emotions. If the feeling is too big or the trauma too devastating, our bodies come to our aid. Our bodies, beneath the level of our everyday consciousness, often translate our emotional pain or anxiety into physical sensations. Perhaps it’s our subconscious deciding to hide our feelings in our body. In any case, our bodies want to help. They can do this by distracting or protecting us from painful or extreme feelings or traumas. What our minds forget, (and sometimes it is expedient to forget), our bodies know. Our bodies say, in effect, “give that (pain, panic, worry) to me; it’s too much for you to handle. I’ll store it until you can handle it.” 

Here’s an example; when working with a somatic therapist myself, I was guided to tune in to my body, to my physical sensations. I realized that I was holding tension at the root of my tongue. My therapist asked if I was willing to consider letting go of the tension. I started to, and immediately felt an ache in my heart. Seems like tension at the root of my tongue has been acting as a “plug,” or a valve, to block awareness of the pain in my heart. By tightening the area around my tongue/throat, I have been subconsciously blocking access to my heart. As I felt the ache in my heart, I also began to feel the tension in my belly. By tensing up my belly, I realized, I’ve been misguidedly resisting nourishment (emotional and physical). “I want to be nourished, but I don’t,” my stomach was saying. “I want to speak, but I don’t,” my tongue was saying. By bypassing the distraction of tension in my throat, I felt the heartache directly. By relaxing my belly, I understood, viscerally, my own vulnerability. Relaxing my tongue/throat and belly allowed me to feel, and know, my own pain and anxiety.

It may seem preferable to avoid feeling pain or anxiety, but I would rather let in emotional nourishment and experience the pain then be numb and “undernourished.” I’d rather feel the worry than develop an ulcer. I’d rather feel the resentment towards an abuser than suffer a “pain in the neck,” I’d rather process a sexual trauma than armour myself with extra pounds. I’d rather grieve than die of Broken Heart syndrome. I’d rather know than not know.

Knowing, in a visceral way; really feeling your feelings, takes courage. But the empathetic attunement, encouragement, and support of a somatic therapist can help. And it’s worth it.

Somatic therapy is like learning the language of your body. It is decoding yourself, KNOWING yourself, making the subconscious conscious in order to heal. Our bodies hold valuable information. Somatic therapists can help you access that information. We can help you “translate” the pain in the neck, the fatigue, the achiness; to understand, instead of avoid.  Awareness is a start. Feeling the feelings heals the body. When we feel the feelings directly, we can address the issue directly, and the physical manifestations ease up. 

Some popular somatic therapy approaches:

SOMATIC EXPERIENCING

Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-oriented therapy developed by Peter Levine to release trauma and chronic stress by focusing on internal physical sensations (interoception) rather than just thoughts, helping the nervous system process stored tension. It involves gently tracking bodily sensations, allowing for small releases (titration), and re-establishing the body's natural ability to regulate itself, resolving symptoms like anxiety, muscle tension, and sleep issues by completing the stress response cycle. (From A.I.)

EMDR 

EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a powerful healing tool originally developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro to treat trauma. It has been modified, adapted, and refined to treat almost any type of emotional distress.  EMDR uses bilateral stimulation to bridge the gap between left brain and right brain, “lizard brain” and “higher thinking” brain, irrational fears and innate wisdom, body and mind. Our bodies bridge this gap naturally when we sleep (in REM sleep). EMDR therapists use bilateral (left-right) tapping, awake eye movement, or other types of bilateral stimulation to help the brain heal itself, to shift maladaptive beliefs, and to become more mindfully present. What is EMDR? A related blog: EMDR Wow  YouTube Videos: EMDR EMDR II

HAKOMI

Hakomi is a body-centered psychotherapy method developed by Ron Kurtz, using mindfulness and somatic awareness (body sensations, posture, breathing) to help individuals access unconscious beliefs, patterns, and trauma for deep healing, focusing on a compassionate, non-judgmental "loving presence" to explore core material and foster self-discovery in a safe space. (From A.I.) “Hakomi is the practice of gently touching the unconscious and inviting it to become conscious.” Ron Kurtz

Knowing What You Know

We often used words to distance ourselves from intense or uncomfortable feelings. That's okay! But what power there is in feeling those feelings! Many times the way to do that by tuning into our bodies. Our stomachs might tell us that we're anxious about a deadline. Our hearts might hold grief. Our throats may constrict to repress rage. Fatigue or even physical pain may be eclipsed by words about the pain or fatigue. When we feel our feelings directly and don't "talk over them," we have real control, not the illusion of control. We're fully informed. 

I can help you know the freedom and power of knowing what we know!

That's healing.