Just like talk therapy relies heavily on talking, somatic therapy relies heavily on the “soma” (Greek for the body). Although talking is involved, somatic therapy focuses on the body and the interconnection with the mind. As a counselor, I often hear something to the effect of “I know it, but I don’t feel it.” In other words, not feeling it on a visceral level. To be more specific, it might come in the form of “I know that I am capable, but I don’t feel capable." This speaks to a disconnection between the mind and body. Somatic therapy is a holistic approach that works at bringing these back into connection so that the knowing and feeling are no longer at odds with each other. When they are at odds it can create a lot of tension and turmoil.
Not only does somatic therapy work with this interconnectedness, it can also help to reprocess and/or heal trauma. New York Times Bestseller, “The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel van der Kolk, explains that the body stores trauma and that it is in accessing the body that trauma can be released and/or healed. Harvard echoes this sentiment by stating that, “trauma can register within our bodies on a cellular level. What that means to an individual — and how best to heal from serious traumas encountered in life — is the focus of a newer form of mental health counseling known as somatic therapy.”
Types of Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy can come in many forms including, but not limited to:
Somatic Experiencing: a naturalistic, neurobiological, body-oriented approach to healing trauma and other stress-related disorders.
Hakomi: an experiential psychotherapy that uses mindfulness and somatic interventions to heal attachment wounds and developmental trauma.
EMDR: a psychotherapy treatment that is designed to desensitize and reprocess traumatic memories.
Brainspotting: a treatment method that works by identifying, processing and releasing core neurophysiological sources of emotional/body pain, trauma, dissociation and a variety of other challenging symptoms.
Gestalt: a holistic approach focusing on the interconnectedness of an individual's thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and environment.
What to Expect from Somatic Therapy
Some basics to expect in somatic therapy might include, but are not limited to:
Body Awareness: developing consciousness and connection within the body.
Pendulation: shifting from a state of stress/tension to calm, repeating this cycle as many times as necessary/appropriate.
Titration: working through trauma in a small, bite-size manner where it is manageable and not overly distressing (working through small chunks at a time).
Resourcing: reinforcing resources (people, places, things, etc.) that bring about feelings of calm and safety.
Benefits of Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapies have been known to help with many issues/concerns, such as:
Anxiety
Attachment wounds
Chronic pain or other somatic issues
Depression
Grief
PTSD and other stress-related disorders
Meet Meaghan Semple, LPC
Somatic Therapy | Fort Worth Women’s Counseling
Are you interested in finding out more about somatic therapies? Meaghan Semple, LPC from Fort Worth Women’s Counseling is happy to help. She is a local therapist that provides Somatic Experiencing and EMDR. Feel free to contact her with questions or to schedule a free consultation call.