Somatic Therapy: What It’s All About?
There is quite a buzz around body centered or also known as Somatic Therapy recently. It’s about time! Although acknowledging the power of the mind-body connection is a relatively new concept in Western treatment (historically the mind and body are often treated separately), this concept has been validated for centuries in Eastern treatment. I will share what Somatic Therapy is, who it can help, and what to look for when searching for a somatic therapist.
“It’s not all in your head — your body holds on to memories of trauma, too. Somatic therapy can help release them.”
What Is Somatic Therapy?
Therapists are moving away from more cognitive based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy to an approach that honors both the mind and the body.
Somatic Therapy is an umbrella term for therapies that center on the mind-body connection. The term “somatic” means “relating to the body.” A somatic therapist believes that the body holds part of our experience just as much as our mind does. If uncomfortable or negative emotions are held in the body for too long, it can cause mental, physical, and emotional discomfort. Somatic therapists use interventions such as movement, yoga, breathing, meditation, and mindfulness to help move the experience that is stuck through the body.
Who Does Somatic Therapy Benefit?
The simple answer is that somatic therapy benefits everyone. In my opinion, everyone can benefit from greater awareness of not only their thoughts but their body and the relationship between the two.
Specifically, Somatic Therapy is a type of therapy that can offer relief to those who experience PTSD/trauma symptoms, grief, feel emotionally disregulated, or experience pain in the body that can’t be explained medically. Somatic therapists believe that emotions and negative experiences can get stuck in the body and express themselves in ways that interfere with our day to day activities/behavior.
Emotions can get caught in the body after a traumatic event. The nervous system can get stuck in survival mode (flight, fight, freeze, fawn). If the nervous system is stuck too long, the stress hormone, cortisol is continually released, leading to an increase in blood sugar, and blood pressure, which tend to weaken the immune system, disrupt sleep, increase pain in the body, and increase body fat, among other things.
These negative feelings don’t just stay in the body or in our mind; they come out in many ways such as the way we dress, interact with others, the relationships we choose to be apart of, opportunities we choose to take or pass over, and so on. You may notice feeling stuck in unhelpful or harmful behavior patterns. Somatic Therapy can help break those patterns.
How To Find A Somatic Therapist
As I said, Somatic Therapy is an umbrella term for a general way of working with clients and thinking about healing both mind and body. There are a few different types of Somatic therapists based on practices. For example, therapists can practice Somatic Experiencing (SE), Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SMP), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Hakomi, and Neurosomatic Therapy.
I practice Sensorimotor psychotherapy which combines majority of the somatic therapies such as somatic experiencing, neuroscience, Hakomi method, as well as psychotherapy and attachment.
Somatic therapist, Sensorimotor Psychotherapist, or mind body therapist are a few keywords I suggest you use when searching for a therapist of your own. Once you connect with a therapist, start to be curious about the types of training or framework they use. Also specifically ask about how they incorporate body based interventions such as mindfulness, mediation, or movement into sessions. These tips should give you a good foundation for staring therapy with a Somatic therapist.
From One Human To Another, Be Well
-Melissa
