Are You Looking For A Better Way To Manage Stress Or Release Trauma?
Has traditional talk therapy fallen short of addressing your responses to stress? Maybe you have a sensitive nervous system and become easily overwhelmed by sensations in your body, sometimes making it hard to control your emotions. Or perhaps you struggle to feel connected to your body when you encounter stress or discomfort. You may be seeking a heartfelt, embodied approach to therapy that fosters long-term growth but aren’t sure how to get started.
Clients often report feeling pain, constriction, aching, tingling, tearfulness, or other sensations when they are connecting to challenging mental and emotional experiences, such as:
Grief and loss
Trauma
Anxiety
Toxic relationships or work environments
Racial oppression and othering
Setting healthy boundaries in relationships.
Somatic Experiencing (SE®) is a body-based approach to therapy that tracks cycles of activation and deactivation within the nervous system. By tuning into the innate wisdom of the body, somatic therapy creates movement and flexibility between these cycles so that we can better access the resources we need to be more regulated. Our bodies can act as an amazing tool and resource for understanding how we are impacted by the world and what we might need to feel more okay. Somatic therapy invites increased awareness and comfort in the body as we grow more accustomed to recognizing and connecting with the sensations and emotions expressed within it.
How Is Somatic Experiencing Therapy Incorporated Into Sessions?
The fight-flight-freeze response is how our nervous system reacts to a perceived threat. However, sometimes we get stuck in one of these modes and can’t properly regulate. Somatic counseling helps us identify what we might need in that moment to experience safety, stability, and ease. When we are anxious, overwhelmed, or afraid, the body can help bring us back into a regulated nervous system, our “reflect and connect” state.
To achieve the reflect and connect state, we might track movement, sensation, or affect. I may ask you to slow down and focus attention inwardly, noting if you feel ease or constriction or if something has shifted. Sometimes, somatic therapy utilizes the body’s innate orienting principles to stay present when processing trauma. It often incorporates deep breathing (the fastest way to de-stress), body scanning, or utilizing your five senses to get grounded.
When we are trying to change a feeling or sensation, the best way to do that is by tuning into the language of the body. I might ask you, “What’s happening in your body right now as we talk about this?” If I observe something you are doing outwardly that you may not have noticed, I will bring it to your attention so you can continue to increase your bodily awareness.
For some people, this kind of embodied work is natural; for others, it takes time, patience, and practice. All are welcome. In therapy, we will strike whatever balance between therapeutic conversation and embodied practice works best for you.
Who Can Benefit From Somatic Psychotherapy?
Although we may acknowledge that we have experienced trauma, we may be unaware of how much it manifests in the body. People often seek somatic trauma release when talk therapy alone has been ineffective in addressing what’s happening in the body related to PTSD symptoms. In addition to trauma, Somatic Experiencing therapy can also benefit those who struggle with anxiety, grief, and stress.
The collective work and research of somatic therapists like Peter Levine, Stephen Porges, Deb Dana, Bessel van der Kolk, Resmaa Menakem, Pat Ogden, and Julianne Taylor Shore all point to the effectiveness of Somatic Experiencing. Their study of somatic therapy has led to numerous transformational outcomes, both for themselves and their clients. [1]
Oftentimes, people are drawn to Somatic Experiencing because they have found talk therapy limiting. Particularly for trauma that gets stuck in the body if left unprocessed, somatic approaches to therapy have become central to creating healing. We are deeply experiential beings, and embodied work is essential to our well-being. Our bodies are rich with wisdom and information that can help the brain change. Somatic psychotherapy helps you attune to bodily sensations as a way to understand how emotions affect you. With somatic therapy, it is possible to:
Learn skills for grounding and self-regulating
Build internal resources to increase flexibility in the nervous system
Develop body awareness through simple yet effective grounding exercises
Access self-compassion
Recover from trauma
Process grief
Create relational change
Develop a stronger sense of safety and stability
Foster emotional resilience.
Why I Incorporate Somatic Therapy Into My Practice
As a somatic therapist, I utilize a body-oriented approach to tune in to the nervous system and heal trauma. Additionally, I have completed training in interpersonal neurobiology, which has been essential to my understanding of the interaction between the brain and the body to facilitate safety and healing. I also rely on Internal Family Systems to understand and engage with different parts of the self that might show up in embodied work.
As an active and embodied person, I have experienced first-hand the importance of body awareness and somatic processing in therapy. For years, I have been eager to learn more about somatic approaches to therapy. I have been most inspired by the practitioners who have taught and advised me—clinical supervisors, teachers, and trainers. I hope that my work is a fraction as beautiful and effective as theirs.
When we pause to take stock of what’s happening inside the body, noting sensation or movement, we speak to the part of the brain that holds emotional knowledge and experience. Integrating the body into therapeutic work can be a transformational step in your journey toward lasting growth and well-being.
Learn How Somatic Therapy Can Help You
With curiosity and compassion, we can work with what's showing up in the body. To find out more about somatic therapy with me, please call or visit my contact page to set up a free 20-minute consultation.
[1] https://www.somaticexperiencing.com/se-research
Recent Posts
