Somatic Therapy: Healing Trauma Through the Body

Healing isn't just about changing thoughts--it's also about reconnecting with the body. Somatic therapies emphasis the mind-body connection as a pathway to healing trauma, stress, and emotional imbalance

What are Somatic Therapies?

The word somatic comes from the Greek word soma, meaning "body." Somatic therapies focus on how the body holds and processes trauma, stress and emotional pain. Somatic practices integrate traditional talk therapy with body awareness, "inhabiting" the body, breathwork, and movement to help individual process and release old wounds and stored tension in the body.

Unlike conventional psychotherapy, which tends to be cognitive and verbal, somatic therapies consider bodily sensations, posture, muscle tension, and nervous system regulation to be integral to emotional healing.

Somatic Therapy: Healing Trauma in the Body

When people experience trauma--whether acute or chronic--the body's flight, fight, freeze, fawn system can become dysregulated. This dysregulation can lead to persistent symptoms like anxiety, chronic pain, hypervigiliance, emotional numbness, and more. The way we live within our body changes in response to feeling unsafe and/or insecure.

Somatic therapies help to complete the body's interrupted defensive responses and bring the autonomic nervous system back into balance.

Somatic Therapy Practices Promote Trauma Healing and Deep Peace

Benefits of Somatic Therapy

People pursue somatic therapy for various reasons, including:

• Trauma recovery: Particularly for PTSD, developmental trauma, and complex trauma

  
  

• Stress and anxiety reduction: Helps down-regulate an overactive nervous system

  
  

• Emotional regulation: Enhances awareness and management of emotional states

  
  

• Body image and self-esteem: Reconnects individuals with their bodies in a compassionate, empowering way

  
  

• Chronic pain and illness: Supports the emotional dimensions of and reactions to physical symptoms

What to Expect

Somatic techniques might include verbal discussion combined with exercises such as:

• Noticing physical sensations or areas of tension

  
  

• Grounding techniques

  
  

• Gentle movement

  
  

• Mindful tracking of emotions as they arise in the body

  
  

• Guided meditation and attunement practices

Is Somatic Therapy Right for You?

Somatic therapy can be particularly effective for people who have tried traditional talk therapy, have gained insight, but feel stuck. It's also beneficial for those seeking a more embodied, holistic approach. However, like all therapies, the effectiveness depends on the individual, the therapist-client relationship, and the specific issues being addressed.

Final Thoughts

The body is a living record of our experiences. By learning to listen to and work with the body, we can uncover powerful pathways to healing and resilience. Personally, I was only able to go so far in my own healing journey, which is why I have dedicated myself to learning and practicing somatic therapies.

Randi Camirand

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