What is Somatic Therapy and How Does it Work

What is Somatic Therapy?

Somatic therapy, derived from the Greek term “soma”, meaning body, emphasizes the role of bodily sensations, movements and gestures in helping people understand and process their emotional experiences. Somatic therapy aims to improve well-being by addressing mental health problems by creating a connection between the mind and body. Somatic therapy includes complementary and alternative movement techniques such as tai chi, therapeutic touch, massage, yoga, and interventions such as grounding, boundary development, movement and process, titration, and self-regulation. Those who use this body-centered approach learn to pay more attention to the physical symptoms that arise as a result of mental health problems.

What Does a Somatic Therapist Do?

A somatic therapist helps people become aware of their physical experiences and teaches them to feel safe in their skin while remembering specific ideas, feelings and experiences. Somatic therapists use a range of treatments, such as acupressure, breathwork, or hypnosis, to help clients release certain emotions stored in the body.

Somatic therapists often use several methods, such as:

Resources: The therapist helps the client remember people and places associated with feelings of safety.

Body Awareness: This method helps people identify tense areas of their body and generate relaxing ideas.

Pendulation: This method takes a person from a relaxed state to the emotions associated with the trauma and back again.

Titration: The therapist notes and pays attention to physical sensations as they guide the client through a disturbing experience.

The Potential Benefits of Somatic Psychotherapy

Somatic psychotherapy is the most popular method used by practitioners to help clients relieve stress and transform the emotional and physical effects of trauma. But it can also help those who suffer from certain conditions, such as anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, better manage their emotions and feel better. As a result, people who undergo this treatment can develop stronger connections with other people and their own cognitive and emotional experiences.

Research has shown additional possible benefits of somatic therapy:

• body awareness
• reducing stress and anxiety
• increased attention
• decreased heart rate
• reduction of depression
• increased trust
• reduction of pain and heaviness
• stress reduction
• increased hope
• better feeling of well-being
• increased stability
• lowering blood pressure
• higher level of overall functioning

Techniques and Approaches for Somatic Therapy

Somatic therapy is a broad term that includes a range of techniques and strategies designed to meet each patient’s specific needs. A few popular modalities include:

Somatic Experiencing (SE): Dr. Peter Levine created SE to help people reframe trauma by focusing on their bodily experiences and innate tendencies. By releasing stress and anxiety and restoring a sense of safety, people can integrate painful experiences without feeling overwhelmed.

Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Psychotherapy explores how the body reflects previous experiences and relationship patterns, drawing on neuroscience and attachment theory. Clients can develop more positive and healthy ways of interacting with others and themselves by rewriting maladaptive habits through somatic interventions and mindful awareness.

Dance/Yoga/Movement Therapy: Through yoga, expressive arts, dance, exercise and movement, this method allows clients to explore feelings, relieve stress, and reconnect with their body. As movement becomes a language of self-expression and self-knowledge, it aids emotional integration and provides insight into unconscious processes.

Read More: Signs Your Body Is Stressed to Look Out For

What to Expect Your First Somatic Therapy Appointment

You should expect the practitioner to assess your complaint at your first visit. The initial consultation may vary as different specialists carry out somatic treatment. While a therapist will consider mental health in addition to a thorough assessment, a massage therapist may pay much more attention to the body.

The initial appointment with any practitioner should focus on ensuring safety, obtaining as much information as possible about the condition, answering questions, and educating the patient about body-centred treatment. The somatic healing process can begin to function once a certain degree of comfort has been achieved.

Somatic Therapy Teaches Your Nervous System to Self-Regulate

People who have experienced trauma often experience dysregulation of the nervous system, which can make them feel uncomfortable, short of breath, tense, or suddenly emotional. The goal of somatic therapy is to teach the patient to recognize early signs of emotional arousal and reduce it before it becomes excessive using self-regulation and body awareness skills.

What to Look for in a Somatic Therapist

Somatic therapy can easily be incorporated into other forms of psychotherapy and counseling. The secret is to find a qualified mental health practitioner who has been trained in somatic therapy procedures. Finding a therapist with the appropriate training and experience is just one piece of the puzzle. Finding a therapist you feel comfortable talking to who understands your situation and the obstacles you are trying to overcome is equally essential.

The close connection between the human body and mind could lead to new treatment options for mental illness. Practitioners of somatic therapy use mind and body exercises to help relieve accumulated stress, as they believe that a person’s emotions and feelings can affect their physical well-being. Although further research is needed, somatic treatment has benefits. A person can control their body tension and get a better experience with the help of a certified therapist on our online therapy platform, Better4. Get Started online somatic therapy today.

Final Thoughts on Somatic Therapy

A psychobiological approach to treatment, somatic therapy focuses on using the body as the primary means of healing for both physical and mental illnesses. Through this body-centered approach, people can become more aware of the physical symptoms that accompany mental health problems.