Nothing happens in your mind alone. Your traumas happened to your body. Your emotions manifest through your muscles, breath, and heartbeat. Your memories are stored in your nervous system. Your experiences of attachment reach you through facial expressions, vocal cadences, and physical touch. Your coping mechanisms exist to soothe the emptiness in your belly or distract from the ache in your chest. In light of all this, how can we leave the body out of the therapeutic process?

I am currently enrolled in the Somatic Experiencing™ training program through the Somatic Experiencing Institute, working toward my SEP credential. In the first module, my trainer, Alicen Halquist, said, "You cannot talk someone out of a survival-based belief." While it was the first time I had heard that stated so succinctly, it perfectly captured my decade of experiences as a therapist. All the insight in the world will get you nowhere if you do not have a new experience, in and with your body. 

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Somatic therapy allows us to evoke, examine, and play with the bodily sensations associated with different memories, images, movements, emotions, and ideas. By drawing our attention to what our bodies are telling us, we not only deepen our experience and enrich our way of being in the world; we also open ourselves up to new, healing experiences that can rewrite the rigid beliefs and responses our brain has locked into place in its attempt to keep us safe.

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I love Somatic Experiencing™ (SE) because it's a gentle, easeful, and sometimes even playful way to approach trauma, without any pain, terror, or overwhelm. It gradually tones the nervous system to be able to first tolerate and then transform what once felt unbearable. SE is the opposite of cathartic approaches: everything is peaceful and gradual, and the pendulation between the "hot" sensations associated with trauma and the "cool" sensations associated with safety breaks emotions down into bite-sized, digestible pieces. SE is also the opposite of cognitive approaches: it isn't based on insight, and there is no analysis or effort involved; it's simply an experience, unfolding in your body in real time.

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It's hard to describe somatic therapy, because it is so experiential. I may ask you to notice or linger with what's happening in your body--the heaviness in your shoulders, the warmth in your chest, the energy in your legs. I may draw your attention to what I see playing out in front of me--the catch of your breath, the sharp gesture you make with your hands, or the flicker of a new expression across your face. We may talk about the process as it unfolds; there may also be silence as you spend time with your internal experience. At times, it can feel like nothing much is happening. But I know firsthand that the cumulative healing effects can be dramatic. As a client of somatic therapy myself, I walked away feeling like I'd finally crawled out from under the cruel, spiky burden of my trauma, with no idea how (or even when) it had happened. I just knew something was different; I could feel it in my bones. 

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Somatic therapy is effective for any and all types of trauma, but can be especially powerful for trauma that has left you feeling betrayed by your body (e.g., medical trauma, sexual abuse) or trauma that has disconnected you from your body and made it hard to feel alive, feel safe, or feel anything. Somatic therapy makes words less necessary, and instead, centers the attunement between yourself and your own body. 

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If you are interested in trying somatic therapy, reach out for a free consult. I would love to help you decide if it's the right fit.