Somatic Psychotherapy
“People are adept at using words to dissemble, but the body is far more direct in communicating our inner states to those who are willing to listen.”
I want to devote some space here to explain what Somatic Psychotherapy is, as this question comes in a lot. The word “Somatic” comes from the Greek word soma, which translates as body. Also known as “bottom up” treatment, Somatic Psychotherapy comes out of the chatter or content of the mind and moves into the realm of the body. In Somatic Psychotherapy, we essentially bring the body along in our work together. We’re not only interested in the psyche (mind) and body, but how these interface within you.
How does this theory play out in a session? Instead of only listening to the client’s words and the content of their speech, somatic psychotherapists pay attention in a more holistic way. For example, someone may be coming to therapy for anxiety. The client starts to share about it, how long they’ve had anxiety and perhaps how challenging it is to deal with. While listening to their words, the somatic psychotherapist also begins to notice the language of their body. As the client is talking, their breathing pattern seems to shift and their right hand periodically taps the center of their chest, with their five fingers bunched together into a point.
Right here, in this moment, there is a surplus of information available. Instead of continuing to engage with the dialogue about the history of anxiety, the somatic psychotherapist has the tools to help this client slow down in the moment and come closer to their direct experience. This is done with a quality of open-hearted curiosity. The therapist could help the client notice their breath pattern, which may have taken the form of a perpetual inhale. Something about this feels familiar. As the client stays with this breath, they also become aware of a tightness that pulses in the center of their chest. How interesting. As they are supported to stay with their inhale breath and the pulsing sensation of tightness, their hand, again, touches it. Their bunched up five fingers tap periodically. Outside of their awareness, their hand has been touching this tightness all along. Their hand knows exactly where this sensation is.
“The reality within you, that is absolutely yours, is worthy of devotion.”
In this example, we’re not just using words and dialogue to talk about the client’s past experience of anxiety but we’re experiencing it together, in the moment. With these few minutes of mindful somatic work, the client and therapist discover how anxiety expresses itself internally. The client in this example has also arrived at a different level of consciousness, where their body already is. Their hand is already meeting this sensation, they are just joining it there. This may be edge of their unconscious and the beginnings of earning it’s cooperation. When therapy unfolds in this way, the work becomes real and experiential. Over time, clients learn to listen and trust what lives inside of them on a deeper level; both the held pain and deep knowing/wisdom.
Somatic tools can be quite seamlessly woven in and out of a more traditional talk therapy session. They can be used as a way to deepen processing, heal core wounds and also as regulation support for the nervous system. Somatic work is especially effective in this way with trauma, which often “lives” and expresses itself in the body. A trained somatic psychotherapist can assess trauma states, nervous system arousal and work effectively to support the client with coming back into their window of tolerance. This kind of work can be referred to as “resourcing” and is a gentle way of treating nervous system dysregulation.
Resources for Somatic Psychotherapy
Levine, P. (1997). Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma. North Atlantic Books.
Mischke Reeds, M (2018). Somatic Psychotherapy Toolbox: 125 Worksheets and Exercises to Treat
Stress and Trauma. PESI Publishing.
Van Der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of
Trauma. Viking Press.
Weiss, H., Johanson, G. & Monda, L. (2015). Hakomi Mindfulness-Centered Somatic Psychotherapy: A
Comprehensive Guide to Theory and Practice. W.W. Norton & Company.
