Somatic Work
Terms like “somatic work,” “body-mind connection,” and “embodiment” are getting thrown around a lot these days in the therapy world, online and in popular psychology.
Maybe you’ve heard a therapy or self-help influencer use them or maybe you’ve read about them in a book like NY Times Best Seller, “The Body Keeps Score.”
But what do they actually mean? Why are they important, and how might they be helpful in supporting your growth?
What is somatic work?
In general, somatic work refers to the therapeutic intervention of connecting with our bodies. Our bodies house our nervous system, which is the foundational component of our sense of safety (or threat), our ease in relationships (or discomfort), and our sense of belonging (or disconnection). An unsettled nervous system is a key component of many emotional ailments, mental health conditions, and relationship challenges.
When our nervous system senses threats, we react from a place of protection and defense rather than openness and connection. For most of us, our nervous system is constantly running beneath our level of conscious awareness to protect us from perceived threats.
Our bodies—and the embedded nervous system–hold the sum of our past experiences. If in our childhood the primary experience was one of abundance, physical and emotional safety, and the freedom to explore the world and be curious, then our nervous system defaults to a baseline of ease. In moments of stress, we feel comfortable voicing our needs and asking for support, we rally and push forward to reach our goals. After the challenge has been completed—and even during when it is appropriate to break and rest–we are able to settle down, redirect our attention, and feel a sense of accomplishment.
The human experience is not often this simple, however. I work with a range of folks—survivors of complex childhood trauma, people who were abused or neglected, to adult children of emotionally immature parents—or parents who simply weren’t able to meet their children’s needs, no matter how much love was otherwise there. Across this entire spectrum, I’ve found that meaningful change necessitates understanding how our nervous systems respond to stress and providing the support necessary to cultivate an embodied sense of ease.
How does somatic work differ from traditional therapy?
Somatic practitioners are trained to perceive signs of a dysregulated nervous system and use these as entry points to explore and process the wounds of the past that are negatively impacting our minds, bodies, and relationships today.
While other therapies may also include the cultivation of mindfulness, somatic practice specifically cultivates awareness of the stories and messages the body holds. Somatic therapy includes body-focused practices aimed at promoting a felt sense of safety, increasing the range of emotions that can be experienced, and digesting traumatic experiences the body is holding that are unconsciously shaping present life.
Are there different types of somatic therapy?
Yes. The two main educating bodies for somatic therapy are the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute (SPI) and Somatic Experiencing (SE). I have completed two years of training with SPI.
I already work with a therapist but am interested in somatic therapy. Can we work together?
Somatic work can provide a helpful complement to work you are already doing with a talk therapist or CBT therapist. If you are seeking out additional support to process a trauma, support your nervous system through a period of acute stress, or address bodily symptoms of anxiety, I’d be happy to work together and collaborate with your therapist as needed.
What does a somatic therapy session actually look and feel like?
The short answer is: it depends heavily on where you are starting and what you are looking to explore. We don’t learn to swim by getting thrown in the deep end of the pool. Early sessions will likely focus on beginning to cultivate awareness of your body's sense of threat or safety and discovering ways to settle your nervous system, as well as expanding your ability to explore uncomfortable territory without becoming flooded or numb.
Once we’ve built a foundation of safety, we can expand the work into exploring the range of experiences that have shaped your nervous system and the way you experience the world. For some people, this may look like processing Big-T trauma: events that involved actual or anticipated serious injury, violence, or threat to life. For others, we may be exploring the developmental wounds we all carry—experiences from childhood where some form of adversity overwhelmed our capacity to cope and we didn’t receive the support we truly needed.
By exploring how we react to triggers in our current life, we will increase your awareness of how your body responds now and use this as an entry point to digest the past, update the meaning your child self made (like, “I’m not strong enough, I’m unlikeable, nobody cares if I need help”), and expand your current capacity to respond to adversity and show up to life as the person you want to be.