Releasing Trauma with Somatic Therapy

The only way to heal trauma is by involving the body.

Most of us have learned to “think our way” out of our problems. But this approach doesn’t work when confronting our trauma. That’s because our trauma lives in the parts of our brain connected to our body.

There is a way to heal your trauma and change the story of shame that you experience, and it’s called Somatic Therapy.

Through Somatic Therapy, you get back in touch with and HONOR your bodily sensations and feelings. This makes you more curious about your experience and more present with your feelings, even difficult ones, as they arise.

Here’s how it works…

With Somatic Therapy, we’ll track and focus on the sensations in your body as you share during each session.

You may notice feelings of release in the throat and chest area upon sharing, for example.

Or you may feel a heaviness on your shoulders as you allow yourself to feel into the challenging parts of your story.

You may also experience tingling in your arms or an unexplainable urge to move around and readjust as we speak.

These are all normal bodily sensations during a Somatic Therapy session.

Some sensations will feel more challenging to experience than others. You may experience an uncontrollable urge to shut it all down and avoid these sensations altogether.

Please don’t.

For this work to be effective, we must look directly at the trauma – not avoid it.

The trauma reactions are with you because it feels so hard to remember the painful past… it feels much easier to push it down.

Unfortunately, this leads to not being curious about what happened and avoiding it altogether. In our Somatic Therapy work, you will learn how to be curious about what is happening inside of you.

We’ll move very slowly, honoring the sensations that come up. Don’t worry: I’ll keep a close eye on you, ensuring you don’t get overwhelmed. Again, we’ll go slowly and take as many breaks as you need.

As we progress, these same scary sensations will feel less scary because you have practiced being curious about them.

You will know what it means when that sensation comes up and will be given the tools to deal with it.

You will learn that all your bodily sensations – even the ones that feel challenging – can provide great insights about yourself and your environment.

You will feel more free and able to make the changes you need to feel more secure and empowered in your world.