Somatic Therapy (Body Centered)

Somatic therapy, also sometimes known as body-centered therapy, refers to approaches that integrate a client’s physical body into the therapeutic process. Somatic therapy focuses on the mind-body connection and is founded on the belief that viewing the mind and body as one entity is essential to the therapeutic process. Somatic therapy practitioners will typically integrate elements of talk therapy with therapeutic body techniques to provide holistic healing. Somatic therapy is particularly helpful for those trying to cope with abuse or trauma, but it is also used to treat issues including anxiety, depression, stress, relationship problems, grief, or addiction, among others. Think this approach might be right for you? Reach out to one of TherapyDen’s somatic therapy experts today.

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I am in my second year of training at the SOMATIC EXPERIENCING® TRAUMA INSTITUTE. This is a psychobiological approach that focuses on regulating and balancing the nervous system and the whole person. Yes, I will ask you, “What do you feel in your body?” but this approach is much, much more sophisticated than that! While this is a “trauma” modality, it can also be useful for anyone who wants to work on their overall mental well being.

— Suzanne Cooper, Addictions Counselor in Englewood, CO, CO

Body Psychotherapy is holistic; it takes the entire human being and his/her/their life experiences into account. It offers mindful consideration to the crucial role of the body in the structure and process of the psyche. During a session, I pay close attention to sensation and body states, which allow unconscious material to manifest and possibly be worked with using breath, spatial awareness, consented therapeutic touch, movement, sensation, and imagery.

— Lina Návar, Licensed Professional Counselor in Austin, TX
 

I attended the Somatic Psychology graduate program in California Institute of Integral Studies' counseling psychology program. Throughout grad school, I learned all psychotherapeutic theories and practices through a somatic lens.

— Liberty Flidais, Psychotherapist in SANTA CRUZ, CA

You're probably way too in your head about it. Your body does SO much. Have you tried thanking it? Humor me with this: identify a part of your body you are grateful for. Then THANK IT and notice how it feels to appreciate it. It takes a lot more work and energy to NOT be friends with your body 💜

— Maya Herrington, Psychotherapist in Skokie, IL
 

Everything in life is a physical, mental, social, and spiritual experience. Yet, many of us are disconnected from our bodies. I believe that our bodies are vessels of wisdom from which we hold our experiences of pain, joy, belonging, intuition, and information. Through the process of slowing down and noticing, we can uncover a well of resources you already have within you, as well as heal from a foundational level. I am a Certified Somatic Attachment Therapist.

— Eden Baron-Williams, Marriage and Family Therapist Associate in Portland, OR

I guide women in fostering a deeper connection with their bodies. This approach empowers you to explore your mind-body connection, addressing both emotional and physical aspects. Through body awareness, we navigate and release stored tension, promoting healing and self-acceptance. I'm all about elevating well-being and redefining your relationship with your body. My style is gentle, guided, and supportive.

— Jacqueline Richards-Shrestha, Licensed Professional Counselor in Boulder, CO
 

What does somatic therapy mean and look like? Implicit memories (the ones without a movie in our head) are stored in the body keep people stuck. These memories can be released and accessed to heal the body and the mind with or without the story being shared or even touched. Together we bring on regulation, safety, with a compassionate witness to have a felt sense of being seen, heard and understood. Internalizing the safety into your body is the thrive of health.

— Karen Lucas, Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Seattle, WA

I have been a massage therapist for 30 years and found my way to Pyschotherapy as a result of the many emotional experiences that the body released during CranioSacral and working with newborns and their parents. I found that the implicit memories that keep people stuck can be accessed with or without the story being shared to be released and healed in the body and the mind.

— Karen Lucas, Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Seattle, WA
 

For over 20 years I taught and practiced a body/mind centered neuromuscular re-education technique and as a result, I am intimately aware of the power that being aware of, and using your body sensations, has on the release of tension, grief, trauma, anxiety, fear, and more. I bring my unique experience to the therapy room to help you embody and integrate your sense of well-being between body and mind.

— Kate Sciandra, Marriage and Family Therapist Associate in Eagan, MN

Body-Centered therapy operates from the belief that emotional issues (e.g. stress, trauma, anxiety, grief, depression) manifest as physical symptoms and that healing occurs when the mind-body connection is strengthened. Somatic therapy supports clients in connecting to “the messages of the body” in order to provide deep understanding, healing, and transformation.

— Lalo Rivera, Licensed Professional Counselor in San Antonio, TX
 

Our bodies hold important information, when we're able to listen. I've done trainings with Peter Levine and Bessel van der Kolk , and integrate their valuable lessons into my therapeutic work. We will get "centered" at the beginning of every session, slowing down and noticing the important experiences that we have in our core, in that "place without words." By listening closely to our emotions, paired with our thoughts, we find greater clarity and the energy we need for change and growth.

— Joseph Hovey, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Brooklyn, NY

The Somatic Experiencing® method is a body-oriented approach to the healing of trauma and other stress disorders. Somatic Experiencing® explores where an individual may be “stuck” in a fight, flight, or freeze response and works with an individual’s natural resilience to move through these “stuck” self-protective responses. I am a Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner and I have assisted with Somatic Experiencing® trainings around the country.

— Victoria Muñoz, Counselor in Phoenix, AZ
 

We all experience emotions through our bodies. Body-centered allows a deeper level of clarity about your feelings, and a more direct way of engaging with them.

— Abigail Thompson, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in New York, NY

If you're prone to over-thinking, somatic therapy can help you get off of the "hampster wheel", get clear, and move through what is keeping you stuck so you can feel better. By learning how to process your emotions and settle over-thinking, you can create a greater sense of peace.

— Kristin Williams, Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Omaha, NE
 

I practice Hakomi style mindfulness-based somatic therapy (I completed Level 1 training). This work is incredibly useful in accessing the wisdom of the body, clarifying your wants and needs and maintaining emotional safety while working through trauma. Your experience in the present moment is the vehicle and involves way less talking. Often with the eyes closed, focusing on sensations, images, memories, beliefs and thoughts in the present, we work to provide past missing experiences.

— Chauney Peck, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Los Angeles, CA

With specific training in Somatic Intervention (SI) I utilize the body to: * Heal trauma & other stress disorders * Move toward more safety & connection with yourself & others * Discharge tension in the body & associated memories that bring discomfort to distress * Sense & interrupt habitual patterns (ie anxiety, anger, stress or fear) & then to move forward in your life centered & more calm * Improve negative situations & change their course * Increase your sense of being understood * & More!

— Brian La Roy Jones, Associate Marriage & Family Therapist in Walnut Creek, CA
 

Most of the trauma-resolution modalities I work in are body based, and supporting my clients to return to their bodies as a safe place and secure base are integral in my work. I love supporting my clients to increase their capacity to track their bodily awareness and integrate this information into their more global self-awareness.

— Maria Turner-Carney, Clinical Social Worker in TACOMA, WA

Somatic therapy incorporates the intelligent healing power of the body into the therapy room. A neuroscientifically researched approach, somatic therapy reaches well beyond the limitations of "talk therapy". This approach moves into the realm of how our bodies have processed wellbeing, stress and trauma throughout our lives and incorporates experimenting with : breath, movement, alignment and other "bottom-up" interventions to aid the progress of healing.

— Leigh Shaw, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Tacoma, WA