What is Somatic Based Treatment?

Somatic therapy is a holistic treatment approach that works with the whole body. 

Rather than utilizing therapy modalities that are purely based on examining thought process and patterns, talk therapy is combined with mind-body exercises and practices in order to release tension and trauma stored in the body.

"The theory behind somatic therapy is that the mind, body, spirit, and emotions are all related and connected to each other. As a result, the stress of past emotional and traumatic events affects the central nervous system and can cause changes in the body and even in body language, often resulting in altered facial expressions and posture as well as physical pain. "

To heal you have to feel. Somatic therapy helps you reconnect with your body and learn how to feel. It will teach you how to regulate your nervous system (switching off anxiety or survival mode) and creating the safety in your body needed to process the emotions fueling your anxiety and master your thoughts and feelings.

Contact us to discuss your path to healing with one of our knowledgeable practitioners.

How is Somatic Therapy different from talk therapy?

Trauma is stored in your body, not just in your mind. Talk therapy gives you a greater awareness of your trauma, but may not be enough on its own to heal the deep rooted wounds. These unhealed wounds may keep us looping through hyperarousal and hypoarousal.
Hyperarousal looks like hyper-vigilance, tense rapid breathing, feeling overwhelmed, increased startle response, intrusive imagery (flashbacks), and more. On the other hand, indicators of hypoarousal include decreased heart rate, difficulty tracking conversations, numbness of emotions, disengagement, reduced physical movement.
Somatic therapy teaches you to recognize when your body has entered one of these states. In somatic therapy we work with your body’s memory, learning what it needs, and strengthening that relationship. Overtime and with practice, you can release the trauma held within your body. In doing so, it will be easier to regulate your nervous system. Having a regulated nervous system is where change, growth, and learning happens.

Why is Somatic Therapy great for anxiety, trauma, and related disorders?

Anxiety, trauma, and related disorders aren’t a thinking problem. It’s a feeling problem that cannot be healed through thinking. The anxious thoughts are symptoms of unexpressed feelings and stress stuck in the body. Somatic therapy provides a safe way to explore, understand, and process the root cause of your anxiety or trauma and to recognize when your nervous system is being activated and how to soothe it. 
 

Somatic Treatment Options

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Creative Expression Therapy

Contact Us for More Info Creative Expression Therapy Creative Expression Therapy utilizes various mediums to release physical and emotional tensions that are habitually held in

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Somatic Experiencing

Somatic Experiencing

Somatic Experiencing promotes awareness and release of nervous system arousal and physical tension that remains in the body in the aftermath of trauma.

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