“I have come to the conclusion that human beings are born with an innate capacity to triumph over trauma. I believe not only that trauma is curable, but that the healing process can be a catalyst for profound awakening—a portal opening to emotional and genuine spiritual transformation.”

― Peter A. Levine

Somatic therapy is the beginning or continuation of a relationship you have with your body, giving notice to ways in which the body is feeling through the language of sensation. We often begin to notice sensations of well-being, like a smile that comes to our face when we think about a special friend showing up for us or a sense of relief in the body through a deep exhale when we’ve finished a big project. Because of the negativity bias of our brain for our very survival we are often less aware of sensations of well-being in our body and only aware of what doesn’t feel well inside of us.

Somatic therapy works less with the narrative of a situation or traumatic event and with more emphasis on what the body experiences when we begin to remember or talk about a situation or event. Because of this, I may ask during the session, “what are you noticing in your body at this moment”. Clients notice a range of things like tightness in their throat, neck, shoulders, pit in their stomach, racing thoughts, nervousness in their chest. Traumatic events can be encoded in our memory system so that when we remember something our bodies begin to remember and re-experience a fight or flight or freeze response or a collapsed state. Some of the work is to bring awareness to what is neutral in the body or what is even pleasant. By bringing awareness to the sensations inside of our body, engaging our sense of interoception, this begins to create a shift or reset in our nervous system and help the body return to a more balanced state.

Maybe you are tired of re-telling your trauma stories to others only to not feel any relief or healing or maybe you even feel worse after sharing it. Please reach out to discuss new ways to experience mind-body healing without having to re-tell your whole trauma story again.