What Is Somatic Therapy ?

Somatic therapy is a style of body-centered therapy that focuses on the connection between the mind and body, especially in how emotions, connections, feelings and sensations can be stored physically. It is especially helpful for people who feel stuck or find the endless chatting of traditional talk therapy to be unhelpful. 

Unlike traditional talk therapy, which focuses mostly on thoughts and emotions by thinking about them and their origins, somatic therapy incorporates physical techniques to help release tension, trauma and stuckness from the body. It makes room for new connections to emerge.

Key elements of somatic therapy:

• Body awareness: Clients are encouraged to tune into physical sensations, posture, breathing, and tension patterns.

• Movement and touch: Gentle movement, bodywork, or therapeutic touch may be used to help release stored emotions including trauma, shame and other unhelpful patterns.

• Mindfulness: Clients are guided to be present with their bodily sensations and emotional responses.

There are many techniques and styles but all ultimately lead to an awarness of the subtle and not so subtle messages our bodies are sending us. Some you may have heard of include:

• Somatic Experiencing 

• Sensorimotor Psychotherapy

• Breathwork

• Dance or movement therapy

• EMDR with somatic components

• Somatic Sexology

It’s often described as a holistic approach that views healing as something that involves both mind and body, not just talking about the past, but actually feeling and moving through it physically in order to make room for a new experience.

A somatic therapy session can vary depending on the therapist's approach, but here’s a general idea of what one might look like:

Setting the Space

• The session usually starts like a traditional therapy session — sitting together, talking about what’s been going on.

• I might ask you to share how you're feeling emotionally and physically.

Mind-Body Awareness

• I may guide you to tune into your body:
  “As you talk about that, what do you notice happening in your body?”
  “Where do you feel that in your chest or stomach?”

• You might notice tension, tightness, heat, numbness — anything at all. Together we'll stay curious and nonjudgmental about those sensations.

Somatic Techniques

Depending on what comes up, we might move through:

• Breathwork: Deep, intentional breathing to regulate your nervous system.

• Movement or posture changes: Small shifts like relaxing your shoulders, grounding your feet, or noticing how your body wants to move.

• Touch (with consent): Some therapists are trained in safe, therapeutic touch to support release — though not all use this.

• Imagery or guided visualization: To help process stuck emotions or bring in a sense of safety.

 Tracking and Releasing Trauma

• Together we'll track sensations that might be linked to past experiences ortrauma.

• You may be guided to stay with a sensation gently, not to force it, but to allow it to process or move.

• There can be small physical releases — like trembling, sighing, or crying — which are signs of the nervous system discharging stress.

Integration and Grounding

• Sessions often end with grounding techniques (like orienting to the room or feeling your feet on the floor) to help you come back to the present safely.

• You might talk briefly about how the experience felt and how to carry that awareness into daily life.

The work itself is often very gentle — not about re-living trauma, but allowing your body to complete responses it may have had to suppress at the time of distress.