Somatic Therapy (Body-Centered)
Somatic therapy, also known as body-centered therapy is a technique that looks at the connection of mind and body and uses both psychotherapy and physical therapy for healing. According to somatic practitioners, our bodies hold on to past traumas and may manifest in symptoms like pain, digestive issues, sexual dysfunction, immune deficiencies, depression, anxiety and addiction.
Local Experts in Somatic Therapy (Body-Centered)
Adolescent/Teen Therapy, Couples Therapy, Individual Therapy, Group Therapy, Family Therapy
Many believe that they are most affected cognitively by experiences in their life, but the body experience often gets neglected. It is important to also notice and acknowledge how your experience has been held in your body. Emotions are held in your body and can start to create tension, anxiety, and other physical responses if unresolved.
I initially received training in this in graduate school and use it with all of my clients.
MA
My understanding is that we are a mind-body-spirit, there is no separation as they all impact each other. Due to our overemphasis on our thoughts and thinking in our culture, we are often separated or out of touch from our bodies. Becoming connected to our bodies is a means of greater wholeness and integration and often an important foundation to our work together.
I love incorporating movement, breathing, and mindfulness meditations into my work. I am a Certified Yoga Calm teacher for children and adolescents, https://www.yogacalm.org/ and a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT-200). My goal is for clients to feel safe in their body so they can feel grounded in the present moment to explore there feelings, increase awareness and inner calm, and tell their story.
Some traumas or developmental diagnoses are better treated through the body than with words or thinking exercises. Occupational therapists are proficient at both physiological systems as well as neurological systems. At times it can be more productive to organize the body before processing trauma or learning new skills. Connecting the mind and body is often the goal when healing trauma in OT.
I used mindfulness approaches in the therapy I do with my clients which supports getting in touch with body sensations to understand their feelings.
If we aren't addressing the body, we aren't getting to the root of suffering. I guide clients into awareness and eventually deeper connection with the body, utilizing mindfulness, visualization, energy work and feeling/sensing practices to build safety and gently move through blocks on a deep level.
Thoughts and feelings not only live in our head--they also are stored in the body and can be accessed through Body-Centered approaches. We may work with body sensations by using Mindfulness exercises (nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment) and Body Awareness exercises in order to process and change thoughts, feelings and behaviors via body sensations.