Somatic Psychotherapy: Healing Trauma Through the Body
Somatic Psychotherapy is grounded in the understanding that trauma and emotional experiences are stored in the body, not just the mind. While traditional therapies focus primarily on cognitive and emotional processing through conversation and reflection, somatic therapy acknowledges the importance of engaging the body in the healing process.
Many somatic therapies, including Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Somatic Experiencing, and Hakomi Therapy, emphasize that trauma can get "stuck" in the body. These physical imprints may manifest as chronic tension, postural changes, or nervous system dysregulation. Nervous system dysregulation occurs when the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which regulates functions like heart rate, digestion, and stress responses, becomes imbalanced due to trauma or prolonged stress. This dysregulation may leave someone oscillating between hyperarousal (such as anxiety, panic, or hypervigilance) and hypoarousal (feelings of numbness, lethargy, or emotional disconnection).
How Emotions Are Processed in the Body
Emotions are deeply interconnected with our bodily sensations. When we experience emotions like fear, sadness, or joy, we don’t just feel them in our minds—we also feel them in our bodies. For example:
Fear may cause your heart to race or your muscles to tense.
Anger can lead to clenched fists or a tight jaw.
Sadness might result in a heavy feeling in your chest or a lump in your throat.
These physical sensations are part of the body’s autonomic nervous system response to emotional stimuli. The fight-or-flight response, for instance, prepares the body to react to danger, while the freeze response may immobilize the body when trauma feels overwhelming. These reactions are not just mental; they are deeply rooted in our biology.
Emotions often originate in the limbic system, the part of the brain responsible for regulating emotions, memories, and arousal. However, when trauma occurs, the body's reactions, such as muscle tension or changes in breathing, often bypass conscious awareness. This is why people can continue to carry the physical weight of trauma long after the event has occurred.
In somatic psychotherapy, the focus is on helping clients notice these physical responses and work through them. This approach provides a way to tap into stored emotions and memories that may not be easily accessed through verbal discussion alone.
Why Cognitive Processing Alone Isn’t Always Enough
It is often said in somatic therapy circles that you can’t fully process trauma or emotional experiences cognitively—meaning, just by talking about them. Here’s why:
Trauma Affects the Body: Trauma is often stored in the subcortical regions of the brain, including the brainstem and limbic system, which control basic bodily functions like heart rate, breathing, and muscle tension. These areas of the brain do not "speak" in the same way as the cognitive brain (the prefrontal cortex, responsible for logical thinking and reasoning), which is why trauma can feel inaccessible through talk therapy alone.
Body Responses Are Automatic: The body reacts to trauma and emotional experiences automatically, often without our conscious control. For instance, even years after a traumatic event, a person might feel sudden anxiety, tightness, or panic when exposed to a trigger, even if they don’t consciously associate the trigger with the original event. These reactions are stored in the body’s memory and can remain activated until they are processed.
Incomplete Cognitive Understanding: People often intellectually understand that a traumatic event is over, but their body may still act as if the danger is present. This mismatch between mind and body is why someone may feel physically activated (e.g., rapid heartbeat, shallow breathing) despite knowing they are safe.
Bottom-Up Processing: Somatic therapy uses a bottom-up approach. It starts by addressing the body's automatic responses to regulate the nervous system and increase awareness of physical sensations, which helps pave the way for emotional and cognitive integration. Once the body is calm, it becomes easier to process emotions and memories cognitively.
Thus, in somatic therapy, bodily awareness acts as a crucial gateway to processing emotions and trauma. When clients connect to their body’s sensations, they can begin to unlock memories or emotions stored in the physical self that they may not have been able to access cognitively.
Can Emotions Be Processed Solely Through the Body?
While somatic psychotherapy emphasizes the importance of the body, it doesn't entirely exclude the mind. Instead, it seeks to integrate body and mind for full emotional processing. Trauma stored in the body can’t be fully healed until it’s brought into conscious awareness, but the body often needs to be the starting point.
Through somatic work, a client might first recognize physical cues (tightness, trembling, etc.), then begin to process the associated emotions or memories. The body and mind work together to complete the healing process.
In summary:
Cognitive processing alone may not be sufficient for trauma because trauma can be stored in the body's nervous system, not just in conscious memory.
Somatic therapy bridges the gap between the mind and body, allowing emotions to be processed both physically and cognitively.
The ideal therapeutic process often involves both the cognitive and the physical aspects of healing. By combining body awareness with cognitive understanding, clients can achieve a deeper sense of resolution, moving past trauma to regain a sense of safety and well-being.