Understanding Somatic Therapy: A Path to Healing and Connection

If you've tried traditional talk therapy but still feel "stuck," you're not alone. Many people find themselves curious about somatic therapy but aren't quite sure what makes this approach different. My goal is to provide you with a clearer understanding of what somatic therapy entails, so you can determine if this approach aligns with your journey.

The Disconnect Between Mind and Body

In my practice, I often hear people say during our initial consultation that despite having an intellectual understanding of their patterns, they still feel stuck when it comes to moving forward in key areas of their lives. This includes relationships, career goals, setting boundaries, or simply feeling safe in their own body. They have insights but struggle to take action or feel different.

This happens because the body often holds a different story than the mind. It may not align with our intellectual understanding. Imagine having beautiful blueprints for renovating your home. You can see exactly what needs to change and how much better it could be. However, the foundation and electrical wiring are still operating on the old system. We may know what we need to change, but the body doesn't yet have the "somatic and neural circuitry" to support the life we wish to create for ourselves. The beauty of somatic therapy is that we can tend to this foundational work and build the capacity your body needs to align with your intentions.

When Your Mind and Body Tell Different Stories

Most of us are conditioned to process experiences through thoughts and mental narratives. We analyze, rationalize, and try to make cognitive sense of what happened. While your mind's story matters, your body holds its own story, and sometimes these don't align, especially if there has been trauma.

When I say trauma, I'm not just referring to major life-threatening events. Trauma is relative and can be understood more broadly as anything our body didn't have the capacity to deal with at the time it happened. This includes overwhelming stress, medical procedures, accidents, emotional neglect, or even seemingly smaller incidents that left us feeling helpless or unsafe. These experiences continue to live as responses in our nervous system, even years later.

Your nervous system doesn't distinguish between past and present when these stored responses get triggered. Think about what happens when you encounter stress or a perceived threat. Your body immediately releases stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. Your muscles contract and brace for action. Your heart rate increases, and your breathing becomes shallow. These physiological responses happen in milliseconds, completely below conscious awareness and without your mind's permission or input.

For example, our mind might confidently state, "I'm safe now; that trauma was years ago," while your body continues bracing with shoulder tension or responding with a racing heart to certain triggers. You might logically know a situation isn't threatening. Yet, your nervous system remains hypervigilant, flooding your system with stress hormones as if danger were imminent. This prevents access to those relaxed, regulated states. Over time, this activation can lead to more noticeable physical symptoms.

This disconnect explains why you can't simply think your way to lasting relaxation. You might try telling yourself to calm down, but when anxiety surfaces again, or your shoulders tense up during a stressful conversation, it becomes incredibly frustrating when your body won't listen to your mind's reassurances. The harder you try to force relaxation, the more stuck you can feel because your neural circuitry can't integrate what your mind is trying to convince it of.

All these automatic responses, hormone cascades, muscle contractions, changes in breathing and heart rate, and shifts in energy levels are happening under the surface, whether your mind has a say or not. Your body's story includes these cellular memories, automatic responses, and physical imprints that operate completely below conscious awareness. Somatic therapy is about learning how to become aware of these automatic patterns, bit by bit, and gently working with your body's natural capacity.

The Importance of Feeling Safe and Grounded

Have you ever noticed your body holding tension even when your mind says you should be relaxed? Do you find yourself saying, "I should be over this by now," while still feeling it physically?

Conversely, when we are truly relaxed, "safe," settled, grounded, and at capacity, our body releases calming hormones like oxytocin and GABA. Our muscles naturally soften and lengthen. Our heart rate variability increases in a healthy rhythm, and our breathing becomes deep and effortless. Our digestive system functions optimally, and we have access to creativity, connection, and joy. We experience an inner expansiveness, as if we've gained bandwidth to handle life's complexities that once felt impossible to manage. Things start to change.

Please note that in somatic therapy, when we talk about feeling "safe," we don't mean the absence of all danger or stress in your life. Instead, safety means you can be present with your current experiences, whether they're pleasant or difficult, without becoming overwhelmed, physiologically activated, or shutting down completely. You can stay connected to yourself and your resources even when life gets challenging.

What Somatic Therapy Actually Is and How It Works

What makes somatic therapy unique is that it recognizes healing happens not just through understanding or talking about our experiences but through the body's own natural processes of regulation and restoration. While traditional therapies focus primarily on thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, somatic therapy works directly with your nervous system's innate capacity for self-regulation.

The term "somatic" derives from the Greek word "soma," meaning the living body as experienced from within. This approach understands that your body holds wisdom and healing capacity that can be accessed when we know how to listen.

Your autonomic nervous system constantly scans for safety and threat through a process called neuroception, happening below conscious awareness. When you encounter stress or danger, your body automatically prepares to fight, flee, or freeze. These are healthy, adaptive responses designed to protect you.

However, when these survival responses get interrupted or overwhelmed, they can remain stuck in an activated state. This trapped energy manifests as chronic tension, hypervigilance, panic attacks, sleep disturbances, or feeling disconnected from your body.

Unlike traditional talk therapy that processes experiences through conversation, somatic approaches engage your body's innate wisdom to release stored tension, complete interrupted defensive responses, and restore nervous system balance. We work with what's happening in your body right now, allowing your system to complete natural healing processes that may have been interrupted.

In somatic therapy, we are really learning to get in touch again with what safety, groundedness, and regulated capacity actually feel like in our bodies. This is true even if it's been a long time since we experienced these states or if we've never really known them at all.

Most importantly, we are learning that we have a choice. We can continue rehearsing all the things that cause us stress, anxiety, and overwhelm, or we can start listening to and retraining our nervous system to orient toward safety, ease, and resilience. This isn't about positive thinking or forcing relaxation; it's about teaching your body to recognize and return to its natural state of well-being.

Who Benefits Most from Somatic Approaches

Based on clinical experience and research, somatic therapy proves particularly effective for individuals who continue experiencing physical symptoms despite cognitive insights. You might find this approach especially helpful if you experience:

• Chronic pain or tension that doctors can't fully explain

• Sleep difficulties, nightmares, or insomnia

• Panic attacks or overwhelming anxiety

• Feeling disconnected from your body or emotions

• Hypervigilance or feeling constantly "on edge"

• Depression with physical heaviness or numbness

• Using food, substances, shopping, or media to cope with difficult emotions or numb out

• Feeling overwhelmed in certain settings, like crowded places, social gatherings, or noisy environments

• Relationship patterns that feel reactive, clingy, or avoidant

• Difficulty setting boundaries or saying no

• Getting easily triggered by conflict or criticism

• Feeling like you're "too much" or "not enough" in relationships

• Compulsive behaviors or addictive patterns that provide temporary relief

• Burnout, chronic fatigue, or feeling depleted despite adequate rest

• Trying to set positive goals for yourself but consistently not being able to get there

  
  

Which of these experiences feels familiar to you? What has your body been trying to tell you that your mind might have been dismissing?

This approach also benefits anyone wanting to develop greater resilience and stress management skills rooted in body awareness rather than just mental strategies.

What to Expect: Sessions and Timeline

A somatic therapy session looks different from traditional talk therapy. I guide you to develop 'felt sense awareness,' noticing subtle body sensations, breathing patterns, and movement impulses. We get curious about what's arising in your body, sometimes moving with sensations, breathing into them, or simply witnessing what's present.

We pause frequently, especially when you start getting pulled into what's called the 'stress or trauma vortex.' This is that familiar spiral where thoughts race, the body tenses, and you feel increasingly overwhelmed or locked in mental stories and reactions. Instead of pushing through or talking faster, we slow down and check in with what's happening in your body right now. We might shift position, take deeper breaths, or notice where you feel supported by your chair to help your nervous system reset.

If you don't feel very 'connected to your body,' don't worry; we work with this gently in a way that feels safe and accessible. Everything in somatic therapy is subtle, curious, and invitational, going at your pace. This approach can feel unfamiliar or even awkward at first, especially if you're used to processing experiences verbally rather than somatically, and that's completely normal.

The approach also uses "titration," breaking experience into small, manageable increments rather than overwhelming your system. This gentle pacing is intentional because sustainable transformation takes time.

Most people seeking help understandably want immediate relief, especially after struggling for months or years. However, somatic work is deliberately slow and often remarkably subtle. Your nervous system has held protective patterns for good reasons, and lasting change happens gradually.

This slower pace creates more enduring transformation. When you rush healing processes, you risk overwhelming your system or creating changes that don't integrate. When you allow your body to process at its organic pace, shifts become deeply rooted at a cellular level.

What would it feel like to trust your body's wisdom instead of fighting against what you're experiencing? What if your symptoms aren't something to fix, but messages to listen to?

Initially, you might barely notice changes. Then one day, you realize you slept through the night without anxiety, or your shoulders aren't chronically hunched, or you can finish that work project without feeling totally zapped. When you recognize these shifts, they feel undeniable because they're happening in your actual bodily experience.

The Power of Feeling Grounded, At Capacity, and Safe

Throughout my practice, I have witnessed remarkable transformations through somatic therapy, whether clients were addressing trauma, chronic pain, chronic illness, anxiety, or other challenges. There's something uniquely empowering about learning to work with your body's systems and developing genuine feelings of being grounded, at capacity, and safe instead of being stuck in your mind's stories.

Feeling grounded means experiencing connection to your body and the present moment rather than feeling scattered or disconnected or at the mercy of external factors. When you're at capacity, you can handle life's stresses without becoming completely overwhelmed or shutting down. Feeling safe occurs when your nervous system genuinely registers you're not in danger, allowing you to be present and responsive rather than reactive.

These aren't abstract concepts but lived experiences you feel in your body. When your nervous system authentically registers safety, breathing naturally deepens, chronic tension releases, and you access a fuller range of emotions and responses. Again, things change.

Finding Your Path Forward

If you're curious whether somatic therapy might support your wellbeing, consider what you're hoping to change. Are you seeking to feel more connected to your body? Do you want practical, embodied tools for managing stress beyond cognitive strategies? Are you looking to develop resilience rooted in nervous system health?

Your healing journey is uniquely yours, and the most effective therapeutic approach resonates with your specific needs and circumstances. Somatic therapy offers a pathway that honors both your body's inherent wisdom and your natural capacity for healing.

If this body-based approach feels aligned with what you're seeking, I invite you to explore how somatic therapy might support your journey toward greater wellbeing and embodied presence in your life. Please feel free to reach out if you would like to learn more or schedule a session.