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Somatic Trauma Therapy: What Is It

Writer's picture: Raina LaGrandRaina LaGrand

me working with a client in a somatic therapy session

Somatic therapy and trauma therapy are not inherently the same thing, but they are generally rooted in similar ideas. Some of these shared underpinnings include:


  1. That our bodies possess an immense amount of wisdom based on our past experiences (and the experiences of our ancestors). That we are the way we are because of our shaping.

  2. That our minds and bodies are not inherently separate entities but have become understood and treated as such through the process of colonization and generations of trauma (which is a whole ‘nother blog post). And that they can repair this broken relationship and collaborate.

  3. That our bodies are inherently relational; we exist through and because of others. We need each other to survive (this also could use another blog post!). And we are part of nature and interdependent with other living things. 


Somatic therapy sessions may include talking (sometimes even the whole session), but there are at least a few ways somatic therapy differs from traditional talk therapy.


The Language of Your Body


Talk therapy generally focuses on your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. 


In somatic therapy, we will examine your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, but we will ALSO explore body sensations, impulses toward movement or stillness, and information collected through your senses. 


Somatic therapy embraces the fact that emotions are natural, normal and important data that doesn’t necessarily need to be “reduced.” Through this therapy, we aim to increase your capacity to experience emotions. This isn’t to say you should have capacity for everything; with increased capacity comes an increase in your ability to discern whether what you are experiencing necessitates a protective response or whether you are safe enough to stay in the experience.


When it comes to treating trauma, this approach is especially useful because it helps us to address the trauma that lives on in your body beyond your immediate consciousness. With trauma, memories are often not encoded in chronological order or in our conscious memory. Instead, the body holds onto them through physiological and emotional patterns. These are called implicit memories. Our body uses implicit memory to make quick decisions about how to respond to different situations, feelings, or environments.


Touching into these other layers of your experience also lends itself to uncovering more about what you really need and long for. It is common for people to override these organic messages because they are inconvenient or seem impossible, or because we learned very early in life to shut down our own needs, for instance, even before we are consciously aware of them. With somatic therapy, we sharpen your attunement to your needs.

a hand holding an arm

The Wisdom of Your Body


The goal of talk therapy is often to change or improve your life or mental health by identifying and reshaping your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Somatic therapy will definitely help you make changes to your life or wellbeing, but we will first seek to understand the thoughts, feelings, behaviors, etc.


When it comes to trauma in particular, the patterns that bring people to therapy are often protective mechanisms built up from experiences where you felt alone or unsafe. You might think of it as unfinished business that lives on in the body. There are physiological and emotional learnings that underpin these patterns. In order to change things in a way that feels safe and sustainable for your body, it’s important to understand what these patterns are protecting and what kind of support your body needs in order to shift these patterns. 


This can involve adding coping resources to your toolbox, repairing the relationship between your mind and body, establishing routines and boundaries in your life, exploring if there are any stunted impulses that need to be complete somatically, and more.


The Pace of Your Body


Because we are interested in the nuance of sensation and impulse in somatic therapy, you might find that we spend more time focusing on your body in real time instead of talking about the past. We can definitely talk about the past, but we will also focus on staying with your body so that we can track it’s capacity to take in what we are processing. 


With somatic work, going slow - especially at first - generally allows us to go further in the long run. We may just work with a sliver of a memory, or go back and forth between feeling a sensation and grounding. This will help us to track what your body really needs and it will help you to better integrate your new learnings into your life. This ensures that the integration of the brain and nervous system happens in a way that is not disruptive to your life.


Your Mind is in Your Body


Sessions may include some talking, no talking, or a lot of talking. While somatic therapy recognizes that the mind is often afforded some level of “supremacy” in our society, the goal is not to simply swap that dynamic and render the body better. Research shows that a combination of what we call “bottom-up” (somatic) and “top-down” (cognitive) approaches are especially effective. We have meaning-making minds, so we will support your mind in collaborating with your body in our work.

a person sits on the floor journaling

Ongoing Trauma and Oppression


It’s important to note that while many trauma therapy modalities were created to address trauma that happened in the past, for many individuals trauma and oppression are ongoing sources of harm. While there are certain interventions that are therefore more effective for past trauma, there are still a lot of options for those in actively harmful situations. 


In this sense, we can approach trauma therapy as a way not to diminish the active and wise protective patterns employed by the body, but to add to it’s repertoire, to create new and different choice that might help someone navigate interpersonal or systemic trauma, for instance. These practices might help you to feel more resilient in the face of ongoing trauma and oppression, or help you discern between patterns that truly are rooted in past experience compared to those that are actually needed in present time.


I deeply believe that just because someone is actively experiencing trauma does not mean that they cannot also access healing and resilience. In fact, I think we would all fare a lot better if we grew to see these things as existing simultaneously. Trauma and oppression are not experiences that can be sequestered away from life and wellbeing.


What to Expect During Sessions


Many clients like to take a moment to drop into the session, whether silently or by having me facilitate a quick grounding or orienting exercise.


Because we want to go slow, most sessions it’s important to identify a main topic or intention to focus on instead of moving from topic to topic. As we proceed with the session some of the things we might do together include:


  • Connect to your body and start a dialogue between your mind and body

  • Develop language to describe what’s happening in your body

  • Learn to recognize nervous system activation

  • Learn grounding exercises and coping strategies for when you feel overwhelmed

  • Try somatic experiments to explore where you feel stuck and practice taking risks

  • Use sensation to track and complete physiological impulses that may have been impeded during trauma

  • Test and possibly reshape your inner narrative, including core emotional learnings about yourself and the world

  • Process past experiences, including early life experiences and dynamics in your family/culture of origin

  • Learn about your relationship patterns and attachment style

  • Learn how to feel connected to others and to find safety in connection

  • Grieve what’s been lost or missing

  • Connect to a sense of self or purpose that is larger than your trauma/wounding

  • Explore how systems of oppression shape your lived experience


Is Somatic Therapy for Trauma for Me?


Somatic trauma therapy generally works best for people who are open to exploring their internal experience and trying an experiential approach to therapy.


If you’re considering somatic trauma therapy, it’s important to know that pacing and consent is a big part of the process. That is to say, you will not be forced into an experience that will be too overwhelming or uncomfortable for you. Going slow is the best practice and giving your consent is an important step of the process.


You don’t need to have any obvious “trauma” to benefit from this approach. Our bodies also carry implicit memories and patterned responses as a result of other conditioning.


It’s also important to remember that while some of us have very obvious experiences that have resulted in trauma, we live in a world that is extremely oppressive and violent, and this shows up in our bodies, interpersonal relationships, and systems in covert ways. As such, I generally believe we all have some unlearning and reshaping that can better not only us as individuals but our communities.


If you’re interested in trying somatic therapy for trauma (or somatic therapy in general), I offer free 20-minute consultations. We can talk about your concerns and goals. From there, we can schedule your first few sessions and you can see how you like the approach. Because somatic therapy and trauma therapy are slow and spacious processes, I recommend committing to at least three sessions.




Photos by  Loren Pullum, Armin Rimold, and Andrea Piacquadio

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