If you’re looking to become a somatic therapist or are interested in seeing one it’s helpful to know what somatic therapy is, the different modalities that fall under the category, and why it is effective. This comprehensive somatic therapy training article was written to answer all your questions.
Let’s start with the Foundation: What Is Somatic Therapy?
Somatic therapy is a healing approach that’s about working with the body to heal and reprogram the mind. Since the mind and body are connected, working on aspects of the body, can help people work through thoughts and feelings.
One of the simplest ways to understand how this connection works and why somatic therapy is effective is to consider a moment where you learned, let’s say, to ride a bike. If you learn to ride a bike you first train your mind. You learn how to peddle conceptually before you actually get on the bike and try. When you think about riding a bike if you’re new to it you might have a somatic experience of fear and feel tension in the body even just as you learn. There is a mental and physical component to it.
Once you get on the bike and learn to pedal and gain balance you have more of a somatic experience, your body is feeling sensations. Cognitively the brain is still processing your actions too. There is a mental and physical connection that happens. The body and mind work together and each area has its own experience.
Somatic therapy is about focusing on the sensations and feelings in the body to learn more deeply or to retrieve memories and work through thoughts.
One of the most critical differences between traditional talk therapies that focus primarily on cognitive and emotional processing, somatic therapy incorporates physical awareness and body-based techniques to address trauma, stress, anxiety, and other psychological conditions. The premise is that trauma and emotional distress are stored in the body, not just the mind. Therefore a body-centered approach can help people work through thoughts and feelings.
This approach integrates neuroscience, psychology, and physiology, helping individuals to access and release unresolved emotions through bodily sensations, movement, breathwork, and mindfulness.
