Trauma Treatment: What You Need To Know About Somatic Therapy
Somatic therapy is a method of healing from past traumas, bad relationships, and other negative experiences. Somatic therapy helps patients become more aware of their bodies and how it responds to trauma. You learn how to sense triggers and release them through using your body. Here are some things you need to know about somatic therapy:
What Traumas Can Somatic Therapy Help Heal?
Somatic therapy helps you address different emotional issues that are not always healed through talk therapy alone. The trauma is held within the body and needs to be healed through other means.
Some of the conditions somatic therapy can treat include grief and loss, acts of violence, death, sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, neglect, and most other forms of trauma.
What Can You Expect at a Somatic Therapy Session?
Somatic therapy theory believes that the trauma you have experienced disrupts the central nervous system functionality. For this reason, it is believed that past trauma is stored in the body and can reemerge physically. You may notice the symptoms in your posture, digestive tract, movements, body language, and pain. The therapy helps to release memories and emotions through breathing, exercise, relaxation techniques, and the like.
The goal of each somatic therapy session is to help you gain awareness and release the physical symptoms of the stored trauma. You will learn how to track your emotions and experiences as they happen. You can do this through movement, voice work, touch, dance, and other physical motions. The therapist will guide you through some of your traumatic memories and observe how your body reacts as they then guide you through different forms of movement to help you deal with your physical symptoms.
How Long Do Somatic Therapy Sessions Last?
One different aspect of somatic therapy is the fact that there is no set structure for each patient. You as the patient and your needs will determine the length and frequency of your sessions. Your circumstances, level of trauma, and healing journey will depend on you and your therapist. If you begin to exhibit signs of healing, your therapist will determine when the best time is to end your therapy sessions.
Somatic therapy can be very healing if you have dealt with serious levels of trauma. It is advised that you receive somatic therapy with other forms of therapy and even medication( depending on your healing needs) to best help you deal with your trauma.
Talk to your therapist to learn more about somatic attachment therapy.
