Somatic Experiencing

What Makes Somatic Experiencing Such An Amazing Therapy Model?

Sometimes, when we experience pain or adversity in life, it can have a powerful impact not only on our emotional state but also on our physical well-being. For instance, trauma—whether from abuse, loss, a personal tragedy, or any other negative experience—can leave an indelible mark that’s not always so easy to identify or even treat.

Oftentimes, the scars from the past can manifest as bodily pain, discomfort, soreness, illness, and a litany of other uncomfortable sensations and physical ailments. Trauma could also show up as debilitating panic attacks, poor body image/posture, and even disordered eating.

All of these symptoms are physical manifestations of emotional pain. Unfortunately, traditional talk therapy doesn’t always succeed in fully addressing those symptoms, which is where Somatic Experiencing becomes so important.

Also referred to as Somatic Psychotherapy, Bodywork, and Somatic Healing, Somatic Experiencing (SE) is a body-centered approach to therapy that can treat a range of issues, from complex PTSD and single-incident trauma to anxiety, OCD, and eating disorders. It’s also a powerful tool for working with physical symptoms for which there is no known medical cause or a clear path toward treatment.

What Is A Somatic Experiencing Session Like?

That depends on the therapist, as we all have slightly different somatic approaches. However, we typically begin with some traditional talk therapy to suss out what brings you to somatic therapy, how long it’s been an issue, and what you hope to achieve through counseling. We’ll also do regular check-ins to see where you are in your progress and to tackle any newly emerging issues.

Then, once we get into processing and the healing aspect of therapy, we’ll start to weave in Somatic Experiencing. That may look like having you stop and explore the sensations you are experiencing as you recount a traumatic event, or it could involve learning a new grounding/mindfulness skill and processing how it felt to learn and practice that skill.

Another common practice is reflecting on an emotional event and then discussing what the resulting emotions were and where they made themselves felt in the body. For example, maybe you experience anger through your hands where it feels hot and tense, resulting in you clenching your fists. Somatic Bodywork allows you to release anger from the body and change how you respond to stimuli.

What Can Somatic Experiencing And Bodywork Treat?

Where traditional counseling methods focus on emotional and cognitive aspects of symptoms, Somatic Experiencing works by connecting the mind and body as one.

Somatic Psychotherapy is designed to help you learn to better understand your body's reactions during times of distress. Knowing more about how you react to stimuli and what triggers those responses enables you to better listen to your body and follow its natural cues.

With the support of a somatic therapist, you can also learn how to release energy from previous trauma that has gotten stuck physically. For instance, maybe you were bullied as a child for your weight, which led to an unhealthy relationship with food as an adult. SE would help you reconnect to your body through mindfulness and grounding, allowing you to better intuit when you are both truly hungry and full.

In this way, SE brings awareness to your body, where you feel the discomfort, and what you can do to better manage how you physically respond to triggers. That, in turn, allows you to consciously mitigate stressors, reduce feelings of overwhelm, and take back control of your body.

Once you become more in touch with yourself and more aware of your mind-body connection, you’ll be able to enjoy a greater sense of resilience and strength in future situations.

Is Somatic Bodywork An Effective Form Of Therapy?

Somatic Psychotherapy is a highly effective therapy model backed by a great deal of research that is growing every day. Depending on your needs and preferences, Somatic Experiencing can easily be used in conjunction with other counseling modalities to increase the effectiveness of the healing process as a whole.

Oftentimes, we will integrate aspects of mindfulness, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), EMDR, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Internal Family Systems (IFS) into Somatic Therapy sessions. Given its gentle, holistic, body-centered, trauma-focused, and non-intrusive approach, somatic bodywork naturally lends itself to creating a safe space for people to grow and experience true healing.

Somatic Experiencing is an effective way of treating the whole person and addressing a range of issues, especially anxiety. However, it’s also particularly useful for helping women who have experienced trauma in their bodies merely as a result of how our society operates.

For example, as soon as puberty hits, girls feel pressure to stay small, but that’s not really how puberty works—weight gain is typical in that period of life. Then, there are the additional hormonal changes that continue throughout the rest of puberty, a woman’s mid-20s, pregnancy, menopause, etc.

There is so little known or acknowledged about these processes that a lot of women experience trauma directly from that lack of knowledge, resulting in many of the body image issues we see today. Somatic Experiencing for trauma targets that emotional pain in the body, helping women develop the connections within that allow them to better trust their bodies and what is natural.

What Can Our Clients Take Away From Somatic Bodywork?

Working with a somatic practitioner produces results beyond what talk therapy can do alone by focusing more on the physical body. That, in turn, helps bring unconscious physical sensations and patterns to the forefront of awareness, providing physical and emotional relief.

SE is a gentle and gradual approach to healing that follows a slow, step-by-step process, giving you a safe space to work through trauma and other forms of wounding without the risk of re-traumatization.

Unlike traditional counseling models, SE improves nervous system regulation through a bottom-up approach that targets the root cause of symptoms, both physical and emotional. This can help uncover hidden traumas and address them more effectively than traditional talk therapy methods.

Somatic Experiencing helps you become more in tune with bodily sensations, enabling you to recognize how stress, anxiety, trauma, body image issues, etc., manifest physically. Somatic Experiencing also equips you with mindfulness skills, emotional regulation strategies, trauma-release techniques, increased self-control, and a deep sense of self-compassion.

Most importantly, it offers you a chance to heal old wounds and empower yourself with the ability to navigate whatever comes your way in the future.

A Little About Our Background With Somatic Bodywork

Our Somatic Experiencing practitioners at Key Counseling Group have years of combined experience helping clients manage and overcome anxiety, trauma, and a host of other challenges. We also have expertise in a diverse range of additional modalities meant to supplement and tailor the healing process to each individual’s needs and situation.

Understanding the crucial link between mind, body, and even spirit, we felt it was imperative to offer a service that considered every aspect of a person’s being. That’s why Somatic Experiencing has become such a big part of our approach to healing and helping others live their best lives.

If you’re interested in learning more about Somatic Bodywork, please call 678-400-9477 or reach out for your free, 20-minute consultation to see how our online or in-person counseling services can help you.

Key Counseling Group offers online and in-person Somatic Psychotherapy services in Atlanta, GA, and the greater Georgia area.