Somatic Body Aware Therapy
Somatic therapy aims to connect body and mind to help you to release pent-up trauma and regulate your nervous system.
By reconnecting with your physical self, you'll develop an understanding of your emotional self.
What is Somatic Therapy?
More and more studies are revealing the effectiveness of using talking therapy combined with more body-centric approaches.
Our feelings are 'recorded' in all of our body cells so somatic therapy focuses on identifying and releasing uncomfortable emotions that have become stuck in them. Emotions of long-held stress and trauma contribute to physical symptoms including chronic pain. Becoming more and more aware of and attuned with how and when certain emotions manifest physically allows you to release the physical tension.
In the animal kingdom, animals know how to complete the stress cycle when, for example, they run away from a predator. The animal follows its instinct that the created stress needs first to be released throughout shivering off or shaking itself following the attack to come back to a place of physical ease.
Humans have forgotten or lost touch with this primordial instinct. We are unlikely to be in life-or-death situations regularly, but the reptile part of our brain treats everyday stresses, like running late for work, in the same way as running away from a predator. In addition, we usually don’t move our body enough physically to complete the stress cycle so those chemicals continue to run through our bodies.
Somatic Therapy Techniques I Use
Grounding
When stress, anxiety or trauma are triggered, your mind will revert either to the past trauma or to the potential future pain. Through learning grounding techniques, you can root yourself in the here and now of the present moment to soothe the nervous system.
I draw all my grounding experience from more than twenty years of the ancient practice of meditation, visualization, autogenic training, Tai chi, Qi gong, mindfulness, yoga and breathing techniques. For example, focusing on the image of spreading your feet deeply in the ground like the roots of a tree aiming at reaching the core of the earth, will help you to come back to your body, calming down your nervous system.
Self Regulation
The main aim of somatic therapy is to give you the tools you need to rely on yourself once your sessions are over. Part of this involves teaching you how to recognize your specific physical and emotional symptoms and which self-regulation tools can help you deal with them then and there.
Setting Boundaries
Setting firm boundaries enable you to reconstruct a sense of internal safety to help you to stay present and respond to demands in a way that supports you. When boundaries are in place, you can recognize how your body feels when boundaries are crossed and how to respond healthily and appropriately.
Movement
My use of homeopathy, natural remedies and therapies have trained me to listen to what my body is telling me, how it wants to be treated and which conflicts need to be released. Whilst on my path of self-discovery, I have developed such an unshakable trust in myself to use these techniques that I have then put them at the service of all of my clients. As part of this, I will use movement to teach you how to listen to your body language.
I have learned that the body never lies so I encourage you to follow your physical instincts through listening to your body and to use postures and gestures to make a new and authentic sense of your experience. It is about noticing what music you are trying to escape and observing the track in a Walkman that needs to be switched off and move forward.
Types of Somatic Therapies
Biodynamic Psychotherapy – a non-verbal communication your body is using to communicate.
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) – seeks to release blocked energy in the body using a combination of tapping techniques whilst using positive affirmations.
What Can Somatic Therapy Help With?
Somatic therapy is particularly supportive for the following concerns:
- post-traumatic stress disorder
- stress
- anxiety
- chronic pain
- addiction
- depression
- sex problems
- digestive disorders
- trauma
Is Somatic Therapy Right For You?
If you want to explore never understood and long-standing physical discomfort and pain and want to develop a better relationship both personally and with your body, then you might benefit from somatic therapy. In my experience, somatic therapy is effective often where talking therapies have failed.
Should you be wondering whether this therapy is suitable for you, do not hesitate to talk to me about any worries that you might have.
Get in touch
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about how counselling, hypnotherapy or life coaching works, or to arrange an initial assessment appointment. This enables us to discuss the reasons you are thinking of coming, whether it could be helpful for you and whether I am the right therapist to help.
You can also call me on 07766551804 if you would prefer to leave a message or speak to me first. I am happy to discuss any queries or questions you may have before arranging an initial appointment.
All enquiries are usually answered within 2 hours, and all contact is strictly confidential and uses secure phone and email services.
©2022 Marianna Trezza
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