Somatic Therapy
Your body is part of your story.
We often think of therapy as something that happens through talking and thinking.
But our experiences don’t only live in our thoughts.
They can also show up through tension, breath, posture, sensations, impulses, emotions and patterns in the nervous system.
Somatic therapy brings gentle awareness to these experiences.
What does somatic therapy involve?
Somatic work isn’t about forcing your body to relax or trying to make difficult feelings disappear.
Instead, we develop curiosity about what is happening in your body and nervous system.
You might notice:
● Where you feel an emotion physically
● Changes in breathing or heart rate
● Tension or collapse
● The impulse to move towards or away
● When you feel safe, activated or shut down
● How your body responds in relationships
What happens when you slow down and pay attention
Through this awareness, we can begin to develop greater choice and capacity.
From thinking about your experience to experiencing it.
Sometimes we can tell the story of something that happened many times and still feel caught in the same response.
Somatic work offers another way in.
Rather than analysing everything, we might pause and notice:
What is happening right now?
Where do you feel it?
What happens when we stay with it gently?
What does your body need?
The aim isn’t to overwhelm you with sensation or emotion.
We work within your capacity, gradually developing greater awareness, safety and choice.
Somatic therapy is not about pushing through.
We might use grounding, breath, movement, orienting, mindfulness, body awareness or simple experiments to help you connect with your experience.
Everything is collaborative.
You remain in control of the process.
And if something doesn’t feel right, we stop.
Because therapy should never require you to override
yourself.
