SOMATIC THERAPY-WHAT IS IT?
By Alissa Kammerling, of Reclamation Psychotherapy
While you read these words, start to pay attention to what is happening inside of you. What sensations do you notice? How easefully is your breath moving? What emotions are present? These are questions I often ask at the start of a somatic therapy session to help the client orient to their present moment experience. As a somatic therapist, my focus is the body. I am interested in what happens both internally and externally for someone as they speak about their life. I am interested in the non-verbal, ranging from the subtle to the obvious. This could look like a shift in posture, inability to make eye contact, a clenching of fists, a flutter in one’s stomach, a constriction in breath. These are all important indicators that something important is happening inside. From here I follow the organic unfolding of wants to happen in the moment. My goal is to also help clients make contact with their emotional experience so they no longer have to carry the energy in their bodies.
“ Trauma is not what happens to you but what happens inside you. " — GABOR MATÉ
The latest research tells us that trauma lives in the body. Strictly speaking about one’s trauma does not make the pain from the event disappear. We can have an intellectual understanding of what happened to us, but it does not necessarily change how impacted we are from the trauma. Self-awareness is the first step, however it’s not the only step. Traditional talk therapy takes a top down approach using the mind to make meaning of the trauma. Somatic therapy supports the metabolization of trauma by attending to the physical manifestations of the trauma in real time. This supports the client in completing any movement or impulses which needed to happen when the trauma occurred.
I use Gestalt therapy as my main modality to facilitate this process. Gestalt is an experiential, relational approach which uses the present moment to guide where the work goes. It is a collaborative process between client and therapist, allowing the therapeutic relationship to serve as a safe and healing space for the client. Gestalt creates an opportunity for the client to have a new experience. One where they can go back and work on unfinished business in their life. Parts work is an integral part of this process which supports clients in externalizing internal conflict and creating dialogue between parts using objects and pillows.
My goal is always to help clients get to the root of what is driving how they feel, their behavior, and their relationships with themselves and others. In my experience working with clients, somatic therapy offers deep, profound experiences which help clients feel and move through the world differently.
I am happy to answer any questions regarding somatic therapy. Please reach out!