SomaticTherapy
“Once you are approaching your body with curiosity rather than fear, everything shifts.”
Bessel A van der Kolk
How does SomaticTherapy work?
Over the past 25 years, I've worked as a somatic therapist, supporting clients facing terminal illnesses, trauma, anxiety, chronic pain, loss of self or health, grief, and existential issues.
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Our bodies have been our constant companions throughout every life event since birth, through highs and lows, and even during the toughest moments that leave us wounded and scared.
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These experiences leave imprints on our bodies, manifesting as wounds, bruises, and scars. Our bodies develop coping mechanisms to survive and protect us from past trauma and pain.
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Depending on the severity of these past experiences, our bodies retain these protective mechanisms, activating them when we encounter reminders of our past traumas. Triggers can be scents, sounds, music, people, locations, fabrics, tones of voice, or anything reminiscent of our struggles.
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As a result, unresolved trauma from the past can resurface in the present, impacting our lives in various ways.
Somatic therapy provides an opportunity to release these deeply held patterns, allowing for healing and greater freedom. It enables individuals to move towards a more enriched and fulfilling experience of life.
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What it helps with
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Dealing with triggers
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Flash-backs
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Seld-regulation
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Anxiety
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Panic attacks
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Self-worth issues
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Feeling inferior, helpless, frustrated, angry, defensive, numb, frozen, isolated, rejected, confused, vulnerable or dissociated, depressed, paranoid, fearful, terrible nightmares etc.
Approaches used
The following approaches empower the therapist to utilise specific modalities crafted to effectively address trauma.
These trauma-focused modalities encompass body therapy, mindfulness and breath work, SomatoEmotional Release, psycho-education, soothing techniques, brain research, exposure therapy, cognitive processing, somatic therapy, inner-child work, Internal Family Systems (IFS), sand tray therapy, and more.