Somatic and Body Oriented Therapy
in Houston, TX and Online
What Is Somatic Experiencing Therapy?
Somatic Experiencing is a body-oriented therapy used to treat the body’s response to trauma and stress. Because it helps individuals target trauma on a fundamental physical level, Somatic Experiencing allows the body to change its relationship to distress. Dr. Peter Levine first conceptualized Somatic Experiencing in the 1970s and founded this therapy based on the principle that trauma gets stuck in the nervous system—not the traumatic event. Somatic Experiencing has since been developed from a multi-disciplinary intersection of physiology, psychology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics. Research supports Somatic Experiencing as a highly effective therapy for targeting internalized trauma.
Somatic Therapy Helps the Body Heal
And because somatic therapy focuses on the body’s response to trauma, it is an effective treatment method for an array of mental and physical health concerns, including:
- PTSD
- Anxiety, worry, and panic
- Depression
- Rage and aggression
- Behavioral setbacks
- Chronic pain and muscle tension
- Addiction
- Stress and overwhelm
- Insomnia and fatigue
- Digestive issues
- Poor immune system
Today, Somatic Experiencing is applied in various professional settings such as psychotherapy, medicine, personal coaching, teaching, and physical therapy.
What Is Trauma?
To understand how Somatic Experiencing therapy works, we must first understand how trauma is stored in the body.
Trauma is defined as the unique, individual experience of a single event, series of events, or set of conditions in which:
- An individual’s ability to integrate their emotional experience (i.e., stay present and tolerate feelings) is overwhelmed
and/or
- An individual experiences a threat to life, bodily integrity, or sanity
In other words,
the body itself experiences the trauma, causing the nervous system to become overactivated when stress is introduced too fast or too soon, or when the distress is too much for our baseline state to process.
Why Humans Handle Trauma Differently Than Other Species
Due to the complex nature of the human nervous system, we can override the same instinctual process that allows other animals to return to a state of homeostasis following a distressing event.
Trauma can happen in both childhood and adulthood but will be handled very differently depending on an individual’s stage of development when the trauma took place. At the time of the trauma, the body experiences a physiological reaction—or a fight, flight, freeze response—to the stress.
As a result, trauma becomes stored and stuck in the human body and the nervous system continues to react as if the trauma is still occurring.
Eventually, the nervous system will experience symptoms of hyper-arousal—including anxiety, panic, insomnia, pain, hypervigilance, anger/rage, and flashbacks—or hypo-arousal, which are often associated with depression, low blood pressure, apathy, fatigue, and social isolation.
How Does Somatic Experiencing Therapy Work?
Somatic Experiencing therapy focuses on regulating the nervous system. During initial sessions, a Somatic Experiencing therapist will work to understand a client’s trauma and help them tune into the body’s reaction in the present moment—where there is no danger. The therapist creates a safe space to facilitate the release of lingering distress by educating the client on micro-movements that protect the body and promote a feeling of safety.
As the client maintains a deeper awareness of the relationship between physical sensations and reactive emotions, negative associations can begin to be released.
In helping the client to understand their response to stress, the therapist promotes skills for stress management, emotion regulation, and building up experiences of strength and comfort.
By effectively integrating positive experiences and associations, Somatic Experiencing helps both the mind and body reset and return to homeostasis as a fear of imminent danger is resolved.
Somatic Experiencing FAQ's
You Can Let Go Of Painful Experiences Once And For All
Living with trauma can cause the body to become increasingly dysregulated—like a car being driven with both the brake and accelerator fully engaged.
If you struggle with lingering distress following a traumatic experience, your body has the power to resolve and release stress—ultimately improving your physical, mental, and emotional health. Somatic therapy at Eddins Counseling can help you recover from your trauma.
Contact us below for more information or to schedule an appointment with one of our somatic therapy practitioners.
Get Help From a Specialist in Somatic and Body Oriented Therapy
Brittnie Grono
Brittnie works with teens, and adults to overcome anxiety, depression, ADHD and behavioral challenges.
BOOK AN APPOINTMENT
Courtney Chiles-Cloud
Courtney works with youths and their families that have experienced trauma or are struggling with anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicidal ideat…
BOOK AN APPOINTMENT
Kelsey Engdorf
Kelsey enjoys working with teens, young adults, and adults overcoming trauma to help them build the lives they want and make meaningful changes.
BOOK AN APPOINTMENT
Talia Loredo
Talia helps adults heal anger, anxiety, depression, and relationship challenges so they can feel more empowered in themselves and their relation…
BOOK AN APPOINTMENT
Vanessa Clairjeune
Meet Vanessa, a compassionate therapist supporting teen issues, chronic pain, maternal health, and trauma. Find clarity and thrive with her holi…
BOOK AN APPOINTMENTWhat Clients Are Saying
Making Strides
I love my therapist so much. I’m making strides I haven’t made in therapy before.
Florida